Earlier today, Ubisoft delighted fans by releasing the announcement trailer for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and fans were quick to embrace just how great everything looked — even when it didn’t really show any gameplay — beacuse everything in it exceeded all expectations.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will be taking players back to the Viking Age, which is a new setting for the series, but not necessarily a new setting for video game players, as some have also made comparisons with Santa Monica’s critically acclaimed God of War.
Just by watching the trailer, one can definitely see some similarities, but the developers that have worked on Assassin's Creed Valhalla know that this isn't quite the case; since, other than the setting, they are completely different games.
Darby McDevitt, Assassin's Creed Valhalla Narrative Director, isn't worried about the game being compared with God of War, as he does believe that they are quite different in essence; he's played Santa Monica's critcally acclaimed title, even, and has nothing but great things to say about it.
"God of War is great--yeah, I've played it. It's fantastic. I wouldn't say we're too worried because most games, when they touch this topic, they actually skew very heavily towards the mythology. So that's the front-facing feature--you play God of War so you can go punch Baldur in the face, meet all these characters, and travel to fantastical environments," explained McDevitt during a recent interview with GameSpot.
"Very few games actually treat the Norse Viking experience as historically grounded. I think the urge is to always immediately lead with the mythology stuff, but we really want you to feel like you're living in the Dark Ages of England, that you're exploring the Roman ruins left behind 400 to 500 years earlier by the Romans and the remnants of the Britannic tribes before that and even the Saxon Pagans before they all converted to Christianity," he continued.
McDevitt also mentions that Norse mythology will be present in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, but not in the same way it was implemented in God of War, since they have grounded everything so that it feels somewhat more believable, even when they do actually mention some of these gods.
"For somebody like Eivor--who in the midst of battle would believe these things about these gods--we felt they'd believe they could see Odin. This is the same team that made Origins and our feeling about how to integrate [mythology] is similar. We want to create a similar feeling of being suffused in the mythology, but also the daily practice of this religion."
In Assassin's Creed Valhalla, the developers expect players to explore a massive open world like the ones seen in previous games, and they have also tried to keep everything grounded to give them a more realistic experience. McDevitt even calls the game "the ultimate grounded Viking fantasy."
"We've created this massive world to explore, to raid, to assault, to meet interesting people, but you're going to do it as a human, as a person who has to ride a horse to travel long distances and get to where they want to go rather than fly or something," McDevitt concluded.
Are you even more excited for Assassin's Creed Valhalla than you were before McDevitt's interview? Is this the game you had been waiting for? Be sure to let us know in the comments section down below!
In Assassin’s Creed® Valhalla, you are Eivor, a fierce Viking warrior raised on tales of battle and glory. Explore a dynamic and beautiful open world set against the brutal backdrop of England’s Dark Ages. Raid your enemies, grow your settlement, and build your political power in your quest to earn your place among the gods in Valhalla.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is expected to release for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC, and Stadia this Holiday.