After taking some extra time off, the Assassin's Creed franchise is finally back in the spotlight as Ubisoft's recent teases culminated in a brand new reveal trailer earlier today. Assassin's Creed Valhalla, at one point thought to be known as Ragnarok, takes the franchise to the age of the Vikings. The debut cinematic introduced players to Eivor and his band of warriors raiding the English countryside. For fans of this era, Ubisoft looks to be pulling out all of the stops and adding a ton of interesting gameplay mechanics when the game launches later this year.
In a recent interview with Game Informer, Assassin's Creed Valhalla creative director Ashraf Ismail provided plenty of new details on the Viking-themed action RPG. Ubisoft Montreal is aiming to have this be the ultimate Viking experience for Assassin's Creed fans and one way to do that is through two key activities. Raiding was a key element for the actual Vikings and Ismail went into details on how that activity is making it into the game.
Creating a settlement is a major focus for Eivor and his tribe. In order to build this new home on the shores of England, a country which is hostile to these invaders, players can take part in Raids to secure materials, personnel, and resources. In order begin these missions, players will need to secure a longship as well as a crew. The crew is made up of characters that the player meets in the world and go on journeys with, taking the systems a step further than the companions seen in Assassin's Creed Odyssey. In addition, these crew members known as Jomsvikings can be customized and live inside of the settlement as well.
In addition to Raids, players will be able to take part in large scale Assaults against massive fortifications like castles. As Ismail describes it, Assaults are these massive set-piece moments that are wrapped around the game's narrative. The basis for these activities comes from Ubisoft Montreal's actual research on this era and how frequently they took place between the Vikings and various English kingdoms like Wessex.
To make sure these moments are epic, the combat has also been redesigned to make it feel more visceral and brutal. Enemy variety has also been a major focus of the studio as well as the weapons of that time period which include bearded axes, long swords, round shields and more.
Similar to Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, this latest game in the franchise will be another cross generation title. Not only will this ensure that the largest portion of fans will be able to play the game regardless of which console they're on, it'll offer what many expect to be an even better experience for next generation adopters. While Ubisoft hasn't yet fully detailed how both versions will differ, Ismail has revealed that the next-gen version of Assassin's Creed Valhalla will leverage some of the new tech that helps reduce or completely remove loading screens. That'll go a logn way to helping players stay immersed as a Viking warrior.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla releases Holiday 2020 for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: Game Informer