Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has hit the shelves, and with both drawing influence from Norse mythology some comparisons with 2018’s soft reboot of God of War will be likely. While Assassin’s Creed has always been far closer to a work of historical fiction than God of War’s pure fantasy, the games have a surprising amount in common.
There are even some locations from Norse mythology which appear in both Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and God of War 2018. One such location is important to both stories, though it is realized in two very different ways. PLEASE NOTE: there may be MINOR SPOILERS ahead for Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
Jotunheim in God of War
Jotunheim is a location in Norse mythology associated with the Jotnar, an important race in the mythos. Often translated as giants, the jotnar are actually more ambiguously defined in the mythology itself, and do not appear exclusively as literal giants in their depiction among the creatures of God of War. Some are more typical giants, while others like the World Serpent are also revealed to be Jotnar. Like Midgard and Asgard, Jotunheim is one of the Nine Realms in Norse mythology, and is the final location visited by Kratos and Atreus on their quest to spread Laufey’s ashes.
Jotunheim is key to the story of God of War 2018 in a few ways. Not only is it the ultimate destination on Kratos and Atreus’ journey in the 2018 game, but Jotunheim is key to setting up the next game, God of War’s upcoming sequel which will take place during the events of Ragnarok. In Jotunheim, Kratos and Atreus enter a temple inside of a mountain shaped like a hand, said to be the tallest mountain across all nine Norse realms.
It is inside this temple that Atreus learns his original name – Loki. When Atreus asks his father why he has a different name on the mural, Kratos responds that it was his mother’s original name for him. The Jotunheim mural also reveals the events of Loki’s life, including a secret panel revealed to Kratos which appears to show Atreus killing his father at the end of Ragnarok, though this is left ambiguous.
Jotunheim in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Jotunheim makes a surprising appearance in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla as well. After the player character Eivor has upgraded the Ravensthorpe settlement to level 3, Valka the Seer will arrive at the growing village as part of the quest A Wise Friend. Once some of her gathering quests have been completed, players will be given a potion which will transport them to Asgard. After another quest, players will be able to get the seer to brew a second potion which will transport the player to Jotunheim as part of the quest Going Deeper.
These are two different but interesting takes on mythology in gaming. God of War literalizes a location from Norse mythology to tell a personal story about two characters, while Assassin’s Creed Valhalla uses the same location and Norse mythology as a whole to reframe the history of its world through the eyes of its protagonist Eivor. Which rendition will be better received in the long-run will have to be seen.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. A PS5 version of the game launches alongside the console on November 12.