Ubisoft announced its next major release in the Assassin's Creed franchise on Thursday morning. Assassin's Creed Valhalla will be Ubisoft's most ambitious title in the series yet, set between the Viking homeland of Norway, to Britain and beyond. Assassin's Creed Valhalla will have mass battles, in-depth RPG progression, and a visceral, brutal combat system. But the most exciting feature may be the promise of a home settlement that players will expand and build out throughout all of Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
As part of Assassin's Creed Valhalla's reveal, just a few scant details were expanded on beyond the game's cinematic announcement trailer. In Valhalla, players will have a home settlement, which will have the game's entire narrative built around it. Ubisoft lead producer Julien Laferrière, in an interview with Eurogamer, says that the settlement will be "at the center of our quests and the center of the decisions you make."
The basic idea is that in other Assassin's Creed games players would move from area to area to discover new content, Assassin's Creed Valhalla will constantly lead players back to their settlement. This is the player's home, not just a starting point. Valhalla will make an effort to have players want to return to their settlement, not just have it be where quests are turned in.
What that means in terms of gameplay is multifaceted. Players will journey out from the world and come home changed or with some new item, person, or idea with them. The settlement will change with them, adding facilities like barracks, blacksmiths, or even a tattoo parlor. The new recruits will integrate with the settlement, sometimes triggering story elements that will grow throughout the game. The settlement responds to the player's adventures and choices, including their consequences.
Laferrière compares the settlement to Dragon Quest: Inquisition's Skyhold and Mass Effect's Normandy, which are both lofty aspirations for an Assassin's Creed title.
The way that Assassin's Creed Valhalla's settlement is described is perhaps best compared to the classic JRPG series Suikoden's bases. Suikoden's bases, even in the original PlayStation era, would grow and change based on the player's actions — specifically with regards to who they recruited. If Assassin's Creed Valhalla can channel even a small amount of that 25-year-old JRPG, the settlement is certain to be a major success.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla releases holiday 2020 on PC, PS4, PS5 Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.