New Assassin’s Creed game trailer analysis, Valhalla, explore the Nordic and Viking world

With a flood of news about the new Assassin’s Creed game, Valhalla, announced, developer Ubisoft was forced to release the game’s trailer. The 4-minute trailer shows that the game will be set in Viking, as well as the plot and gameplay. However, there are a few important details that the trailer does not mention.

In the video below, you can watch creative director Ashraf Ismail and director of narration Darby McDevitt talk about the trailer. They give us a better view as well as a contextual approach to decipher the culture and history of the Vikings. We also get to know the main character Eivor may have any connection to Assassin.

Plot background and Viking era

In the first scene of the trailer, the Ubisoft team shows a village in Norway. Ismail says the theme of home and the setting of other lands is important for the plot and Eivor, the game’s protagonist.

Then there is a large statue of Odin, the Norse god. McDevitt details that in Norse culture, people worshiped gods to receive blessings, often before important events. You can see the ceremony going on. The scapegoat was offered to Odin, and Eivor was painted with red streaks that looked like blood. Everyone is about to leave Norway to rob a village in England. Ismail says these scenes reveal the idea of ​​a journey that begins in Norway and slowly leads to England.

In the next robbery scene, Eivor and his crew avoid killing a woman and her children. Meanwhile, narration coming from an English king mentions Vikings killing and slaughtering like barbarians, leaving no one at all – creating a contrast in words. McDevitt talks about Viking history, from how they plundered England and considered it brutal. However, although Britain has recorded Viking history, there are still a number of other references to say more accurately. McDevitt said Ubisoft wants to retell the entire plot of an entire culture.

McDevitt goes into detail: the Viking age began at the end of the 8th chronograph with Lindisfarne’s assault on the “Holy Isle”. When Valhalla was conceived (beginning in 873), things were more context-focused than loot: Norwegians and Danes arrived in England. During this time, the two cultures were assimilated quickly and easily by the similarities between the two cultures. Valhalla not only depicts the tyrannical era, but also the culture, the alliances formed, as well as the places where the Vikings settled.

The next scene transitions from night of plunder to peaceful morning in the country, depicting true Vikings migrating to new lands. Ismail said these Vikings left Norway and built community and integrated into indigenous society. They are also farmers, merchants, and they will contribute to the gameplay element of the game. You’ll help build colonies and communities and make decisions as the game’s leader.

McDevitt added on the history, saying evidence suggests Norwegians were successful in migrating to England, as some towns had the ending -thorpe or -by.

Thus, the main plot begins in 873 during the Viking era and at that time, England was not yet united as one country: so there were many kingdoms that ruled the lands of England. In the game, you see King Alfred (Alfred the Great), who is the narrator in the first half of the trailer. Alfred was king of Wessex, the southernmost kingdom (along with three other kingdoms: Mercia, Northumbria, and East Anglia). Wessex was known to be the most vocal opponent of the Viking arrivals.

Gameplay revealed in the trailer

The next scene we see the Viking longboats, will play a large role in the game. Longboats were special boats unique to the Vikings and allowed them to move quickly across the sea while carrying goods and people. They were fast boats that allowed the Vikings to move behind the enemy to loot in a quick-and-short style.

Then we get to see the whole battle scene. They are completely different from mini robberies, indicating that the game will have two different types of combat in the gameplay. Great battles can take place in fields and in strongholds. And what you see in the trailer is what you will be participating in the game. You can combine ax and shield, wield two axes, throw axes, or both. The two-item holding system is considered an important part of the combat game.

Now we see a little bit of the connection between Eivor and Norse mythology and Assassin’s Creed. Eivor saw a hooded man in the distance and the crow flying away as the thunder began, spreading heat to keep him fighting. This could be the incarnation of Odin to pay for the sacrifice that took place earlier in the trailer. According to Norse mythology, huginn and muninn are two Odin fruits. Their name means thought and memory. And as Eivor understood, it gave him a boost.

Eivor is seen fighting a very strong opponent, which will be a type of enemy in the Valhalla gameplay. The opponent is said to be the leader of the battle with special abilities, large armor and very few weaknesses (sounds like Brute and Enforce in Odyssey).

Link Viking-Assassin and Hidden Blade

Eivor was seemingly defeated, but escaped death thanks to the series’ iconic Hidden Blade, which helped him kill his enemies. One small detail is that Eivor attaches the blade to the top of his hand, not below like previous Assassins (except for Darius in Odyssey’s Legacy of the First Blade DLC).

Ismail and McDevitt talk about how Valhalla blends Viking with the world of Assassin’s Creed. According to the plot, Eivor meets the Assassins at some point, but it is not clear what Assassin’s purpose is. But what’s more important is that Viking and Assassin have the same goal and therefore work together. Eivor receives the hidden blade early in the story, but we don’t know the details of how or why it was given to him.

Assassin’s Creeds Valhala will be released on Christmas 2020.