[Megathread] Assassin's Creed: Valhalla

[Corvus]

Assassin's Creed =/= a history textbook. It's a video game. The series have never claimed to be historically accurate and it isn't going to change with this game. I mean, this is same series that turned Leonardo da Vinci basically into Q from James Bond and had one game end with the player character making shadow clones of himself to fight against a magic staff wielding Pope. Complaining about historical inaccuracies is kinda pointless.

I realise that the AC games aren't historically correct. Some of the AC:O stuff is so far from reality it isn't funny (Kassandra would have been killed for just trying to watch the Olympics, let alone attempting to compete in them for starters). I'm more worried about the message that the trailer is giving - that resisting an aggressive colonising invader makes you the bad guy. Probably not the message that you want to be giving out.

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You realise when Vikings were raiding the Britons, there were massive Castles and Cities there?

The game is a couple of centuries too early for massive castles. Castles came along with the Normans when they conquered England, and even then it was fairly simple motte-and-bailey designs.

[Volatilis]

I realise that the AC games aren't historically correct. Some of the AC:O stuff is so far from reality it isn't funny (Kassandra would have been killed for just trying to watch the Olympics, let alone attempting to compete in them for starters). I'm more worried about the message that the trailer is giving - that resisting an aggressive colonising invader makes you the bad guy. Probably not the message that you want to be giving out.

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Why?

There are no rules in art you can do what you like if you think you can make an compelling story out of it.

Or should we just get shakespeare remakes over and over?

[Zandalariprelate]

That's a nonsense comparison considering A: we haven't seen gameplay yet and B: For Honor covers a ton of eras and dynasties.

It's Assassin Creed, I doubt they will change the formula of the previous game and you can see they are reusing/borrowing a lot of the models from For Honor.

[SirCowdog]

I treat Assassin's Creed much I'd treat, say, Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Sekiro. Yeah, it happens on Earth and references historical places, events and characters, but beyond that it's absolute nonsense and any pretense to historical accuracy is thrown out the window in favor of fun gameplay and/or creating a world the devs and players like. The series is about as grounded in reality as Bioshock and Deus Ex are, and you know what? I'll take it if it means I can rampage around what is effectively fantasy Greece/Norway/England and do cool shit.

Pretty much.

It's why all the arguments about historical this or accurate that are kind of dumb. I mean, the entire premise is that you're re-living a "memory" of genetics or some sci-fi silliness like that. So who cares? OH NOES! THE FANTASY GENETIC MEMORY OF VIKINGS IN A VIDEOGAME IS WRONG! WOE! WOE AND GNASHING OF TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

[Gallahadd]

Alfred shouldn't be an antagonist. At all. Nor should the Saxons.

You realise that antagonist literally just means "The person that opposes your protagonist". It IN NO WAY implies any level of wrongdoing, on their behalf.

We have NO IDEA what the tone of the story is going to be, there's every chance they'll show Alfred as just trying to defend his people, while a third party (probably a Templar) plays on that fear to make him do thing he doesn't want to do.

As you said, Alfred was never meant to be king, he didn't have the training and teaching that were usually given to kings-in-waiting. I would be willing to be money that the real vllain of the game will be Alfred's advisor/general/senechal/whatever, who is really a templar agent sent there to push the whole situation towards war.

I also wouldn't be surprised, at all, if part way through the story, Eivor ended up teaming up with Alfred. Either against the Templars, or potentially against other viking clans. But that theory is a little more out there.

[Nerraw]

The devs have already kinda hinted that Alfred is not the bad guy in this.

[segara82]

King Alfred the Great (the first of only 2 people to be given that title) had quite a hard life. Chronic illness, suprise kingship for which he received rather little training, rather wanted to be a pious scholar, and nearly constantly at war with the other kingdoms and the raiders. That's about the limit of my history knowledge.

Given how fast and loose AC plays with actual history i expect us as Vikings to go claim our own spot of land and look for silver and honour, clashing with the english kingdoms and other raiders. And given the trailer i agree with others that Alfred might be the obvious antagonist whille the Templars manipulate things behind the scenes.

I personally hope we see a lot more land and less water like AC: O, a smaller map for better content and less copy-paste army posts and bandit camps. I can only raid so many posts to start region battles gets tedious.

[Gallahadd]

I personally hope we see a lot more land and less water like AC: O, a smaller map for better content and less copy-paste army posts and bandit camps. I can only raid so many posts to start region battles gets tedious.

They've said that naval combat is gone, and boats are JUST for transport to and from raids. So fingers crossed we're getting a lot more land and a lot less ocean!

[Corvus]

Why?

There are no rules in art you can do what you like if you think you can make an compelling story out of it.

Or should we just get shakespeare remakes over and over?

Okay, let me try it another way. If, instead of moving to a Norse settlement in England, Eivor has instead settled in the Norse settlement in Vinland (north America), and instead of leading raids against the Saxons, he had led raids against the Skraelings (native Americans), and the Norse were represented as the good guys as they battled the Skraelings in the trailer, how do you think that would have been taken in general? Not very well at all.

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The devs have already kinda hinted that Alfred is not the bad guy in this.

The problem is that the trailer kind of shows that he is. If he isn't, then why show that in the trailer?

[Cattleya]

People are reading way too much into this. Ubisoft isn't trying to spread some message about how wrong it is to defend your land and you should go out raiding villages. You play as a viking because vikings are "cool", Vikings' enemies were the English, therefore your enemies are the English.

There's also a difference between antagonist and villain, the only thing the trailer set Alfred up as was an antagonist, not a villain.

[Aoewy]

The problem is that the trailer kind of shows that he is. If he isn't, then why show that in the trailer?

I mean that interpretation of the trailer is on you.. I didnt get that he was the bad guy from it, like at all. It looked like someone who tried everything in vain, and has to "use a language they'll understand" as a last resort. Its just a trailer to hype the game, people are reading way too much into this.

[Nerraw]

The problem is that the trailer kind of shows that he is. If he isn't, then why show that in the trailer?

Maybe because they don't want to give away whatever plot twist awaits us in the first trailer which is released more than half a year out from release?

[Jastall]

They've said that naval combat is gone, and boats are JUST for transport to and from raids. So fingers crossed we're getting a lot more land and a lot less ocean!

I kinda liked the naval combat in Black Flag and Odyssey. It got tedious when you were up against 4-5 ships, but cleaving a trireme in two via ramming never got old. That said, Drakkars were indeed more meant for transportation and raids than ship to ship combat which wasn't very big in early medieval Europe.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

I kinda liked the naval combat in Black Flag and Odyssey. It got tedious when you were up against 4-5 ships, but cleaving a trireme in two via ramming never got old. That said, Drakkars were indeed more meant for transportation and raids than ship to ship combat which wasn't very big in early medieval Europe.

Kinda hoping AC tries to do Britain again at least not victorian london(Like from Syndicate, not a fan of Jacob but thats cause he comes off as immature..just a tad)

[Temp name]

Kinda hoping AC tries to do Britain again at least not victorian london(Like from Syndicate, not a fan of Jacob but thats cause he comes off as immature..just a tad)

A tad? Dude was immature as fuck

[Gallahadd]

I kinda liked the naval combat in Black Flag and Odyssey.

I liked it at the start, but it got old fast. If I wanted to sail about and fight people, I'd play Sea of Thieves.

[Witchblade77]

I mean that interpretation of the trailer is on you.. I didnt get that he was the bad guy from it, like at all. It looked like someone who tried everything in vain, and has to "use a language they'll understand" as a last resort. Its just a trailer to hype the game, people are reading way too much into this.

same. the bad guy vibe i got was from his general. king to me came across as the guy that had enough of his people getting hurt.

honestly, i wouldn't be surprised if we find out that any attempts by the king to negotiate with the raiders, were intercepted by the general who really REALLY wanted a war.

I mean... look at the smirk as he is looking down on the king sealing his order? is that NOT a smirk of self satisfied manipulator? I can't be the only one seeing it, right? right?



the camera focuses on this man not once, but multiple times and it has GOT to be on purpose

[stevenho]

You realise when Vikings were raiding the Britons, there were massive Castles and Cities there?

I did write about the castle of York, didn't I?
But it looks as cool compared to Alexandria as Doom II looks compared to Modern Warfare 4.
Let's not even start on the protoikea wooden houses of the Vikings.

That's precisely what I'm going to miss in Valhalla.

[ParanoiD84]

It's been said before in the thread but

The Inside Xbox livestream on May 7 will see the first gameplay reveal for Ubisoft's upcoming Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

https://www.pcgamer.com/microsofts-f...play-and-more/

So just 2 more days of waiting.

[Daedius]

Could never really get into the AC series... never like 'Stealth/Assassination' games, though I've heard Odyssey is more like an RPG. If Valhalla is like so I might give it a go.