Some more Assassin's Creed Valhalla details have been revealed via multiple sources and things are shaping up pretty nicely.
Kicking things off is an interview by French YouTuber Julien Chièze featuring Ubisoft's Julien Laferrière. It's since been translated over at Reddit (via ResetEra) and explains just how large Assassin's Creed Valhalla will be.
I would actually say in terms of range[,] [Assassin's Creed Valhalla] is probably a bit larger than Assassins Creed Odyssey. I do not have the exact figures at this stage, but we have not only created the whole country, which is in this case England, but also a good part of Norway too. There are other secret worlds, which I can not speak about today, which contributed to the size of the game. It's not a small game, it is a game which is clearly ambitious, which will offer many many hours of gameplay for the players.
This new information completely contradicts a now-deleted tweet where Ubisoft's Middle Eastern Head of Communications Malek Teffaha had said that Valhalla "won't be the longest or biggest game in the series." There had been mixed reaction at a potential reduction in scale or world size, with some hoping for a less bloated world that was more focused, while others were hoping to see a continuation or expansion of what Assassin's Creed: Odyssey did. The new information from Julien Laferrière indicates that those who were hoping for Assassin's Creed to get bigger, and have more content need not worry.
Ashraf Ismail Reveals More Assassin's Creed Valhalla Details
That alone is pretty cool, but that's far from everything we've learned today. Creative Director Ashraf Ismail sat down to talk with Kotaku about the game and how it will be shaping the future of the franchise.
Your settlement in England is going to be using the same sort of A.I. in Odyssey that simulated each NPC having their own "lives." Not only that, but you'll be able to form relationships with them to some degree. It kind of strikes me like Fallout 4's settlement system, but with 100% less Preston Garvey.
Dealing with enemies won't necessarily have to be violent. There will be options to diplomatically resolve a problem in some instances, although Ismail cautions that this will take a back seat to the fighting.
"I will say: this is an Assassin’s Creed game," Ismail told Kotaku. "It is a Viking fantasy. It has got a lot of battles, and there are a lot of enemies where there’s just no negotiating."
Those awful XP boosters from past games may not be an issue. While previous games could increase your XP rate for a few bucks here or there, Assassin's Creed Valhalla will be changing how they'll be handling progression. That said, they haven't yet addressed monetization and some kinds of microtransactions could still make an appearance, nor have they said how their new progression system will work.
Not everything is changing, mind; some things are staying the same. You can pretty much expect the controls to remain the same, and your choice of a male or female protagonist won't really have that much of an impact on the story.
Those are just some of the highlights; you can read the full Kotaku interview with Ashraf Ismail to find out more Assassin's Creed Valhalla details. You can expect to get your hands on this game sometime before the end of 2020.
What do you think of the Assassin's Creed Valhalla details revealed today? Do you think this game will be able to surpass its predecessors? Let us know in the comments below!
