By Jason Fogerty (JFogerty)
As the long-running franchise Assassin’s Creed has developed with its two most recent titles, it has been shifting away from its action-adventure roots to being a pure RPG. Assassin’s Creed Origins was the first game to feature a range of true RPG elements, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey greatly expanded on those, becoming a fully-fledged RPG. Now Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which is already available to pre-order, looks set to develop the franchise’s RPG elements even further.
RPG Elements in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will feature many, if not all, of the RPG elements which were in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. However, Ubisoft plans to develop these even further, and a big part of this development is the player’s Viking settlement. In Valhalla, players won’t just be playing as the protagonist Eivor, but also developing their own settlement in Scandinavia. They’ll choose buildings to construct, customise its look, recruit characters to join it, and so forth.
“It’s at the centre of our quests and the centre of the decisions you make,” explains lead producer Julien Laferrière in an interview with Eurogamer; “We want players to see the consequences of their actions. […] Instead of exploring one territory, then moving on to another and having no real opportunity or reason to return, the settlement changes the structure. So you’ll go on an adventure and then be encouraged to come back to your settlement.”
This settlement won’t simply be a home base, but will also be a window for the player to see and experience Viking life. It will also be a place for characters to interact and develop. Plus, of course, the settlement will also be a harbour for your longship, which is how you’ll get from Scandinavia to Anglo-Saxon England, where the majority of the game will actually take place. Of course, it remains to be seen how else Valhalla will develop Assassin’s Creed’s nascent RPG elements, as Ubisoft still has plenty under wraps. However, things certainly look good for the future of the franchise as it establishes itself not merely as an action-adventure series, but as a premier historical RPG.
