Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Interesting references
Assassin’s Creed is one of the most recognized titles in the videogame industry, since its first games, this saga proved to have its own style both in its game mechanics, and in its history, so it quickly attracted a huge community of Gamers and became one of the most successful franchises of Ubisoft.
Assassin’s Creed stands out because of its setting, (which is always based on real historical moments) and because of its gameplay based on action, exploration and stealth. Although Ubisoft has been changing a lot lately the essence of this franchise and the quality of the games have been quite fickle, the recently released Valhalla has really shown that Assassin’s Creed can still offer high quality videogames with new mechanics, without losing the roots that identify this saga.
Finally, the long-awaited Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has been released, so players are still exploring its amazing world, which stands out for its well-documented and detailed setting.
The story of this videogame is set in medieval Britain during the 9th century (in the so-called dark ages), where the players take the role of Eivor, the leader of a Viking clan who decides to leave Norway together with his people because he is not willing to submit to the reign of Alfred the Great. When they arrive in England, they will have to impose themselves over the kingdoms of Wessex, Northumbria, East Anglia and Mercia, through small violent incursions in populated areas and creating new settlements.
Although Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has a setting that is very much based on real history, it also has many similarities and references to works from other media that are also set at the same time and have similar plots. That said, the following are the most interesting inspirations, similarities, and references that AC: Valhalla possibly has from other similar works.
The similarities with The Last Kingdom
The Last Kingdom is a Netflix series that also deals with medieval Britain and the influence that the Danish Vikings had in the war and political conflicts in England around the year 872 (with some changes with respect to the dates of real history). Having said this, it should be noted that the events of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla take place during the year 873 (almost in the same year as the series), so it is normal that there are many similarities with respect to the setting and history presented in both works. Even elements like the map of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla are almost the same as the one in The Last Kingdom since, after all, they happen almost at the same time, so both also happen during the reign of Alfred the Great. And speaking of this emblematic King, curiously enough, the appearance of Alfred the Great in AC: Valhalla significantly resembles the one played by David Dawson in the British series (even more than the one shown in the royal portraits), so it is possible that this is an interesting reference.
The importance of Vikings in this Assassin’s Creed
Vikings is a popular History series which, as its name indicates, also has a similar setting to that of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, although the events of Vikings are mainly inspired by the Nordic tales of the high Scandinavian Middle Ages and various historical records that begin with the Viking excursion in Lindisfarne in the year 793. However, this historical drama series is possibly one of the main inspirations Ubisoft has taken to design many of the elements seen in AC: Valhalla, especially on the stages and in the battles. The movie trailers of this videogame contained many scenes very similar to the ones seen in the Vikings series, especially in the scenes of big battles and during gameplay, it is even possible to recreate many of the battles seen in the series if the raid is organized correctly. In fact, Ubisoft Montreal confirmed that they were quite inspired by Vikings in the setting and the fighting mechanics during the raids.
One of the most notable references to the Vikings series that can be seen in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is undoubtedly its protagonist Eivor (in his masculine appearance by default), who bears a striking resemblance to Ragnar Lodbrok (played by Travis Fimmel) the protagonist and in addition to being physically equal, Eivor and Ragnar are also often presented with a crow on their shoulder.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that one of the main composers of the AC: Valhalla soundtrack is Einar Selvik, one of the composers of Vikings, which makes the experience of the game even more similar to what was seen in that series and in addition, Selvik’s great work has also helped the players go deeper into the setting and the epic action that the videogame presents.
These great details obviously surprised Vikings’ fans a lot and made them very interested in the game.
The Crossover with Vinland Saga
Vinland Saga is a manga (Japanese comic) written and drawn by Makoto Yukimura, whose plot is set in the time of the Vikings of the tenth century and their collaboration in the war between Denmark and England, although it is an original story. A month before the release of this Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft Japan made a collaboration with Makoto Yukimura to make a Manga One-Shot that makes a Crossover between Vinland Saga and AC: Valhalla, mainly to promote the game in the Japanese country. The first part of this Crossover can currently be read on Ubisoft Japan’s Twitter, although it is obviously in Japanese. That said, it is possible that Ubisoft has also been inspired a little by some of the battles in this manga (which are very similar to those of Vikings), and it is also probable that within the videogame there is also some reference to the Vinland Saga that has yet to be found.
Those were some of the most interesting references and similarities that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has, however, there are still many more to discover, considering that the game was released very recently. Find more games for Playstation or XBOX in Blackally.
