Assassin's Creed Valhalla: The time of the Vikings is nigh!

Last week the official announcement of the next Assassin's Creed game was made. there were rumors, of course, of the game being set in the Viking era and this was confirmed with the cinematic trailer.

At first, I was not impressed as much as I had anticipated. It was maybe because it was all so grounded or maybe because of the cinematic nature of the trailer or perhaps I was not in the right mood for Viking games. But then there was that scene, that one scene in the end that got me hyped up; the one where Eivor, the lead character, uses the hidden blade. That sent chills up my back. Yes, the hidden blade is back and I did not know how much I missed it.

It slowly began to sink in. There was going to be a game based on the Viking era exploring the Norse mythology. Being a game from Ubisoft, it going to explore the era deeply. We could now relive history and understand this culture, which has some of the best lore.

It seems we will be able to sail from the harsh, mysterious and frozen shores of Norway to the warm, beautiful but forbidding kingdoms of England and beyond.

There does seem to be a wide variety of landscapes and weather between the two countries and I am interested to see how that plays out over time.

This game is going to be huge but in a manageable sort of way. I do hope it isn't as huge as AC Odyssey. There were a lot of parts of that map that were left unexplored by many and there seemed to be a lot of filler in that game. It will be a shame for them to repeat the same with this game.

This time around we can build settlements and recruit people to settle in and grow the place. I am interested to see at what level they take this coz it has been implemented in previous AC games like Assassin's Creed III.

The first part of the trailer was shown with a voice over by one of the possible series antagonists, King Aelfred, who led one of the kingdoms of England at the time. He seems to be making out the Vikings as barbarians and has officially declared war on them.

And then there is Odin. We get to see statues of him being raised in new settlements and also being prayed to in the pre-battle rituals.

But later in one of the battle scenes, he seems to have come down to earth. Is that a vision or just some old man in a cloak? It is believed that Odin used to walk among the people and seeing him is a blessing, esp. in battle. Perhaps this is just a hallucination of a man in war. We shall find out how Ubisoft interprets this myth when the game comes out.

Just like AC Odyssey, you get to choose your character, male or female Eivor. The game will again feature RPG mechanics that will allow us to shape the growth of your character and influence the world around you. Choice is important as well and I hope it is more flushed out than Odyssey.

More details were to come as the week went by with a gameplay reveal planned for the Microsoft "Inside Xbox" stream. But that stream wasn't as extended as was hyped but there were a few seconds of gameplay, which looked awesome and some epic locations that were showcased in that trailer.

We also got to see our raven, Synin (pronounced “Sue-nin”), who's going to do our spying for us this time around.

This was confirmed by the lead creative director, Ashraf Ismail, the guy behind AC Origins, which in my opinion, had one of the best historical worlds with a well-balanced and satisfying combat system. I am glad he is the guy behind this game as well.

AC Valhalla is slotted to launch in Holiday 2020, along with the planned launch of the next generation of consoles.

So, are you hyped for Assassin's Creed Valhalla? Which console are you planning to get it one? I, for one, am hyped but am undecided on the platform. Time shall tell. Until then, may Odin guide you. Cheers!