Assassin's Creed Valhalla: what to know before starting to play

A few days separate us from the new Viking adventure of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, we explain what to know to enjoy the title to the full

Yes we know: you can't wait to stop over on the British shores to lead your handful of Vikings predators. The 10th November, after a wait of several months and a year of rumor, finally the new Norse chapter of the saga Assassin's Creed, Valhalla, will appear in the physical and virtual windows and we will explain what to know to enjoy the new title. The Hidden Blade hit series now counts well 12 titles. A lot of things have happened.

We will first summarize the salient phases of the story atinfuori dell'Animus dwelling on the events of the character of Layla Hassan, the researcher who carried out the simulations in the last two chapters of the saga. We will then go to see how and in what the new title will be different from the previous ones; especially regarding the statements of the development team who stated that the new Assassin's Creed will be similar to The Witcher 3. 

Genetic memories

This guide assumes that you specify what to know before playing Assassin's Creed Valhalla. However, we will now try to give some brief information even for those who do not have the slightest confidence with the saga. A mainline narrative of 12 titles would be enough to intimidate anyone, no doubt, but to enter the logic of the universe created 13 years ago by Patrice Desilets a simple notion will suffice.

Essentially the timeline of the games in the saga is twofold: on the one hand there is the present on the other the past. The Animus, a device created by Abstergo Industries, allows those who use it to relive the genetic memories stored in DNA. Hence theanimus it connects past and present.

The general ranks of the plot are pulled by the two opposing factions of Assassins and Templars. The former are fighting for a reality frees it and independent, the seconds for a authoritarian world and dictatorial. The Templars to carry out their goal aim at obtaining the fruits of Eden, powerful artifacts created by the First Civilization, an ancient semi-divine race that created humanity and went extinct due to a mysterious catastrophe. To find them, the Templars must explore the genetic memories of some particular individuals and relive their past with the Animus.

The title which debuts on November 10 has deeper ties to the latest games gone out than with the precedents. Therefore, to fully appreciate the narration of Valhalla it will be better for you to somehow recover first Origins and Odyssey. The two titles in question have marked perhaps the greatest revolution in conceptual and gameplay terms of the saga that gives action-adventure open world has come close to the standards of a RPG. Furthermore, the two aforementioned chapters are related from a narrative point of view by the character of Layla Hassan which we will talk about in the next lines.

Where were we? - Assassin's Creed Valhalla: what to know 

So here's what you need to know, in purely narrative terms, before playing Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Layla Hassan, a young and brilliant researcher of Egyptian origins works for the pharmaceutical giant Abstergo Industries, mere cover for the Templar order. The girl has developed her own personal reinterpretation ofanimus which allows anyone who uses it to relive a genetic past different from their own.

Layla, known for her attitude rebel and smoking, transgresses the directives of the company he works for and leaves for theEgypt to experience his car. Here, supported at a distance by her friend and colleague Deanna, she relives the past of Aya e Bayek in Shiva, the first two assassins in history, who lived in the XNUMXst century BC 

After finishing the simulation Layla is surprised by the arrival of the Abstergo men who try to kidnap her. The young woman gets away with it and gets to know William Miles, one of the leaders of the faction of Assassins. He offers her protection as long as she cooperates with the Assassins. Layla accepts the deal but does not actually become a real new initiate of the sect. Not yet at least.

Some time after the Egyptian parenthesis Layla, during an expedition on behalf of the Assassins finds the Spear of King Leonidas of Sparta, this is actually a Artifact of the first civilization. Layla decides to relive the genetic memories of Alexios (o Kassandra, depending on the player's choice), a mercenary who lived in 431 BC, at the time of the Peloponnesian War. The story goes that Alexios came into possession of the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus, a very powerful artifact of the first civilization long in the sights of the Templars.

After reliving Alexios' past, Layla finally discovers the location of the Staff: the ruins of the mythical Atlantis. The young woman immediately went to the site. Here he meets Alexios to his surprise. The latter is still alive after more than 24 centuries thanks to the extraordinary power of the artifact. The mercenary reveals to Layla that the world needsperennial balance between the order represented by the Templars and the chaos of the Assassins. In other words, if one side completely annihilates the other, humanity would be doomed to the end. 

Layla in turn then tells Alexios that she is a 'Assassin and former Templar at the same time. Upon hearing this detail, the man decides to give the Artifact to the researcher. Alexios is indeed convinced that just Layla could be the keystone for the salvation of humanity. In fact, it embodies, at the same time, the principles of the two opposing factions. The man therefore has a final request for the young woman: destroy all artifacts of the first civilization. In fact, if these continued to exist they would represent a potential threat to the fate of the world since if one of the two factions managed to take possession of them, it would turn the conflict in its favor in an instant.

The narrative parenthesis of Assassin's Creed Odyssey ends with the clash between Layla ed Otso Berg, one of the leaders of the Templars. The latter has discovered the whereabouts of the researcher and sets an ambush for her. The young woman, however, with the power of the Staff of Hermes manages to get the better of capturing Berg. The man is thus made hostage of the Assassins. 

Why wait confidently for the new chapter? - Assassin's Creed Valhalla: what to know 

On the game mechanics front, there is much more to know about the new Aassassin's Creed Valhalla and these are rather salient news. As mentioned above, the new flagship title of the French giant aims to partially rewrite the structural playful canons of the series starting from side quest. Since the first historical episode (in which they were developed in a few months to lengthen the broth), in principle, the secondary missions they never shone more than that apart from rare exceptions. 

The community has always clamored for more content full breath, with its own narrative structure that encourages them to discover and play them. In fact, until now, these quests, in principle, have always been experienced by players as a simple filler for its own sake, to be completed only to see the fateful "100%”On the overall completion indicator. In Odyssey and Origins, for example, these contents were always set with the subtext of going and doing some killing in various points of interest on the map that were out of range of the main quest. Moral of the story: you are obliged to sift through all possible places and imaginables of the map, silent and dumb. 

In this regard, Darby McDevitt, historical screenwriter of the series, has reported that the new secondary contents of Valhalla will be distinguished from those previously seen since it will take place in a "natural and spontaneous context". We will therefore not have to turn on the game map by slinging on the famous icons from time to time to play these missions. The hope therefore is to see something similar to the acclaimed The Witcher 3, in which these contents are real fascinating subplots.

Involvement, credibility and vitality - Assassin's Creed Valhalla: what to know 

The other big reason that pushes us to put our trust in the new chapter of the saga of the hitmen with the hidden blade is undoubtedly the stealth component. Here too we are faced with one of the points that have greatly heated the hearts of the community. Let's think about origins. On what points the formidable stood from the beginning success of the saga? Simple: accuracy in the historical reconstruction, open world, parkour and, drum roll… the component stealth! The last chapter of the saga was the virtual theater of spectacular and exaggerated face-to-face clashes. There Hidden blade, the Assassins' trademark is even disappeared in nothing! Odyssey's furious melee battles were certainly a useful novelty in giving a momentary refresh to gameplay but real Assassins operate in the shadows.

Our wish, at this juncture, is a healthy rediscovery ofprimary identity. In the first online excerpts of Valhalla we seemed to glimpse a good alternation between silent incursions and brutal open-faced fights. Eivor himself was keen to be seen with the famous blade on his arm. In conclusion, there is hope, . Also, we know that the shields (highly appreciated in Origins). Therefore this assumes that even open clashes will be approachable with a minimum of criterion without having to grind only the combo keys.  

Finally, perhaps the greatest expectation is that of a living world and not simply open. It is reasonable to expect great credibility in all components starting from the NPCs. These should make exploration of the Norwegian and British lands engaging. Precisely in this involvement, credibility and vitality is the difference between an open world that aims atexcellence compared to one who is content to settle in the canons of a videogame genre too much inflated.

Also in this sense, the sensations that have come from the various previews of Valhalla are comforting. In fact, you confirm the presence of fishing, hunting, dice, drinking competitions, customization complete with characters and even cats that will clean up our camp from rats. Just thecamp will be the heart of the experience and part of the overall success of the title will also be seen to what degree this will be realistic. According to the developers, our den will be manageable and can be improved in every single detail. 

On the narrative level, both McDevitt and the creative director, Ashraf Ismail, have confirmed that Layla's story will return. The game, in this sense, according to the two, will act as a sort of "stopper"In the general plot and will be able to put a conclusion to many narrative knots that have remained unrelated.

You don't live by quantity alone 

In short, to summarize, in addition to the amount (that will certainly be there, the game map as usual will be larger than the previous chapter), we expect quality from this title. The same quality that fans of the saga have long asked for in order for Assassin's Creed to be able to do the fateful leap to the top and get closer to the open world standards that are currently in thevideogame olympus of which it is certainly superfluous to mention the names here. In our opinion, over the years, the release cadence of the brand's chapters have penalized this aspect a bit. We are though confident and we can't wait to enter the Animus once again and tell you about our feelings.

Thank you for taking the time to read this guide on what to know before playing Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Stay tuned to Holygamerz for all the news and curiosities from the gaming world and beyond.