10 Interesting Rumors About Assassin’s Creed Vikings
With 2018 coming to an end and a new year beginning we might be on the Assassin’s Creed hype train sooner than later.
With the massive success of this year’s Odyssey, it’s no surprise that Ubisoft will want to continue the story of the Assassins. There have been rumors floating around that the next installment will take place during the Viking Age.
One of the game designers that had worked on previous AC games has published a few concept art pictures of how he envisions the game to look. We still haven’t gotten an official release date not even a confirmation but here are a couple of rumors floating around the web that I would like to share with you.
Concept art image “leaked” by one of the art directors in Ubisoft Montreal. The title is Ragnarok.
Rumor #10: The game will be set in England
A shocker, I know. As we all know the Vikings lived in today’s Scandinavian region, but the Vikings were most known for invading England and other parts of Europe. From a storytelling point, it makes sense. The war between the Vikings and the Saxons was filled with intrigue and political plots, something that the story team might want to explore.
Vikings and Saxons fighting one another for control of England
Rumor #9: The game will have naval battles
The Vikings were basically pirates who operated in colder climates. They are known for their fast ships that could transverse the vast sees in a matter of days. Assassin’s Creed games are known for their open world, fast gameplay, and surprise, surprise, naval combat. This game mode first appeared in AC3 but it was perfected by Black Flag and it also appeared in Odyssey. It would make sense that we might be able to see this mode considering the Vikings are experienced sailors.
A ship filled with Viking warriors sailing across the seas, ready to conquer and pillage
Rumor #8: Biggest Open-World Game Yet
This one should come as a no surprise. Every main Assassin’s Creed game has been open world and each one has been bigger than the next one. If this game features the raids that the Vikings did, we should not only see England but also France and parts of the Mediterian like Greece and Spain. Surely a big task for the team at Ubisoft.
A map of Viking expansion, from England and Italy, all the way to Canada
Rumor #7: More than one main character
Unlike the previous games where we only got one or two characters to play with, here we might get an entire family of Assassins. Probably the main assassin that the game will focus on is Ragnar Lothbrok. He was a Viking ruler and member of the Norse Brotherhood of Assassins. He is an ancestor of Tadhg Ormond and Michael Klotz. He was the father to Ivar The Boneless, Ubba Ragnarson and Bjorn Ironside, all of which were famous Assassins.
A look at how a Viking warrior looked like according to Ubisoft. This picture is from another of their games titled “For Honor”. We might get a similar look for our protagonists in the new AC game. Really badass.
Rumor #6: Raids and conquest
It is rumored that we would get a new gameplay mechanic where we could raid settlements and conquer towns and small villages. This isn’t something that we haven’t seen before. In previous AC games, you could raid outpost and capture dens. But reportedly here in the newest installment, you would take part in conquering bigger cities like Winchester, York or even Paris.
Taking over a camp in the newest AC game. Using stealth and the environment to your advantage. Something that we might see in AC Vikings but hopefully bigger and better.
Rumor #5: Build and control your own army
Sure in the other games you could recruit assassins and send them on missions and in return, they would yield gold and experience. But can you imagine how badass it would be to build your own army and bring it with you to pillage and conquer? I’m not talking about a group of 3 or 4 people but a group of a hundred at your command. Something like that would surely be awesome to see.
The Vikings are known to attack in huge numbers, using unconventional tactics in order to get the better of their enemies. The promise to control your own army and command them on the field sure sounds great.
Rumor #4: Improved stealth
AC was always considered a stealth game. But it wasn’t your typical stealth game like Splinter Cell or Thief. It didn’t have the basic mechanics like crouch or hiding in the shadows. Instead, you have to hide in the crowds and utilize rooftops. Vikings were known for fighting in stealth as well as on the open fields. They used the trees to attack from up high or they used the cover of night to enter an enemy encampment undetected. This sure sounds similar to the fighting style of an assassin. Deadly both in stealth and in the open. So it is highly possible to see some advancements to the stealth gameplay.
Stealth was always an important part in previous games, but it wasn’t always that great and sometimes it worked in our disadvantage. Hopefully, in the newest installment, we will get perfected stealth gameplay.
Rumor # 3: Norse mythology
We can’t talk about Vikings without talking about there gods. They have a rich pantheon of gods and that is something that Ubisoft can take inspiration from. It sure wouldn’t be the first time as we saw in the previous games, especially in Origins and Odyssey. Of course, they wouldn’t be actual gods but a part of the ancient ones just like we saw Juno in Ezio’s story. Maybe even Mjolnir will make an appearance, who we all know as Thor’s hammer, as a piece of Eden. We might even see Thor himself. The possibilities are endless.
How the Vikings envisioned Thor, The God of Lightning. In Norse mythology, he was a protector of the warriors and he helped guide them across the seas.
Rumor # 2: Player-driven story
This one I am actually the most excited about. The ability to chose your own path and have different outcomes is always a welcome addition to a game. Something that the AC games surely need.
In Odyssey, we saw that we could have more options when it comes to how the game plays out by having dialog options in the likes of Mass Effect and Witcher. Let's hope they build on this in the upcoming game.
Rumor # 1: Present day story will revolve around William Milles
More commonly known as Desmond’s father, William is the Mentor or the present day Assassins. After the death of his son, he didn’t want to continue the fight and retreated to his bunker in Norway (the birthplace of the Vikings). But when he saw that Absturgo had taken his son’s body and how they defiled him his hatred against the Templars re-ignited. Now armed with his newly discovered thirst for vengeance he takes the fight to the Templars. This sounds like an awesome idea and it would surely make us care more about the present day story arc.
Here we see William with Desmond in AC3. After his son’s death, William retreats to his bunker in Norway where he gives up on his fight against the Templars. After seeing what Apstergo does to his son’s body his anger drives him to start fighting again.
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