The newest entry in the long-running franchise, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, is set to release this holiday season, which means that only a handful of months stand between the game and players’ hands. Taking on the role of either a male or female Eivor, players will be able to live and explore the Viking culture with a “grounded” approach to their lifestyle. While this doesn’t mean gods will appear like Odin, it does mean that Vikings will not be plundering and pillaging for the sake of it, as they are often portrayed.
But in the build up to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s release date, many may be wanting to play some older games in preparation. During quarantine, the simplest answer may just to be play all of them, yet that is also the most unrealistic answer. For those wanting to check out a few AC games before Valhalla launches, here are the most pertinent to play.
Assassin’s Creed Origins and Odyssey
Perhaps the most obvious games to play are Assassin’s Creed Origins and Odyssey, as they make up an individual trilogy with the latest game. Valhalla is clearly different in nature from these games, but these help set up the modern-day plot which continues in the next game. Moreover, AC Valhalla will not feature traditional Assassins or Templars; instead, players will be encountering Hidden Ones and The Order of the Ancients. Both of these factions are introduced in Origins, while Odyssey steps away to fill in more info about the Isu, the Tainted Ones, and the origins of Desmond’s bloodline (well, so to speak).
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla takes place roughly 850 or so years after Origins, so it is historically distanced. Interesting enough, it’s only about one or two hundred years from the first game as well. All this is to say that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is unique and may not fully follow in the footsteps of its predecessors in the Assassin’s Creed Universe, with the exception of the modern-day story beat and greater conflict backdrop that fans will want to be aware of.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag may seem like a peculiar entry, but there’s two major reasons fans should play it before Assassin’s Creed Valhalla releases. First, alongside Assassin’s Creed Origins, Black Flag is often touted as one of the best games in the franchise. This is notable because both games were developed by Ubisoft Montreal, the developer behind Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Secondly, seeing its previous work, with a similar meta-setting (a protagonist grounded in the contemporary culture contextualized with the greater Assassin-Templar Conflict) may go a long way in seeing how the team has grown. After all, the launch of AC: Valhalla seems similar to Black Flag thus far, in more ways than one.
Assassin’s Creed Rogue
There’s one major reason fans should play Assassin’s Creed Rogue before Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: it teased the latter well before it even existed. Not only are there mentions of Otso Berg’s viking ancestors, a prominent fact given his position at the end of Odyssey, but Shay Cormac is adorned with various Norse bits of symbolism. It is only loosely connected to the game via this imagery, but it’s enough to wet the whistle while waiting for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla releases Holiday 2020 for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
