New Assassin's Creed Valhalla trailer teases the struggles of Eivor
"There is a war within you, and glory will not be enough"
The latest Assassin's Creed Valhalla trailer is all about the inner turmoil of protagonist and Viking leader Eivor - in this case, the male Eivor.
Eivor leads his clan of Vikings to England in search of a new home, but plenty more pushes them forward. As you'd expect from Assassin's Creed, there's a supernatural backdrop to elements of Valhalla's historical fiction, not to mention constant signs that Eivor's search for peace leads them to a bloodier search for glory.
The trailer's ominous narrator prophesies Eivor's internal conflicts and potential ruination. "I see conquest," she says, giving off big witchdoctor energy. "I see your enemies. Your struggles. Your doubts. Glory awaits you, Eivor, but it will cost you everything. I can see all of it. Blood and flame, loyalty and family, betrayal, hunger. There is a war within you, and glory will not be enough."
Scarcity is at the heart of Assassin's Creed Valhalla's conflicts. It's what drives Eivor and their clan to England in the first place, and it's also what pushes them to clash with the English over riches and resources. This is a major factor in Eivor's decisions, but seemingly not the only one. A variety of quests and decisions affect the growth of your clan's settlement and its position within English society, and Eivor's choices as leader feed into all of them. It'll be interesting to see how broadly those choices branch, and how Ubisoft balances them with the story it's trying to tell.
For more juicy worldbuilding, hear narrative director Darby McDevitt and lead systems designer Marc-Antoine Pietri explain how the world of Assassin's Creed Valhalla was carved from history, myths, and mayhem.
Sign up to the 12DOVE Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Austin freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and he's been with 12DOVE since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a senior writer is just a cover up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.
I've seen enough: Assassin's Creed Shadows will beat Black Flag as my favorite AC game as Ubisoft says it lets you "Naruto run" as the "fastest Assassin" it's ever made
Ubisoft had to "retool" the mobile game lore for Assassin's Creed Shadows, with a brand new modern narrative that "will develop over time"