Assassin’s Creed Valhalla finds itself at as a crossroads for the franchise. It leverages much of the beloved content of old with much of the newer RPG elements, while also including a story deeply involved with the Hidden Ones and, arguably, even the birth of the modern-day Templar Order. It’s a tight-rope walk that the game manages to nail more often than not, but one overlooked decision actually bodes well for the franchise as a whole moving forward, and perhaps, assasssins like Amunet as well.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has broken traditions in the franchise, ranging from everything including common naming conventions to operating as a direct prequel and sequel to Assassin’s Creed 3. This is because of how it sets up Connor’s tribe yet continues the modern day story (albeit in a roundabout way). These connections are nothing new for the franchise, but this one is more deeply involved than others. Yet, it’s the fact that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla takes place primarily in England that truly stands out.
There’s a few constants in the franchise, one of which being that every mainline game since AC: Brotherhood has taken place in a “new” location. Even when there are trilogies that are close together, including Ezio’s trilogy and the Kenway saga, fans really only need to take a look at a list to realize one odd peculiarity with rare, noted exceptions:
- Assassin’s Creed – Third Crusade in the Holy Land 1191
- Assassin’s Creed 2 – Renaissance Italy 1476-1499
- Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood* – Renaissance Italy 1499-1507
- Assassin’s Creed Revelations – Constantinople 1511-1512
- Assassin’s Creed 3 – Boston, New York, and surrounding areas between 1753-1783, with an emphasis on the American Revolution 1775-1783
- Assassin’s Creed Liberation – French and Indian War within Louisiana, during its Spanish occupation, 1765-1777
- Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag – Golden Age of Piracy, Caribbean, 1716-1718
- Assassin’s Creed Rogue* – Seven Years’ War and numerous North American locations, including New York 1752-1776
- Assassin’s Creed Unity – French Revolution Paris 1776-1800
- Assassin’s Creed Syndicate – Victorian Era London, England 1868
- Assassin’s Creed Origins – Ptolemaic Egypt 49-43 BC
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Greece 431-404 BC
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – Primarily England in 872, with Norway and Vinland as well
To the introduction of a new time period and location, there are two primary exceptions (asterisked) worth discussing first. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood takes place right after AC2, continuing Ezio’s fight in Renaissance Italy. At the time, the franchise was still finding its footing and was building off the success of Ezio, the only protagonist to have his own trilogy to date. The other, Assassin’s Creed Rogue, shares a few similar locations to AC3, namely New York. Assassin’s Creed Rogue itself, however, is an exception in the franchise, as it is the only game where players predominantly take on a role of a Templar, not an Assassin.
Excluding those, even with the games that take place in the same century, they have different focuses and locations. There’s the Holy Land in the Middle East, Renaissance Italy, Constantinople, Boston, New York, Louisiana, Paris (in France), London (in England), Egypt, Greece, Norway, Vinland, and England. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the first game to return to a location that it itself is entirely disconnected from (England, even being able to travel back to Lunden), unlike AC Rogue‘s connections to the other games and Ezio’s own story.
While it may be rare, this shows that the franchise is willing to revisit locations, perhaps if the history, lore, and worldbuilding allow. And as such, any number of locations could be revisited, establishing proper or spiritual sequels in said locations. As aforementioned, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla uses Vinland to establish a proper connection to AC3, but it serves as a forbearer in a number of ways. Shaun Hastings assumes that Haytham Kenway was named after Hytham, after all, and it’s hard to ignore that London appears in both Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Syndicate.
Thus, the question becomes how this could lead to revisited locations (if perhaps in different time periods) and sequels of sorts, and what this could mean. The franchise itself has teased a possible location or two, while if the Assassin’s Creed franchise is open to revisiting locations, an argument could be made that it should return to fan-demanded locations.
Namely, this means that a door that was once closed has been opened. While never directly stated, there has always been an underlying assumption that the franchise wouldn’t directly revisit locations that it explored in games since Ezio’s time. So, for example, many saw the thirteenth-century Egypt tease in the above Abstergo email as a red herring, not a potential location, after the release of Assassin’s Creed Origins. However, this now means that a return to Egypt isn’t necessarily impossible, and that the franchise could some day return.
The franchise will likely avoid revisiting too many locations, but there’s a few that stand out. While it wouldn’t be thirteenth century, it would be nice to see a direct sequel to Assassin’s Creed Origins, exploring Amunet’s time in Rome and surrounding areas. Egypt was a popular location, so whether as a direct sequel or a shared location centuries later, a return here would be welcomed by fans.
Despite a rather disastrous launch, Assassin’s Creed Unity cleaned up nicely, and many would love to see France explored more, which is already confirmed to happen. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is taking players to Francia (France), and while it’s not the same, it’s possible some new connections to AC Unity are established. Either way, this stands out as more evidence that returns to these locations are not ruled out.
After all, there is some fan demand for a return to France, as one pre-Valhalla reveal rumor used an image of Shrek to try to say the franchise was going to Bubonic Plague France. There were also many rumors about a return to Rome during the height of the Empire, something that can no longer be as easily dismissed as “the franchise has been there before.”
Now, does this mean the presumed Assassin’s Creed 2021 will go to any of the locations discussed above? Most likely not. It’s been 5 years between Syndicate and Valhalla, after all, and with Valhalla going to France, it’s unlikely to appear in the next game. The latest rumors seem to suggest that AC 2021 is going to China, but whether that’s true or not, what fans should note is that any of the locations from franchise entries past are as fair game as a new location.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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