Out there somewhere, in some land of theoretical games that should be made, there’s an Assassin’s Creed RPG that perfectly marries the progression and abilities system seen in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (as well as AC Origins and AC Odyssey) with the classic stealth elements of the franchise. AC Valhalla does attempt this by bringing back insta-kill Hidden Blades, some elements of social stealth, and more, but it still falls into the same trap of being more open-world RPG than anything else. The stealth bits take a backseat, Eivor is really not an Assassin instead picking apart the Order for her own reasons, and the parkour pales in comparison to past games.
However, despite this potential identity confusion in Valhalla, there’s definitely hope for it. With Wrath of the Druids launching on April 29, many details about this DLC are already set in stone, but in this theoretical land of make-believe, there’s a lot a simple DLC could do.
Eivor is not joining the Assassins, something very obvious when Hytham extends the invitation, but that doesn’t mean she can’t learn from them. Eivor will continue the hunt against the Children of Danu in this DLC, meaning a new tree of assassination targets await. Generally, while these types of targets are somewhat related to the overarching story, there’s really nothing to them. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla players simple find some clues, go to a spot, and take them out; it’s really too simplified.
This almost Nemesis-like system for Assassin’s Creed has a ton of potential, though. Instead everything being about clues or whatnot, players should be encouraged to tail specific cultists or NPCs for information. It could still use this style but bring back the epic chases that lead to satisfying kills, it could lead players to unique map locations where they have to stealth their way through to the ultimate target, and more. This system for assassination targets could be a huge boon for future Assassin’s Creed RPGs to give players that social stealth, stealth, and assassination vibe, whether in Wrath of the Druids or elsewhere.
From the onset, it’s pretty clear that Ireland may just be more England, but that’s a terrible way of looking at Ireland. There’s little doubt it’ll be a more open setting than normal, but that’s no reason to not update the parkour mechanics and provide better opportunities in Ireland. There could be several developing port cities that all but beg for parkour perfection, with Eivor traveling to, exploring, and eliminating the cult as she makes alliances with Gaelic kings. Really, there’s no reason that a city can’t be designed for story and parkour.
While it may seem that Assassin’s Creed needs a powerful city to deliver fun parkour, it’s worth noting that earlier games had open areas in-between big cities; it’s certainly not the first game of the franchise to deal with this aspect. Just as Altair, Ezio, or even Edward Kenway dealt with the same in-between areas that didn’t really allow for much parkour, they took advantage of the the cities to essentially make them their playgrounds. Ireland can be Eivor’s playground in this sense.
Ultimately, it remains to be seen what Wrath of the Druids brings to the table, but it’s unlikely to really hone in on these features any more than the base game. Perhaps it’ll happen in future games, but at the very least, it does seem Assassin’s Creed Valhalla took the first steps in reconciling the RPG approach with the franchise’s identity. Perhaps Assassin’s Creed 2022 will feature a bonafide Assassin characters, with all the skills, abilities, parkour moves, and all that from past franchises wrapped up as a nice gift with RPG tidings.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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