The new Assassin's Creed Valhalla looks set to be a phenomenal game in its own right.
But let's not forget that Valhalla is just one instalment of an incredibly successful gaming series.
With that in mind, where does Valhalla fit in the Assassin's Creed story?
Take a look at what AC Valhalla's Narrative Director had to say on the matter below (via Gamespot).
Assassin's Creed Valhalla's General Story
Valhalla's Narrative Director, Derby McDevitt, recently spoke with Gamespot and initially game a brief overview of the game's general story:
"Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a game set in the 9th century, at the height of The Viking Age. The player is invited to take part as a Viking raider and also a leader of a clan from Norway.
TIME TO RAID: You’ll control your own clan through various raids
The general outline of the story is that, at the time period in which we begin, the 870s AD, it's a time of strife in Norway."
Driven out of Norway
"After a short time in Norway, this clan, [...] are eventually driven out of Norway to seek life elsewhere for political reasons, for matter of survival, and for narrative-driven reasons as well."
READ MORE: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla brings back Hidden Blades
It looks like we might be leading Eivor and his clan on a path of redemption after being driven out of Norway!
Life in England
"Then the bulk of the game transports you to England, when in the historical period--if you're familiar--is the time of the Great Heathen Army running rampant."
SETTLE DOWN: You'll be tasked with making a new home in England
So we'll be transported to England in a time of chaos, war and uncertainty.
Not only that but McDevitt goes on to confirm that, amongst the fighting, we'll be tasked with building a settlement and making a new home in England.
How does Valhalla fit into the Assassin's Creed story?
As we've mentioned, AC Valhalla could easily be a game in its own right, but it belongs to a series of several successful games.
READ MORE: Which consoles is Assassin’s Creed Valhalla coming to?
McDevitt had some very interesting insights on how the new game will tie into the existing narrative of Assassin's Creed:
"As far as [Valhalla's] story goes, we do continue the story that began in Origins and continued in Odyssey.
SEQUEL: Valhalla will continue from Origins and Odyssey's stories
We take that and we build on it in a big way. We also did a lot of thinking about how to connect all the games, at least the lore of all the games, to make it feel like everything we've done over the past dozen games has little feelers and little entry points into this game."
READ MORE: How to create your own Mercenary in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Music to all Assassin's Creed fans' ears! The game will have deep-rooted connections to the series we all fell in love with.
Hours of digging
McDevitt makes it very clear that they've avoided cheap references to previous AC titles, but instead have included a vast amount of small details to cement Valhalla as an AC game.
READ MORE: Everything we know about Assassin Creed Valhalla’s Maps & Location
"Even if you're a hardcore fan of the series and you start digging below the surface, it might take a year to really get all the small details we brought to life.
LOYAL TO THE CREED: Valhalla will be packed with Assassin's Creed details
People who get all the way through [Valhalla], they 100% this game, they will have to take a few weeks to soak in the amount of detail we put into this one.
So, it's not only the continuation of the Odyssey storyline, it's a really good capper for what has come so far."
The Modern-Day Story
It's fair to say fans found it tough to connect to the modern-day AC story once Desmond was killed.
However, AC Origins and Odyssey followed the story of Layla, an Abstergo employee, giving fans a new character to connect with.
READ MORE: All the various Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Editions
McDevitt confirms that Layla will be returning in Valhalla:
"We continue Layla's story. We have a lot of interesting new approaches to the present-day story that we're excited for people to see.
MODERN-DAY: Layla's story will be continued in Valhalla
It's something I've wanted to see for many years and we finally had the idea in a way that we could pull it off, which I won't get into.
But we definitely continue Layla's story. That hasn't changed."
Sounds like there's a load of plot aspects to get excited for in AC Valhalla!
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