A new Assassin's Creed (AC) means a brand new character, and with our new protagonist hailing from 9th Century Norway, there's plenty of intrigue surrounding Eivor.
Keep reading to see what Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Narrative Director, Derby McDevitt, had to share about Eivor (via Gamespot).
Eivor's Character
Was abundantly clear is just how much effort McDevitt has put into creating Eivor's unique character:
"Well, first of all, Eivor is a very unique character. I'm proud of the way we approached this one. I won't get into too much, but they're definitely a leader.
LEAD BY EXAMPLE: Eivor is a natural-born leader
They have a sense of humour, I wouldn't call them wisecracking. But they're not stone-faced.
We thought it would be much more interesting just to just start as somebody who had a reputation, was respected already, had years of experience as a Viking raider."
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McDevitt confirms that this means Eivor will be a little older than your traditional AC protagonist.
How much control do players have over Eivor's character?
McDevitt has made it very clear that although Valhalla is an RPG, Eivor's character is very much set:
"It was also very important for us to create a coherent personality.
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We really wanted a coherent personality that people can say, 'That is definitely Eivor. That is something that Eivor would say.'
We don't want players to have multiple different types of Eivor. That was a creative decision we made and it worked out really well."
Similarities to Edward Kenway
It's worth noting that Derby McDevitt is also the man responsible for the conception of Edward Kenway in AC Black Flag.
BROTHERS IN ARMS: Eivor and Edward are both created by McDevitt
This will leave many fans wondering whether Eivor will bear characteristic similarities to Edward Kenway, a question that McDevitt answered directly:
"I don't think I'm approaching Eivor in any different way than I approached Edward.
You still need a character with a clear motivation, a clear set of relationships, a clear set of wants and needs, flouted desires, and ambitions.
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I always do a ton of research to make sure that the problems that overwhelm them are deeply rooted in history and real life."
So at least on the face of it, Eivor has been constructed in a similar way to Edward Kenway, built with motivations moulded by a past of, what you'd expect to be, violence and conflict.
Eivor & the Assassin Brotherhood
McDevitt was also asked whether the similarities between Eivor and Edward go beyond just the conception process.
It would seem that Eivor has a similar role to Edward in relation to the Assassin Brotherhood:
"In the beginning, it's an outsider looking in and Eivor is introduced to the conflict and the characters who are a part of this conflict, and they're drawn into it in a way because their goals are aligned frequently.
COMMON GROUND: Eivor and the Assassins fight towards the same means
At least on the surface, the two stories are radically different, but the idea of a third-party outsider looking in is definitely a part of it.
But Edward, of course, his immediate concept was to take advantage of this conflict to get rich whereas Eivor is very different."
So rather than being part of the Assassins Brotherhood, Eivor will instead ally with the creed as they both fight towards similar ends.
Male or Female
Eivor the protagonist and main playable character in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a “Viking who participated in the Viking raids in England”.
The name of your character is always going to be Eivor, however, you can choose their gender – presumably, this means, just like in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey you will be able to play as a female character.
However, unlike the previous game, the two characters aren’t long lost twins… but are in fact just the same character! Rather like ‘V’ in Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077.
Check out the first reveal of what female Eivor looks like here.