While Assassin’s Creed Valhalla takes inspiration from real historical events and figures, a new video shows it isn’t without its fair share of enemies inspired by myth and legend.
Streamed during the Gamesradar Future Games Show digital event held during Gamescom on Aug. 28, the video sees the game’s narrative director Darby McDevitt detail some of the more fantastical figures and creatures players can happen across during Valhalla’s side quests.
The first shown is the Black Shuck, a fiendish black dog out of English myth which is eager to rip humans limb from limb.
“There are a lot of stories and tales about black dogs that roam the night, and the Black Chuck is paerticular to East Anglia, but there are a lot of black dog phenomena found around England,” McDevitt says.
The developers incorporated these many myths to construct a terror worthy of the fear its name inspires, and players will be put to the test when trying to take it down.
Bloodthirsty creatures aren’t the only mythical enemies players can tangle with though. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will also include several human legends for players to interact with and clash steel against, from the daughters of the King Lyrian — a reference to Shakespeare and protectors of a king betrayed by his country — to the men who once followed the fallen king Ragnar Lothbrok, and now battle aimlessly without their king to lead them.
Both will offer compelling interactions and backstories to go along with the battles you wage against them, melding their unreal elements with the more grounded portions of the game’s world.
It’s an interesting look into the game’s mythos and world to say the least, and fans of the series will want to check out the full video below.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is slated for release on Nov. 17 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One and PC. For more on the game, check out another recent trailer focused on the female version of the game’s protagonist, Eivor.
