Assassin's Creed Valhalla looks to be another big step forward for the franchise, taking the setting to 9th-century Britain, during the midst of Viking invasions. Players take control of Eivor, the young leader of a Viking clan.
One of the biggest new features of Valhalla is the Viking settlement players build and upgrade, where most of the major story arcs and quests begin and end. The time period and reveal trailer seem to suggest King Alfred the Great as the game's major villain, but there's so much more that Valhalla could do.
One of the most brilliant features the series has seen is the Cultist system in Odyssey, and Valhalla should bring it back revamped and better than ever.
The Cultist System Made Assassin's Creed's Villains Feel Powerful
Assassin's Creed has had plenty of interesting villains in the past, but none feel more fleshed out or threatening than the Cultists of Origins and Odyssey. Assassin's Creed Odyssey built an entire network of villains for the player to face, some of which could easily be seen as everyday civilians in the game's world. The system created a truly massive organization for the player to take down, and one that they have to chip away throughout the entire game. The Cultists give a sense that these are truly terrifying villains that control nearly every aspect of Ancient Greece's world; they have a hand in politics, in there military, in food production, everything.
On top of that, each Cultist has their own description, and players have to work to uncover information about their identities before they can try and take down Cultists. This does some incredible things for world-building and making the conflict feel far more dramatic than the singular villains of past Assassin's Creed games. Considering the setting and time period of Assasin's Creed Valhalla, a similar system to the Cultists could work wonders for the game.
How the Cultist System Could Work in Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Assassin's Creed Valhalla's setting has the player and their band of Vikings going up against the Saxon forces, in a desperate struggle to settle the lands of Britain. The Cultist system could easily play into the power struggle, as the enemy organization, likely the Templars, has an iron grip over the lands of Britain. Eivor and his Vikings would have to systematically take down enemy forces in order to get a foothold in the area. This could play into the resource acquisition as well, as taking down enemy commanders (Cultists) and gathering info could reveal new caches of resources for the Vikings to use.
Using a system similar to the Cultists would help broaden the scope of the conflict between the Vikings and the Saxons, and could help enrich the game's world. Cultists were one of the best systems Assassin's Creed has ever seen, and it'd be a true shame to not implement or iterate on it in some way.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla released Holiday 2020 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
