Ubisoft has officially unveiled Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The upcoming installment in the beloved action-adventure series was teased Wednesday with an art piece by BossLogic and Ubisoft revealed a cinematic trailer Thursday, showing brutal warfare between Norse Vikings and England.
The previous game in the series, 2018’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, was set in Ancient Greece. While it was mostly rooted in the very real Peloponnesian War, it did feature several optional boss fights with creatures of Greek myth, like Medusa and the Minotaur. 2018’s God of War and Marvel’s Thor have shown there are plenty of great Norse beasts. Here are a few that deserve a spot in Valhalla.
A Kraken
The Kraken’s appearances in popular fictional works like Clash of the Titans and Pirates of the Caribbean have made it a well-known sea monster, but the original myth comes from Scandinavian folklore. The massive cephalopod is known for tearing ships in half and dragging sailors below.
Not only would a Kraken boss fight fit with the Viking setting of Valhalla, but it would also involve ship warfare. Previous entries Black Flag and Odyssey let players battle enemies on the seas, but a fight between a ship of Viking warriors and a Kraken would make an excellent set-piece. Valhalla promises an open world with plenty of places to sail, much like Odyssey. Discovering the depths in which the Kraken hides would undoubtedly be one of the game’s most talked-about moments.
Fenrir
This colossal wolf goes by many names, though he’s one of Norse mythology’s most famous creatures. He’s one of the children of Loki and the giantess Angrboda, but his origins were a bit different when he appeared in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok.
Like many Norse characters, Fenrir plays an important role in the cataclysmic event of Ragnarok. He is bound by the Gods after a prophecy foretells him eating Odin. However, the story of Valhalla wouldn’t need to include Ragnarok. Players could go searching for the giant wolf, looking to defeat him in battle. Fenrir’s ferocious fangs, razor-sharp claws and immense strength would certainly make for a challenge. Despite his size, he's also pretty quick. If not Fenrir, maybe one of his equally gigantic sons Hati or Skoll could appear.
A Troll
Trolls are widely-known fantastical creatures. They’ve appeared in fantasy for decades, from The Lord of the Rings to God of War. They’re also widely known for being dim, intimidatingly powerful and completely hateful towards humans. In Scandinavian folklore, they usually live in dark, mountainous areas or in caves.
All of those aspects are wonderful ingredients for a possible sidequest in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. Venturing off the beaten path in search of a people-despising monster is what adventure is all about. Because so many fictional works have included their own versions of trolls, that leaves a lot of creative freedom in the boss’s design. With the inherent strength of trolls, this boss fight would require the strongest weapons and armor players could find.
Huldra
There are many creatures similar to the huldra across various fictional works and myths, such as the Sirens from Homer’s The Odyssey. They are beautiful, female creatures who lure gullible men somewhere, never to be heard from again. In Norse mythos, this spirit can be found in forests. More interestingly, she has the tail of a cow and bark covers her back.
Similar to the Sphinx in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, this probably wouldn’t be a combat-heavy boss encounter. Ubisoft could tweak the huldra’s abilities to warp reality around the player or the battle could revolve around puzzle-solving. In Odyssey, the Minotaur’s existence is spread around by many NPCs before the player finds him. The huldra could work in a similar way, with word of disappearances reaching the player. Just like the creature itself, this approach could hook the player into searching for it.