Fans of the manga/anime series Vinland Saga and its violent Viking action are almost certainly part of the target audience for the upcoming video game Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Somewhat unusually for a video game produced outside of Japan, Assassin's Creed Valhalla has received a manga crossover with Vinland Saga. The six-page crossover one-shot is available now in Japanese and is said to be translated into nine languages including English in the near future. Ubisoft Japan has also released a motion comic-style clip of the one-shot on Twitter.
If you're a hardcore fan of Assassin's Creed or Vinland Saga who can't wait for an official English translation and needs to experience this now, it's fortunately pretty easy to get the gist of even without any knowledge of Japanese. The dialogue is minimal and mostly explaining what's happening. When three ships are burned up, Thorfinn runs through the forest to escape to safety, only to get attacked by a not-so-mysterious figure whose identity is kind of obvious in light of the fact this is a crossover.
If you're not instantly compelled to read this crossover just from its description, it's by no means a must-read. It's not so much a real manga chapter as it is a glorified extended advertisement for the game. Nonetheless, the way Makoto Yukimura's art portrays both intense fast-paced action and detailed realistic backgrounds is just as striking as ever, and it's undeniably cool seeing Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Eivor portrayed in Yukimura's style.
Those who read this and wish there was something more substantial might not be entirely out of luck. This is not the first time the Assassin's Creed video game franchise has gone to the manga well. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag received a two-volume manga adaptation in the form of Assassin's Creed: Awakening, and Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun is an original manga set in the games' universe. Perhaps if enough fans' interest is piqued by the crossover one-shot with Vinland Saga, Assassin's Creed Valhalla could end up receiving a proper full-blown manga adaptation.
Developed by Ubisoft Montreal, Assassin's Creed Valhalla will be released on Nov. 10 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Google Stadia. The PlayStation 5 version will be released on Nov. 12.