Ubisoft has lifted the lid on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s big second year of additions, which will include Assassin’s Creed Odyssey crossover DLC starring fan-favourite Kassandra plus a massive 35-hour mythological expansion.
Beyond that, there’s even more on the horizon – and last week I chatted with producer José Araiza on what else to expect, plus more details on the return of Kassandra and a return for Basim. That’s all below – but first, today’s big announcements.
First up for Assassin’s Creed fans is free crossover DLC, for both Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and 2018’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Both DLC packs arrive tomorrow – 14th December.
These “Assassin’s Creed Stories” will begin in Odyssey and pick up Kassandra’s story post-game, when the now-immortal hero begins a fresh quest to travel the world and track down Isu artefacts. This leads to her appearance in Valhalla, where Eivor will encounter Kassandra in a new area on the Scottish island of Skye.
This is primarily a mythological expansion, similar to Valhalla’s existing Asgard and Jotenheim portions, but in the dwarven realm of Svartalfheim. The realm is being invaded by fiery Muspelheim warriors, bringing new enemies to fight and godlike new powers to learn. More fantastical abilities such as being able to infuse weapons with elemental powers, teleportation arrows and the ability to resurrect enemies on your side will feature. A new Divine gear tier will also be introduced, with more traditional versions of these weapons available for use outside the expansion.
Its story, meanwhile, focuses on Odin and his son Baldr, with fiery demon Surtur (he was also in Thor: Ragnarok) as its big boss. Oh, and the expansion will also feature a new Arena activity.
Phew. And that takes Valhalla’s Year 2 through until March. But what about the rest of the year, and could Kassandra crossover with more characters in the future? I chatted with post-launch producer José Araiza for more.
“Spoilers! That’s all I’ll say,” Araiza tells me when I ask after Kassandra’s future. “You really have to play the crossover story to figure out why she’s there, where she could go next. So yeah, once you play it, I think you’ll have the answer to your question for sure.”
Kassandra is a huge fan-favourite, Araiza acknowledged, and the idea of her crossing over with Eivor (and potentially others) was one which the Assassin’s Creed team first saw popping up in fan art and stories. Speaking of stories, I noticed the DLC sported a particular logo, “Assassin’s Creed Stories”, almost like a new brand of storytelling. Was this made with more in mind?
“It has a logo, right?” Araiza continued. “So maybe you’ll see more in the future. I think once you play the crossover, you’ll sort of begin to see how we see these happening and how we see that certain things could be introduced.”