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Ubisoft is bringing new meaning to the phrase 'power fantasy' with its latest Assassin's Creed Valhalla expansion, Dawn of Ragnarok. Not only do you play as the god Odin, and wield a new polearm weapon class called Atgeir, but you get to run around stealing the best powers from your enemies. Life is just so much easier when you have an army of reanimated corpses at your disposal.
Odin is on a sad dad mission to find his son Baldr in Svartalfheim, the realm of the dwarves. The sneak peek we saw showed an impressive landscape of brutalist architecture, cave systems of glowing crystals, mountains and hills, and lakes of lava. After the fire giants of Muspelheim invaded, Sutr's son Glod took control of the region and the population of dwarves retreated to hidden dwarf shelters, which you'll need to seek out on your quest. "Every shelter that players will find is unique," explains Georgi Popov, game director. "The shelters also play a key role in class progression. They will house various shops and vendors which will help the players along their dangerous journey in Svartalfheim."
Power trip
Luckily, you don't just have to rely on dwarven shopkeepers in Svartalfheim. Odin gets hold of a relic that allows him to steal powers – there are five you can filch – from the enemy. You can shapeshift into a raven to fly across those lava lakes, reanimate enemies, disguise yourself as one of the Muspel, become immune to fire and lava, teleport short distances, and even use the power of winter to freeze opponents and then shatter them into ice cubes. As always with great powers, there is a catch. You can't have access to all the powers at once so you'll need to steal and swap them strategically, and they drain a resource called Hugr, so you can't spend the whole game as a raven. Sadly.
"I realize that a lot of our players want to approach the game differently," says Popov. "Some like to fight, but others prefer to stealth. And right off the bat, I wanted to make sure that our players will not be disappointed and those powers are going to help them express themselves in a way that they like."
From the mission we saw, running off to find a miner dwarf who had gone missing, the new powers definitely freshen up the Assassin's Creed Valhalla formula. You can upgrade your raven power so your bird body becomes a feathery death drone, and once Odin had spied an enemy with the power of rebirth, he could take him out quickly before pilfering his powers. Then it was time to battle the Muspel, who are definitely working their fire fashion with a war cry that ignites the embers in the chests of their brethren, and a class of warrior called a Flamekeeper who can summon explosive furies to cause massive damage.
"In terms of the enemies, they will be different than the ones that you know from Valhalla. Each of the new opponents will have new abilities that you haven't seen before," adds Popov.
"Most of those are triggered through what we call their 'strength in numbers' trait. When they get together, their war cries unlock more of their abilities, which are mostly focused on their fiery nature. They will set you on fire, they will erect protective shields around themselves to prevent you from going into melee, and they can crack the ground open in front of them. Players will have to find new ways to overcome those new enemies."
Luckily, the power of rebirth meant that every Muspel Odin slain rose up again to fight for him, which definitely evened the odds. But, unfortunately, those new friends were forced to die a second death when Odin swapped powers again, grabbing one that made lava about as dangerous as a fluffy carpet, which let him navigate through a particularly overheated area.
Ride of the Valkyries
Dawn of Ragnarok also adds a brand new mode to help you work out your anger issues. The Valkyrie Arena is focused on combat, giving you a chance to challenge your combat skills without having to worry about stealth or story. "I believe that Valhalla's combat system is super broad and has a lot of interesting opportunities," says Popov.
"Oftentimes, when players find their niche in the way that they like to play, they kind of stick to it. And I really wanted to urge players to explore a bit outside of this comfort zone that they have built for themselves. And the Valkyrie Arena came out of that."
"I think ultimately, the result became super fun. I found myself several times playing in the office, figuring out that, okay, I have been doing a review for like, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, supposedly, but it's actually been two hours and a half, and I got a bit carried away."
So whether you're into Assassin's Creed Valhalla for the Viking violence, the Norse mythology, or the continuing saga, Dawn of Ragnarok has packed plenty for you to enjoy into its 35 hours of gameplay. The expansion will be released on March 10.
Make sure you're up to speed in time for the new story with our Assassin's Creed Valhalla tips.
