If you’re a gamer and enjoy the Assassin’s Creed franchise then you’ve likely been waiting for Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla to be released in order to play it from start to finish as some people are likely doing right now. Having received my own copy I haven’t gotten too far yet, but progress has been good enough to see that the game is undeniably brutal and has little of the elegance or even the same fighting style as has been seen in several of the other Assassin’s Creed games. Even this short film, The Hunt, is proof that bringing the Assassin’s Creed name to this part of the world and this culture is going to look entirely different, which is a huge positive since it doesn’t force the culture to conform to another, and despite what historians might want to say, the look of this film and the game are both insanely impressive. With that in mind, whatever inaccuracies are found in the clip below and in the game are kind of hard to be sore about since the fantastical idea of Vikings behind assassins in any way is something that many people would admit is actually pretty interesting since history has often known them as hulking brutes and ferocious shield maidens that fought with plenty of strategies but were still brutal beyond belief. The game reflects this so far, and so does this clip, and that’s definitely good enough for a lot of people.
The life and actions of an assassin are a bit difficult to show within the Viking culture since assassinations did occur within the time period, but they were often considered quite cowardly and not worthy of the warrior culture. In this instance, though one can honestly state that the Viking assassins are a bit removed from the likes of Altair and Ezio Auditore in that they may very well use stealth and subterfuge to achieve their goals, but when it comes to combat they’re still seen as brawlers that are far more advanced in their fighting skills than many others around them. There are a couple of moves and ideas in the film that look a bit out of bounds, such as the double ax throw that would require more precision than a lot of people could muster, but overall this short film is fun to watch since it showcases the skill and the brutality of the game in a very useful manner. Just watching is likely enough to get people interested in playing the game since the style of play and the quests are intriguing enough to immerse oneself within minutes.
When discussing the reality of Viking culture and that which is seen in pop culture it’s kind of amusing to see how many historians and experts come out of the woodwork to remind people of what really happened and why this or that is inaccurate when the truth is that a lot of people are intelligent enough to look up the truth for themselves. It’s true that the sensibilities of some folks that have studied such things for a good part of their lives, or belong to cultures that are descended from the Vikings, might find it insensitive to fantasize anything that has to do with actual history, but the response from those that have watched said offerings has been overwhelmingly positive since if anyone is paying attention, storytelling is a part of the Norse culture and as a result, the story has evolved in a big way over the years in order to make the stories bolder, more impressive, and capable of catching the eyes of those that might wish to continue and even improve upon the stories. Would the Vikings of old approve? Maybe, maybe not, but the point is that the story is being continued in a manner that makes it more appealing and thus interests more and more people in learning the actual history of the Viking culture and how things were back in those furious days.
The time period in which the Vikings were prominent and quite dominant was a rough and vicious time in history that saw a great deal of struggle and strife, but also saw quite a bit of growth and development across many cultures, and while the Vikings were seen as raiders and violent berserker by many that they fell upon, they were also traders, farmers, and created their own civilization. There’s no doubt that they were violent and shared this part of their culture with those that they attacked, but if there’s one thing that can be gleaned from history, they created one of the most interesting civilizations that were ever recorded in the history books. They were brutal, that much is certain, but they were also very interesting people, as the game and this clip tend to show. Plus, they weren’t the type of people that one would anger with impunity.
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