We're all sort of chomping at the bit right now for any news whether it's related to games, film, or tv. Luckily, the reveal trailer for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Assassin's Creed: Valhalla just came out with a release date promised to hold us over for the holiday season. That's right, we're in the Viking Age now! And, while Ubisoft usually does a fantastic job realizing the culture for the most part in their games (like with AC: Origin's Discovery tour), they do stretch history a bit when it suits their story or characters. So, how accurate is Valhalla ཧlooking just from the trailer? Let's take a look.
10 Historically Accurate:♉ The Lack Of Horned Helmets
Contrary to popular belief, t🐲here's no solid evidence that shows Vikings wore the "horned helmets" that they seem to be so well-known for. This whole off-base stereotype apparently started way back in the 1800's thanks to the whim✅s of a costume designer for an opera who thought horned helmets would look rather grand. And from there it slowly became an established symbol of Vikings that got stronger and stronger with each passing year. In any case, they didn't wear them, and we're glad that the Ubisoft dev team seems to be aware of this.
9 🎀 🦹 Something That Isn't: The Lack Of Any Helmets At All
Even if Vikings didn't wear horned helms, they did still wear headgear, right? Common sense🐷 dictates to each and every one of us that we should protect ou🐻r heads at all costs. Vikings may be known for their ferocity and thirst for violence, but they took pride in their combat prowess, something a helmet adds to.
In fact, the only preserved piece of armor from the Viking Age is a helmet, so we know that at least one ax-wie🎃lding berserker wore it. Our point being, it makes no sense that this tribe of pillagers from Norway would show up to attack as they do in the trailer with nothing but a shield to protect their vital spots from arrows.
8 ൲ Historically Accurate: The Casual Attire The Villagers Wear
Contrary to popular belief, the area the Vikings primarily existed in isn't some Ice-Age hellscape that exists in below zero temperatures all year round. Yes, the Scandinavian area is a colder region, but Vikings weren't walking around their villagers buried under 15 different animal pelts at all times. No, they really just wore padded tunics of wool, leg wrappings, and other loose fabrics. And, in the trailer, we can see that all the normal townspeople are wearing these long-length tunics we just mentioned, which is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:just one of the many details Ubisoft showed off in this trailer.
7 Something That Isn't: The Armor The🔥 Warriors Wear
But, right next to those same villagers who are so historically accurate, we have the Viking Warriors who look like st𒈔ereotypical depictions of "Vikings." They're covered in straps, belts, furs, and layers of clothing that essentially make them into big bundles of fur. Does it look cool? Absolutely! Is it historically accurate? Not really. Again, the Vikings didn't exactly leave detailed scriptures on their battle wear, but from what was found, it was typically some chain mail and an iron helm. But a video game doesn't have to 100% mimic reality, and the developers have a right to design characters that would appeal to our modern-day sensibilities, so we're not horribly against it.
6 🤡 🌞 Historically Accurate: The Ties To Norse Mythology And The Raven
The Norse people had a complex and diverse mythos and believed heavily in signs. Christianity eventually became the standard religion for these farmers and blacksmiths, but it took hundr🦹eds of years.
Ravens were a sign of Odin, and the trailer does a fantastic job showing how excited our playable character becomes after seeing a "sign from the gods." This slight bit of fantastical flair is becoming commonplace for the AC games, and the devs have .
5 🅷 Something That Isn't: Those Thick Axes
Iron is heavy! It's literally a "heavy metal," so weapons made from iron were usually quite thin in terms of their thickness. Scholars have recovered plenty of Viking-era blades and axes, so we know this to be true. Yet, every time we manage to see the axes in the Valhalla trailer from the right angle, we could tell that they were way too thick, like comically thick. A handaxe that thick would weigh so much that it would lose any practic🐻ality it had as a "fast" weapon. Remember, most Vikings were farmers, blacksmiths, or just townspeople who raide꧃d and pillaged in their "free time" so they used whatever weapons they could. And, for the most part, no one had axes that thick.
4 Historically Accurate: The Viking Longships And Ov🔥erall Architecture
The Longships are probably the one part of Viking culture most forms of media get right. They're easily recognizable, unique in their appearance, and are absolutely synonymous with Vikings. So of course, we see plenty of longships in the Valhalla trailer. All of them, of course, have their stereotypical draconic figureheads and a man at the helm. They may not be grand in terms of their size b꧃ut these Scandinavian warships are absolutely one of the most recognizable parts of the Viking Age.
3 Something T𓃲hat Isn't: The Use Of Fire Arrows Or Strapping The Shield On The Arm
Alright, two little nitpicks coming rig🍸ht up. First, fire arrows weren't quite the commonly used tactic that film, games, and TV shows make them♛ out to be. Usually, fire arrows would go out as soon as they left the drawstring, would rarely light anything aflame, and served to alert the enemy early rather than surprise them.
Secondly, those shields are all wrong. Viking Sheilds were typically thick in the middle and got thinner towards the "edge" of the circle. This was intentional so that weapons would get stuck in the shields easier, disarming their opponent, which is something 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:we'd love to see reflected in the gam🌠eplay. But, in the trailer, they're way too thick and the handle is in the wrong spot. From what we know of the Viking Age, the handle that warrio♒rs would usually hold their shields🌞 by was square in the middle of the shield itself.
2 Historically Accurate: Th🥃e Tension Between Vikings And England, Especially With King꧂ Alfred
It's pretty common knowledge to anyone who has done a bit of reading about the War for Denmark between the Vikings and the English. It wasn't just a war for the region, it was also a war over religion in a sense because Catholicism was the major religion of the English and was slowly spreading its way throughout the Vikings as wel🌌l. One of the biggest religious rulers to fight against the pillagers of yore was King Alfred Of Wessex. This Ki🌟ng was well regarded by history, but the trailer seems like we might be seeing a new side to both the Vikings and Alfred.
1 Somethꦅing That Isn't:: 🧸The Giant Soldier At The End Is All Wrong
The final part of the trailer is taken up mostly by a fight between our upcoming MC Eivor and a thick warrior from the English side. Now, we're not trying to say that the English soldier doesn't look cool because he does, but his armor is all over the place. First of all, the sword is one of the biggest two-handed swords we've ever seen and not at all accurate to the timeline. Secondly, his armor and the design of his❀ weapon and helmet🅰 are more accurate to gear and swords from a bit later in history, making this warrior seem like some sort of time traveler or something, which we're sure he's not.