Assassin’s Creed Valhallais filled with the history of the Nordic Viking people, incorporating real customs and traditions the Vikings held to long ago. Additionally,Assassin’s Creed Valhallafeatures Norse mythologythroughout the game, including major players in Norse mythology.
However, one bit of real-life history was actually included within the game completely by coincidence.Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Narrative Director Darby McDevitt revealed in a Reddit post that the team learned a few months ago thatValhalla’s Ravensthorpe settlement shares a very similar location with a real village in the UK called Ravensthorpe.
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For those who haven’t playedAssassin’s Creed Valhallayet, there is a major feature throughout the game involving a small town called Ravensthorpe. Thissettlement feature inAssassin’s Creed Valhallacomes up organically during the course of the main narrative, and players eventually establish a settlement called Ravensthorpe. In McDevitt’s Reddit post, he explains, “We chose the name Ravensthorpe because Eivor’s clan was the Raven clan, and Thorpe means ‘farmland’…” The town is meant to represent Eivor’s in-game clan, but it coincidentally shares an interesting bit of real-life history with a real-life town also called Ravensthorpe.
There is a real village in Northamptonshire called Ravensthorpe that the development team behindValhallahad no idea existed until several months ago. What’s more, is that the real Ravensthorpe village is located pretty much in the center of England, similar to howValhalla’s Ravensthorpe is located in the center of Mercia. Despite the development team making the deliberate decision to putAssassin’s Creed Valhalla’s settlementin the middle of the map “so it was centrally located” in relation to the rest of the game’s world,Valhalla’s Ravensthorpe is completely fictional. Incidentally, the real Ravensthorpe in Northamptonshire didn’t start as a Viking settlement likeValhalla’s.
There’s another key difference that sets the real Ravensthorpe apart fromValhalla’s, as explained by McDevitt. He says, “Granted there is no river running by the real Ravensthorpe, but a lot can happen in 1000 years. Rivers change courses.” Still, aside from the fact that the real Ravensthorpe lacks a river nearby, the sheer coincidence surrounding this entire situation is pretty incredible. It would be very interesting to know if any players in the real Ravensthorpe had a similar revelation afterplayingAssassin’s Creed Valhalla.
Now, this revelation serves as just another bit of history tucked withinAssassin’s Creed Valhalla. Though players aresettling down withAssassin’s Creed Valhalla, they are still discovering things about the game’s large open world.Valhallahas plenty of quests and collectables hidden throughout that are sure to keep fans busy for quite some time. Plus, players may end up learning some coincidental or deliberate history over the course of their journeys.
Assassin’s Creed Valhallais available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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