You can play a gay assassin again, thanks to Ubisoft!
Queer representation in gaming is getting yet another notch on its belt and it’d due to the Assassin’s Creed series again.
According to recently released gameplay footage, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla will allow players to romance non-playable characters of the same-sex. The game, which releases on November 17, is part of an ongoing series where gamers play assassins in historic nations, iconic time periods, and legendary moments. Prior to this game, players have controlled assassins in Rennaissance-era Florence, Ancient Greece, on Caribbean pirate ships, in colonial America, and more. And the newest game on the horizon has players commanding a leader of Viking raids.
In the game, players take control of Eivor, who can be played as either male or female. Eivor is a Viking raider who becomes embroiled with the game series’ grand story and battle between the Brotherhood of Assassins and the Templar Order. In the new trailer, shown below, we see Eivor interacting with a side character named Broder. And by “interacting” we mean flirting.
“You impress, Eivor,” Broder tells the main character. “Your battle wisdom, your strength of character, skilled in so many ways. Yet I wonder. Is there any skill of mine that I could impress upon you?”
“Even a fool has something to teach,” Eivor reasons. “Whether they’re aware of the lesson or not.”
“Aye, aye,” Broder responds. “But I could show you how to wield my… plough-sword.”
We kid you not, that’s actually how the conversation goes. Check out the video above to see for yourselves.
Despite the surprise of the scene’s specific dialogue, the fact that Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla includes same-sex romance options is not as shocking. Created by French company Ubisoft, the Assassin’s Creed series has become increasingly LGBTQ-inclusive as the years and installments have gone by. Now, LGBTQ representation is entirely purposeful. As head writer Youssef Maguid told IGN News Live, “there are multiple people you can romance in the game, and you can romance all of them as either gender.”
Again, Valhalla is not the first Assassin’s Creed game to include queer representation. 2018’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey included same-sex romance options for whichever sex the player chose for their character. In addition, the historic character Leonardo DiVinci was properly depicted as gay like historians believe him to be. Plus, the game series also included trans representation in 2015’s Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate. In that installment, a side character and quest giver named Ned Wynert was revealed as a trans man.
We’re excited to see how same-sex romances are handled, outside of the above scene. We won’t have to wait too long as Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla releases on November 17.
Source: IGN News Live,