‘God Of War’ Director Cory Barlog Gives Blessing To ‘Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla’ Viking Setting
Since Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla was officially unveiled earlier this week, there have been critics who have claimed the game was – in some ways – stealing the idea of the much-beloved PlayStation 4 exclusive God of War. After seeing one reports that devs working on Valhalla weren’t worried about any similarities between the two titles, God of War creative director Cory Barlog weighed in. He posted on Twitter that no one should be worried about the similarities.
While there have been rumors for several months the next installment in the series was going to focus on Vikings, grumbles about how the game is a ripoff only started after the official reveal of Valhalla. Those complaints seem to be rooted in the fact that the game’s protagonist, Eivor wields an ax that appears similar to what God of War‘s Kratos used in the latest iteration.
The reveal also showed there will be nods to Norse mythology, including Odin. Barlog pointed out in his tweet, that doesn’t mean one game is ripping off the other. Barlog said Norse mythology has been around for a long time and added that there are plenty of stories to pull from.
In addressing the perceived similarities between the two games, Barlog might have been careful about what article he retweeted while making his comments. He chose a piece by GameSpot that included an interview with Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla narrative director Darby McDevitt.
McDevitt pointed out Barlog’s project specifically dealt with mythology. The point of God of War was to go and punch Baldur in the face. He went on to explain Valhalla is going to be about trying to show the reality of Viking life.
“I think the urge is to always immediately lead with the mythology stuff, but we really want you to feel like you’re living in the Dark Ages of England, that you’re exploring the Roman ruins left behind 400 to 500 years earlier by the Romans and the remnants of the Britannic tribes before that and even the Saxon Pagans before they all converted to Christianity.”
Ubisoft is said to be treating the idea of Norse gods as more an interpretation. The recently released trailer for the game shows Eivor believing Odin is on his side, which is more believable than a character walking alongside an all-powerful god.
However Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla handles the mythology of the time, Barlog appears to hold no grudge. His signoff in the tweet referencing the issue made it clear he’s looking forward to playing the game when it launches this holiday season for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5, PC and Google Stadia.
