Assassin's Creed Valhalla Crossover Stories preview: Heroes collide

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has seen Eivor go against a variety of foes from several walks of life. With the game heading into Year 2, developer Ubisoft is looking to provide even more content for fans to dig into. This includes Crossover Stories, which will pit Eivor against an adversary like nothing she’s ever seen before - Kassandra. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s protagonist returns with a new story expansion, and I got to take an early look at it thanks to Ubisoft.

A new Odyssey

Without getting into spoilers, Crossover Stories brings Eivor and Kassandra together in a way that canonically makes sense in the timelines of both games. The new missions “Those Who are Treasured” and “A Fated Encounter” have been added to Odyssey and Valhalla respectively. After Eivor receives word of an ongoing struggle surrounding the people of the Isle of Skye, they go to investigate. Here, they learn that they’ve been suffering from awful nightmares. Not too long after, Eivor comes face-to-face with Kassandra.

This DLC not only marks the first cross-game project within the Assassin’s Creed franchise, it also marks a major studio crossover, as it was a collaborative effort between Ubisoft Quebec and Ubisoft Montreal.

When we meet Kassandra in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, she’s on the search for a valuable Isu artifact. Not only is it really neat to see one of the more beloved Assassin’s Creed protagonists back in action, it also answers the question of what exactly Kassandra got herself into after the ending of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, which had some big implications for the character’s future.

Clashing blades

Something fans will appreciate is that Kassandra isn’t exactly the same as we last saw her in Odyssey. The character is much older, and is a bit more wise as a result. However, the developers still had a priority of making sure the character maintained the charm that made her so beloved in the first place. The character’s growth and unique personality informs a lot of her interactions with Eivor.

The Isle of Skye is a new location in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla featured in Crossover Stories. This is where the majority of the DLC story takes place, but there’s also more to do than just that. The Isle of Skye includes several world events, just like the ones players stumble across in the main game. This includes a few new side stories, which the developer detailed during my preview.

• Haunting of Neist Point: Eivor must investigate a spooky tower that voices are coming from.
  The Drink of the Picts: Eivor helps a man who is trying to invent a new alcoholic beverage that will be stronger than mead.
• Villager Diary: Eivor discovers the diary of a villager’s final days being terrorized by seals.
• Lastly, players will be able to enjoy some new in-game rewards for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla that are inspired by Odyssey. This includes the AC Odyssey tribute tattoo set, the Medusa Sail, the Hero’s Sword, and the Spear of Leonidas.

Centuries in the making

Crossover Stories is an ambitious event between two Ubisoft studios and marries the latest entries in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. There’s a decent crop of content coming for players, and it will hopefully be enough to hold them over until Dawn of Ragnarok launches in March 2022. Crossover Stories is live now in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey as a free DLC for owners of the base game.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_