Newly captured footage from a pre-release build of Ubisoft’s upcoming Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla has given players their first glimpse at the way gay romances will unfold between male Eivor and other males.
On July 12th, video game YouTuber Shirrako, having been invited by Ubisoft themselves “to check out the game,” uploaded a series of videos showcasing their playthrough of a “WIP build” of Valhalla.
In an upload titled “ASSASSIN’S CREED VALHALLA – Gay Viking Romance & Drinking Mini-Game” Shirrako delivers a recording of a roughly five-minute scene involving Eivor and another Viking warrior known as Broder.
The scene begins with Broder challenging Eivor to a drinking match, leading the player to engage in a short mini-game, only to be put swiftly under the table by his opponent.
After his defeat, Broder asks if he could possibly teach Eivor “how to wield my … plough sword,” prompting the Viking leader to directly ask if “you want to lay with me, is that it?”
As the two men dismiss themselves from the festivities, they begin to kiss, as the screen fades to black and Broder gruffly utters a prayer of ecstasy to the Gods under his breath.
Afterwards, the player is presented with a dialogue option to either remember his lover’s name or ‘accidentally’ confuse him with someone else.
Given that players can swap Eivor’s gender at-will, it is assumed that a similar scene can unfold between Broder and the female Eivor.
As of writing, it is unknown whether this scene will be the only male-romance option in Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla.
This is not the first Assassin’s Creed title to feature male-on-male romance scenarios.
The preceding entry Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey introduced the option for players to engage in same-sex relationships with either Kassandra or Alexios, though Ubisoft later came under fire for making a heterosexual relationship the canon ending for either of the twins.