Assassin's Creed Valhalla Brings Back Two Features From Older Games

Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with the Wrath of the Druids expansion pack, brought two features back from older games in the series. One of the biggest criticism lodged at the three modern Assassin's Creed games -- Assassin's Creed Origins, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and Assassin's Creed Valhalla -- is that they aren't Assassin's Creed games, which is to say semi-open world stealth games. They are vast open-world action-RPGs. For some, this is a good thing. For others, especially many of the series' most hardcore fans, it's a problem. That said, wherever you come down on this debate, you should be able to appreciate the aforementioned two additions.

The first of these two features are the pigeon coops. They are back, and can be found scattered across the game's Ireland map. And they, more or less, work just like they did in the older games. By itself, this wouldn't pluck the nostalgic strings of our heart, but it's not the only homage.

When you take one of these missions -- Royal Demands -- from the pigeons, you're presented with not just a main objective, but optional objectives that provide bonuses when completed. This is something the recent games have gotten away from, and if they sound familiar, it's because they used to be referred to as sync bonuses.

Unfortunately, this is where the callbacks come to an end, but this could change with upcoming DLC releases. While it's unlikely the next installment will abandon the formula of the last three games, mostly because each has been a commercial success, we could see more of this going forward. Ubisoft has clearly heard the criticism from some players about how the series has strayed too far away from the formula that made the games possible.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is available via the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Google Stadia. For more coverage on the 2020 game, Assassin's Creed, and all things gaming, click here. As always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. Did you notice these callbacks while playing the new expansion?

H/T, Kotaku.