You Can Take Cats With You On Raids In ‘Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’

After Assassin's Creed Valhalla was announced with an epic trailer at the end of April, which feels so long ago now, people started to discover that some historians believe that Vikings took cats with them on their longboats. So of course, when I got the chance to play Ubisoft's upcoming Viking RPG the other day, I had to find a cat to see if I could hire it to live on my ship. Or, at the very least, see if I could pet the cat.

When you think of Norse mythology, you may not immediately think of cats. But the cat has always had its place. The goddess of love, Freyja, had two cats who pulled her chariot. Elsewhere, in the saga of Thor's journey to Utgaard, Thor lifted the Midgard serpent which was in the shape of a cat. You can read more on Nordic culture here, if your interest's feeling pretty piqued.

Back to my quest to find a cat in game. I first found a very good dog strutting its stuff around the town of Northwic in East Anglia, England - and I'm extremely happy to announce that you can, indeed, pet the dog in Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

I wanted to explore as much as I could in the little time I had in the game, so ended up wandering around the settlement to see if I could discover any hidden gems, instead of continuing the main quest. Big shoutout to the Ubisoft representative who sat in a call with me as I searched for a cat - she was very patient!

I turned a corner and, to my surprise, a little lad was chasing a cat. I broke into a run and helped him catch his feline friend. In a short cutscene afterwards, your character, Eivor, hires the young Viking to your crew as well as the cat, as she mentions it would be perfect to keep rats away.

Immediately I rushed to my longboat to see the cute fluff-ball curled up at the helm, cosy and content in its new home. I'm not sure I should have got as excited as I did, but it's the little things, right?

While raiding along the coast of 9th century England, you can sail up to settlements and attack with your full clan to bring back treasures to your camp. Unfortunately, the cat stays in the boat when this happens. But that's probably for the best, as a violent surge on an unsuspecting English village is no place for such a divine creature. You stay safe, Mr Mittens. What's that? There's another town that's just asking to be pillaged? Oh boy, here I go raiding again.

Featured Image Credit: Ubisoft

Topics: Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Ubisoft, Preview