Assassin’s Creed Valhalla lets you pet the cats

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will let players pet cats that hang around the settlements (via DualShockers).

It may be the Dark Ages, but there's always a little light. Yes, you can pet cats in Assassin's Creed Valhalla

#ACFacts #AssassinsCreed pic.twitter.com/eK0xCfbMq9

— Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) August 3, 2020

Look! Eivor scooped them up for a cuddle. Brilliant. Also, the cat is positively huge, which makes me think that they’re probably a Norwegian Forest cat. This breed, stocky and majestic, were brought from Norway to England, and are adapted to harsh climatic conditions. Their coats consist of a  water-repellent top layer and a woolly undercoat and they are fluffiest on their legs, chest, and head. Well-suited for traipsing through snow, I’ll say. And, Norse legends tell of the skogkatt, a “mountain-dwelling fairy cat with an ability to climb sheer rock faces that other cats could not manage.” It is theorised that this curious creature is actually an ancestor of the Norwegian Forest cat. 

Evidently, Vikings held cats in high esteem. Looking after a cat would ensure favour from the goddess Freyja, whose chariot was pulled by two magical cats. In addition, the animal was exceptionally significant in Viking spirituality. The volva (also known as the village medium) would employ a cat as a link to the other side, as cats were considered to be as fickle as life itself. 

But really, the first cats to arrive in Scandinavia would have been smuggled out of Africa. The same maternal DNA found in cats from ancient Egypt is present in those found at a Viking site in northern Germany dated to around the 8th and 11th centuries CE. So, the cats that Bayek petted in Assassin’s Creed Origins might be related to those massive furballs seen here in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. 

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will launch for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on November 17.