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Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Viking rap battles sound like Monkey Island's insult sword fighting

Even EIVOR they smell your breath?

Assassin's Creed Valhalla has Viking rap battles - and they sound more than a bit like the insult sword fighting from The Secret of Monkey Island.

In a Twitter video, Assassin's Creed Valhalla creative director Ashraf Ismail revealed the game's flyting feature.

Here, someone may challenge the game's protagonist, Eivor, to one of these battles, and the player is presented with multiple choices of response. "You have to find the right one that matches the insult, the one that has the right rhythm," Ismail explained.

This flyting feature is based on history, Ismail insisted. The Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons would rhythmically insult each other for the cheers of the crowd around them over a few drinks in the local mead hall. Apparently Odin destroyed Thor in a Viking rap battle one time.

It sounds remarkably similar to the insult sword fighting feature in LucasArts' wonderful point-and-click adventure game The Secret of Monkey Island. Here, series star Guybrush Threepwood gets stuck into some good old sabre rattling my firing off insults. Pick the right retort for each insult, and you'll win the fight.

For more on Monkey Island's insult sword fighting, check out the video below by ex-Eurogamer producer Chris Bratt.

Back to Assassin's Creed, and Ismail teased "you gain something out of it" regards Valhalla's Viking rap battles. What, though, we don't know. Hopefully it's more than rubber or glue.

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Assassin's Creed Valhalla

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Wesley Yin-Poole

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Wesley worked at Eurogamer from 2010 to 2023. He liked news, interviews, and more news. He also liked Street Fighter more than anyone could get him to shut up about it.

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