Ubisoft’s authors created Ravensthorpe, a fictional settlement of Vikings that players can build and customize in Assassin’s Creed Vahalla. It’s not all fictional. Ravensthorpe, the Viking settlement that players build and customise in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, is actually an actual place in England. The developers didn’t know this until months before the game launched.
AC Valhalla’s fictional settlement of Ravensthorpe lies in the middle of England’s central kingdom, Mercia. “We chose Ravensthorpe as Eivor’s clan was called the Raven clan and Thorpe is a ‘farmland ‘…’ so we placed the settlement in central Mercia,” Darby McDevitt (Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Narrative Director), said in a Reddit thread about the discovery.
Ravensthorpe is actually a Northamptonshire village. Although it may not have been founded as a Viking settlement in England, its location just south of Coventry puts it right in the middle England. McDevitt stated, “Until a few months ago, we had no idea there was a Ravensthorpe at exactly this exact location in real-life.” Although there isn’t a river that runs by the Ravensthorpe in reality, a lot can occur over 1000 years. Rivers can change their course.
It’s an absurd coincidence, and one that certainly has amused the Reddit users who brought the topic up. Northamptonshire. However, this village isn’t the only place called Ravensthorpe in England; type the name into Wikipedia and you’ll easily find that Ravensthorpe is also a district in West Yorkshire, an area in Peterborough, and a historic manor in North Yorkshire. None of these appear to be Viking/Assassin settlements established by Eivor, though.
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Ubisoft’s latest game is Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. This review covers the launch game for Xbox Series X and PS5. You can check out our selection of essential abilities and the times you can find them if you are already playing. [poilib element=”accentDivider”]
Matt Purslow, IGN’s UK News & Entertainment Writer is
