Forget the Vikings, Assassin's Creed Valhalla lets you recruit a cat to your longboat crew

Recruiting a solid crew for your longboat is going to be a big part of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, but it turns out your recruits don't always have to be big burly Vikings. Your crew can also include cats. 

Yes, you read that right, a cat can be part of your fierce Viking longboat crew. I'm not talking some strong, streetwise thing either, it's rather one of the big, white, fluffy persuasion. 

One of the side missions (known as Mysteries in Assassin's Creed Valhalla) that I got to experience during my preview session with the game, saw me having a chat with a cat called Nali. Much to the chagrin of its owner, ever since its owner died the "old sea-cat has run wild, scaring the chickens and scratching."

Well, after a little chase, it turns out that Nali takes quite the shine to Eivor, and you're given the option whether to recruit the puss to your crew. And thankfully, it isn't just a silly thing. Nali will actually appear on your longboat from then on.

"Yes, you can recruit the cat from Norwich. That's very modern," laughs game director, Eric Baptizat when I ask him about it in an interview. "We always have a lot of fun with animals, and human relationships with animals."

"Something that also brings a fresh, new perspective, are the new animals [for Valhalla]," he adds. "There are very unique animals that are unexpected, like seals and puffins. So there’s really a variety of new animals in the world."

Fingers crossed we can eventually get a Viking puffin on board when Assassin's Creed Valhalla arrives later this year on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, PC and Google Stadia. 

We've put on our finest warpaint, jumped in the longboat, and played a huge chunk of this latest adventure in our Assassin's Creed Valhalla preview.