Eivor can be selected as male or female at the start (with female often treated as canon via the Animus choice), and romance options are largely gender-agnostic, allowing same-sex encounters with characters like Randvi, Petra, Broder, and others for either version of Eivor. This includes explicit gay relationship scenes and bisexual protagonist framing. Ubisoft's broader corporate DEI commitments and the series' recurring diversity disclaimer screens (highlighting multicultural and later LGBTQ+ team aspects) provide context for these choices.

Some player complaints target anachronistic diversity such as female Jarls, black Vikings, and tattoos as forced modern insertions into a historical setting. However, the main story focuses on raids, alliances, and Isu lore without centering identity politics, systemic oppression, or lectures. No evidence of consultancy firms like Sweet Baby Inc., pronoun customization, or localization censorship.

Critic scores (around 80 on Metacritic) exceed user scores (6.1 mixed), with backlash limited compared to later entries and mostly tied to gameplay length rather than ideology. These elements elevate the score into the mid-range as intentional representation that extends beyond organic historical or genre conventions.