After teasing Assassin’s Creed Valhalla in a lengthy stream during which artist BossLogic revealed its setting and the first look at its protagonist, publisher and developer Ubisoft has officially announced the next entry in the popular series.
Here’s everything we know about Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, including details on its release date, trailer, hidden blade, gameplay, story and more.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla Release Date
Initially, Ubisoft revealed that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla would launch, like its predecessors, towards the end of the year, painting it with a generic Holiday 2020 release window.
During the Ubisoft Forward showcase, the publisher unveiled Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s release date as November 17, only to later announce that the game would actually launch one week earlier, on November 10.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla Hidden Blade
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will feature the hidden blade, the iconic weapon being worn by the protagonist on his left hand in the teaser image.
While we don’t yet know if it’ll be available from the start, chances are you’ll get to silence lots of foes using the Assassins’ trusty tool.
In the cinematic reveal, it saves the protagonist’s life and it has been confirmed to be able to pull off one-hit kills once more.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla Gameplay
Although based on the open-world formula introduced in Origins, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla shakes things up gameplay-wise through a number of different additions. The largest departure involves having to look after your settlement and clansmen.
In order to acquire resources, you’ll need to go out raiding using your longship, but the settlement is more than just a resource sink, being built as a place to which you constantly return throughout the game.
“It’s at the centre of our quests and the centre of the decisions you make. We want players to see the consequences of their actions.” Lead Producer Julien Laferrière told Eurogamer.
Players will also be able to check on their people, consult with their war chief but also take it easy by fishing, sitting down, sleeping or interacting with various objects in their settlements.
The same interview reveals that the raven will be Eivor’s in-game companion, helping them with scouting their surroundings.
According to Game Informer, raids will differ from assaults, the latter being “big setpiece moments” during which you attack large fortified positions.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla also features a revamped combat system that allows Eivor to dual-wield weapons and promises to face players with a larger number of opponents. The protagonist will also be able to wield two-handed weapons in one hand.
Social stealth is also making a comeback, letting players blend into crowds to avoid being spotted. Another neat addition is the ability to equip and unequip Eivor’s hood in-game which will influence how or if enemies detect you.
Dialogue choices also make a return, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s gameplay also giving players the ability to make political alliances and taking various combat decisions to help secure the future of their clan.
Washington Post notes that one of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s side activities, called flyting, will involve “exchanging rhyming insults between two parties”, akin to a Viking rap battle of sorts.
The same article reveals that Eivor’s crow companion is called Sýnin and will be able to distract people to offer the protagonist a window to move by undetected.
Although the cinematic reveal featured a male Eivor, players can also play as female Eivor, should they want to, having access to customization tools like the ability to customize hair, beard, tattoos, war paint and gear.
As far as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s map is concerned, it will feature four major kingdoms – Wessex, Northumbria, East Anglia, and Mercia –, three major cities – London, Winchester, and Jórvík – many towns, and more.
Like Odyssey before it, Valhalla will also feature a skill tree that will be “more ‘granular’ than just a selection of skills”, alongside three different archetypes for Eivor, as reported by Jeuxvideo.com via AccessTheAnimus.
Players can call mounts and their Drakkar ship at any time, the latter requiring them to be near rivers. Players will be able to customize their longship which can host 8 NPCs as crew members.
These crew members can be Viking mercenaries, NPCs or characters with backstories. They can help Eivor in combat in activities taking place near water.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla Story
As fans anticipated, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is set during the Viking Age and follows Eivor, “a fierce Viking raider raised on tales of battle and glory”.
Wars and dwindling resources sent Eivor and their clan away from Norway, braving the North Sea on their journey towards England’s kingdoms which are ripe for raiding. As Eivor’s Viking clan settles these new lands, they come to clash with the Saxons.
Judging by cinematic reveal trailer, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s story won’t focus solely on the Vikings’ destructive side, painting them as more than just efficient, bloodthirsty warriors.
In it, we see Eivor leaving innocent women and children escape unharmed during raids while also getting a glimpse at the Vikings as settlers dedicated to their families, religion and culture.
Norse mythology is also likely to be involved. In the trailer, Eivor sees a hooded figure that disappears as ravens fly overhead, which he interprets as a sign of Odin being with his raiding party.
The game is set in an era depicting the transition from paganism to Christianity. England harbors both a flourishing Christianity as well as followers of the Norse gods.
In Norse mythology, the world is broken into nine realms, Asgard acting as the home of the most important gods.
The Bifrost – a bridge of light – leads to this realm, which also houses Valhalla, Odin’s hall that welcomes warriors who fall honorably in battle.
The Norse do not pray to their gods for redemption. Rather, they make sacrifices in exchange for good fortune. Honor and reputation play a major role in their society.
The Season Pass also includes a story mission, available on launch, titled The Legend of Beowulf.
Jeuxvideo.com, via AccessTheAnimus, reports that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will feature big story arcs centered around expanding the settlement or the Vikings’ position in England.
They begin and end in the player’s settlement, producer Julien Laferrière reportedly comparing each of these arcs to a TV series episode.
Where can you buy Assassin's Creed Valhalla and how much will it cost?
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will arrive on PC, Xbox Series X, PS5, Xbox One, PS4 and Google Stadia. The PC version will be available exclusively through UPlay and the Epic Games Store, while console owners can get it on their console’s official store. The standard edition of the title will cost 59,99€ or your regional equivalent.
The Gold Edition, which also contains the Season Pass will set you back 99,99€, while the Ultimate Edition, which adds customization items on top of the base game and Season Pass, costs 119,99€.
A Collector’s Edition will also be available exclusively on the Ubisoft Store, including a 30cm replica of female Eivor and her Drakkar, alongside other goodies.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla System Requirements
Ubisoft hasn’t revealed Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s system requirements just yet. We’ll be on the lookout and update this section as soon as we learn more information about the minimum and recommended PC specs.
