Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is set to release later this year via the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. On the surface level, it looks and sounds quite similar to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Assassin’s Creed Origins, the most recent installments in the series that have evolved the series from a stealth-action experience more into open-world role-playing game series. However, Ubisoft has confirmed this evolution will be reined in a bit with Valhalla.
This is most represented by the fact that the game won’t be bigger or longer than Odyssey, which suffered from being bloated. This is also represented by the game bringing back fan-favorite features. For example, not only is the Hidden Blade back, but it will once again kill targets in one hit. In other words, it will be a proper assassination tool, unlike in recent entries.
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According to Ubisoft, this is just one example of how the game is aiming to bridge both fans who love the earlier entries and the fans who love more of the recent entries. In addition to this, Ubisoft also has confirmed that the social stealth system is returning, another feature that has been forgotten over the years.
“Early in the experience, Eivor will learn a [hidden blade] technique that, with the right timing, can one-shot-kill virtually anybody,” said creative director Ashraf Ismail while speaking with Kotaku. Similarly, the MIA social stealth system – where you can hide in crowds to mask your presence – is coming back with a cool new spin.”
Ismail continued:
“We wanted to look at the old games and see the greatness that those games had and acknowledge what’s great about the updated formula. There was an identity and a uniqueness that we wanted to bring back for Valhalla.”
Personally, I’m glad to hear the one-hit-kill Hidden Blade feature is back. That’s Assassin’s Creed to me. So is the social stealth system. However, the latter doesn’t really thematically fit with the game’s Viking theme. And this is a big problem with the Viking setting. It’s cool, but it doesn’t really fit the Assassin’s Creed style.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is in development for PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. It’s currently scheduled to release sometime this holiday season.
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