Assassin's Creed Valhalla Devs Break Down Everything That Happened in the Debut Trailer

Assassin's Creed Valhalla's first trailer was an explosive one with a lot to take in about Viking culture, hidden gameplay hints, and other things to expect from the next Assassin's Creed game. Even watching it a second or third time might not answer all the questions you have, but fortunately, the developers have gone ahead and broken down everything that happened in the first trailer. There's a much longer version of the reveal trailer now out there complete with developer commentary, so if you've got any lingering questions after reading up on the biggest things to know about the game, that's the place to get your answers.

From the main character, Eivor, to rituals and the game's antagonist, hot topics from the original trailer were covered in the developer breakdown below. Creative director Ashraf Ismail and narrative director Darby McDevitt stretched the trailer which originally lasted just over four minutes to over 19 minutes of commentary.

Some of the bits from the original trailer were easier to pick up on after seeing the action unfold. Of course there will be large-scale battles where Vikings face off against their English foes – we now know those will be raids where players fight for resources – and the hidden blade's prominence means that players will once again have that weapon at their disposal. But what about other more subtle parts like references to Viking culture and appearances of the game's ominous baddies? A written breakdown that accompanied the trailer helped answer some of those questions, particularly when it comes to what players can expect in terms of gameplay.

"We know that combat at the time was rough and rustic. It was really harsh; our research taught us that Vikings were very versatile fighters," said Thierry Noël, historian and inspirational content advisor on the game's Editorial Research Unit when asked about what players can expect from the combat. "They knew how to use a wide variety of weapons; and managed to dual-wield any kind of weapons they could get their hands on. They even weaponized their shields, which is why you can dual-wield them in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. There was so much variety in Viking combat, and that's what we wanted to make available to the player as well. Research also taught us that Vikings had many different battle tactics, and that's where the raids come from. We wanted to make sure to reflect those raids and let players control them."

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is scheduled to launch during Holiday 2020 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Google Stadia, and next-gen consoles.