Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla has over 10 million combined hits on YouTube in the past month! That’s more than any other trailer they’ve uploaded. So, it falls to me to find out everything you should know about the gameplay. Here are nine facts you need to know straight from two sources: Narrative Director Darby McDevitt, and Creative Director Ashraf Ismail.
1. More of the Same
Valhalla will be running on the same AnvilNext 2.0 engine, just like Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. This game will be the Holy Grail of current-gen and enhanced by the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. In short, don’t expect a leap like Assassin’s Creed: Revelations to Assassin’s Creed III. “We are committed to new technology”, McDevitt stated, and they “will launch with the next generation of consoles”. So, as soon as we hear a PS5 or Series X release date, we can get a clearer idea of when we’ll be playing Valhalla.
2. The Purgatory Simulator
A staple of Assassin’s Creed games that was removed in Odyssey for…reasons? These loading screens of the eternal void will be back in Valhalla, so we can shuffle along in the gaps between maps. Though, next-gen will shorten loading screens, so why is this returning? Time will tell.
3. Home, Sweet Home
Doing stuff! Ismail tweeted that we will be able to do some fun activities, like fishing or consulting with our war chief, but also we will be able to interact with objects. Namely, sitting down and lying down in our bed. The details are what matter – just look at Red Dead Redemption II.
4. Flyting
“Basically a Viking rap battle,” says Ismail. There’s not really much else to explain about that. According to Ismail, we will have “multiple choices” for the right response to “match the insult” and “has the right rhythm“. What are the odds for a Norse ‘Yo momma is so fat…’?
5. Create Your Own Raider
Assassin’s Creed: Unity was the last game to have multiplayer. However, we can “create and share [our] custom raider” for anyone else to download into their raiding party. This is a great opportunity for some original Vikings or recreations of Lagerthas or Uhtreds.
6. Hood-Up
AC Fans love the hood. When Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey depicted their protagonist with a beautifully plumed helmet, fans were somewhat miffed. But you can expect the hood back in this game, and,what’s more, toggling your hood up and down will be done “in-game“ rather than flitting into the menu.
7. Dual-Shielding
This is the only term for anyone that dual-wields shields because that is something you can do in Valhalla! It is confirmed that you can mix and match any number of weapons. Axes, swords, flails, maybe even spears?
8. What Makes the Dream Work?
Teamwork! Enemies will now work together to attack Eivor as shown in the screenshot of a soldier using his buddy’s shield as a springboard – after all, we know how invaluable the high ground is, don’t we?
9. Potato, Po-wolf.
Exclusive content to pre-ordering the game includes a “wolf mount”. Along with our favorite canine, we’ll have a variety of furry friends, like that unicorn in Odyssey that will be kept in the stable of our settlement where we can perfect Eivor’s “riding ability”.
And that’s all for now! Keep tuned for all news on Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla!