Assassin's Creed Valhalla is the anticipated new entry in the Assassin's Creed franchise and a major launch title for the Xbox Series X this upcoming November. The game has been receiving a lot of news coverage and have released a new trailer delving into the core gameplay of Valhalla.
Ubisoft's new deep dive trailer for Assassin's Creed Valhalla focuses on several key elements of the game: the settlement of Ravensthorpe, world exploration, Viking combat, major story themes of Eivor's journey, and player choice. The video covers most of the core elements of the game, while giving brief glimpses of side activities and gameplay mechanics players can enjoy.
The video focuses on Eivor, identifying them as the war chief of the Raven clan, who have ventured into England to forge their own home on the new frontier. It shows off the settlement of Ravensthorpe, wasting no time establishing it as the centerfold of Eivor's story. It's central to the game experience, serving as the "intersecting point for many of Valhalla's interwoven storylines," and is crucial to player progression in the story. At Ravensthorpe, players will be able to meet characters for quests and buy from vendors who provide services to Eivor and the rest of the Raven clan.
Players will be able to upgrade Valhalla's Viking settlement and unlock new structures like the barracks, shipyard, tattooist, and more. This includes the Hidden Ones' bureau, where Eivor is assigned targets to assassinate from the ancient version of the Assassin order. As the settlement grows, new enemy factions will try to attack it and players must fend them off. The goal of Assassin's Creed Valhalla is for Eivor to conquer England and its four primary kingdoms: Mercia, East Anglia, Northumbria, and Wessex.
All four are the prizes of Eivor's conquest, briefly displaying the key mechanics of forging alliances, growing the settlement, seizing new territories and treasures, and opening new quests and storylines to achieve this. As players explore more of Valhalla's world, they can gain armor and weapons from the "four corners of the world," like the legendary sword Excalibur. Players can engage in many activities, from drink offs, playing the Orlog dice game, petting cats and dogs, and even visiting Asgard and other realms through the clan seer.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Viking combat is displayed as a visceral and adrenaline-filled rush, whether it's a raid by boat or land. Eivor is a physical fighter with strength, speed, and fierce close-quarter combat, and some big finishers as well as other abilities like calling a wolf to attack. Players can upgrade their abilities through a progression system, or learn special abilities from books scattered throughout the world. Enemies will come in several different types but not much was explicitly shown.
The world of Assassin's Creed Valhalla's England will have a variety of locations, characters, storylines, and activities for players to immerse themselves in. The video emphasizes the major themes of Valhalla: honor, glory, leadership, and choice that are essential to not only Eivor's journey but the players' experience as well.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla releases November 10 on PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X with the PS5 version on November 12.
