Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – Hidden Blade Will Insta-Kill, Social Stealth Returns

Gameplay for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is still high up on our wishlist and we’ll most likely get some at Ubisoft Forward in July. In the meantime, creative director Ashraf Ismail has some good news – the Hidden Blade will once again be capable of insta-killing enemies. Not only that but Social Stealth will also make a return.

Speaking to Kotaku, Ismail said that, “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.” To that end, you can expect protagonist Eivor to receive the Hidden Blade “quite early on.”

“We continue with the idea that Eivor is not a trained assassin. Eivor is a Viking who receives this badass weapon and has to learn very quickly. Early in the experience, Eivor will learn a technique that, with the right timing…can one-shot-kill virtually anybody.” So while you can effectively insta-kill mooks, it will take a bit of work.

Still, this is good news since it provides more incentive to use stealth. That’s where Social Stealth comes in, allowing Eivor to blend into crowds like the earlier Assassin’s Creed titles and stay hidden. Ismail stated that, “We have a cool new spin on it. But, yes, social stealth is back.”

“The idea that a Norse person or a Viking is in a place that they’re not wanted, for them to sort of go incognito and kind of hide in the crowd, if you will, made a lot of sense.” You can also expect Assassin’s Creed Valhalla to tie into previous games but those connections will exist “for the fans and for the people who want to dig.”

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is currently slated to release this holiday season for Xbox Series X, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, PC and Google Stadia. It won’t just have raiding, pillaging, assassinations and sneaking though. Players will also have a settlement that they can upgrade to unlock more facilities and create custom raiders that can be shared.