The last few years have seen Assassin’s Creed de-emphasize stealth more and more with each successive entry, but it seems the pendulum is going to swing back with the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Ubisoft have already confirmed that insta-kills with the Hidden Blade and social stealth will both be making a return in the upcoming RPG, and a new article on US Gamer reveals even more new details about additional stealth options players will have at their disposal.
For starters, players will have an ability that will let them feign death. How this will work and what role it will play in the progression mechanics remains to be seen, but Ubisoft have confirmed that that’s an ability that will be in the game. On top of that, you can also use your raven, Sýnin, as a tool for distraction during stealth – which is not exactly new – but most interestingly, Eivor’s hood and cloak can also be used for stealth purposes.
Games such as Assassin’s Creed Origins have toyed with the idea of manually letting players put their hood up, but that didn’t have much of an impact on stealth. That’s something that Valhalla will seemingly be changing, with equipping the hood and the cloak having actual repercussions on stealth sections.
Scant new details on combat have also been revealed. We already know that players will be able to dual-wield practically every weapon available in the game – including shields – but it seems Ubisoft Montreal are really emphasizing the brutality of combat, in keeping with the Vikings conceit. Dismembers and decapacitations are, as such, in.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is due out for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC, and Stadia later this year. Ubisoft recently announced their E3-style Ubisoft Forward showcase for July, where we’ll finally be seeing a proper gameplay reveal of the game.
