Assassin's Creed Valhalla lets you "leap beyond" to Asgard and Jotunheim

By Heidi Nicholas,

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is less than a month away and Ubisoft is preparing players for launch with a new deep-dive trailer, which offers a deep-dive indeed: over seven minutes of footage, gameplay, and new details are shown in the trailer below.

So, let's break this down. We see more of the game's characters, locations, activities, and story details. There is a focus on the settlement feature, something which looks hugely promising and a good way of grounding the player in what is otherwise, if we're basing off of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, a pretty massive map. You'll bring resources back to upgrade your settlement, Ravensthorpe, and the trailer suggests that conquest and forging alliances are two ways to do this. There are a variety of buildings to upgrade your settlement with, including a blacksmith, a barracks where you can appoint a raiding crew and a Jomsviking to act as lieutenant, a tattooist, a shipyard to customise your ship, and the Hidden One's Bureau. Ubisoft also mentions a cartographer's shop for finding treasure, farms, a workshop, and more.

There are other activities to do in Ravensthorpe, including drinking, playing the dice game Orlog, and throwing feasts, but your settlement won't always be safe — the trailer suggests Eivor will draw enemy attention. Ubisoft describes Orlog, meanwhile, as "an elaborate dice game that feels more like a card battle, with attacks, defences, health points, and godly powers." Gwent was a huge and effective part of The Witcher 3, with many players choosing to abandon their Witcher duties in favour of challenging every innkeeper and tyrant across the game, so it will be interesting to see whether Orlog will offer something similar. It also seems as though Eivor will be visiting other settlements, as Ubisoft mentions "there are plenty of friendly settlements where you’re welcome to hang out," where getting involved in "Viking pastimes" will earn you cash and more charisma "that can open up more options for negotiating with other characters."

We see more of a few characters, including Randvi, who will be found at Ravensthorpe's Alliance Map, and Valka, the seer. This leads us on to another interesting part of the trailer. Ubisoft presents Valhalla as a game for wanderers, and beyond Norway and England, Valka will "unlock your senses" to help you "leap beyond" to Asgard and Jotunheim — confirmed in a tweet from Ubisoft Nordic.

In Valhalla, you'll also be dealing with legends of England, and the trailer shows Eivor wielding the legendary sword Excalibur. We see Eivor engaging in all sorts of combat, from stealth and assassination to large-scale battles and attacks on forts. Animal companions seem to be back, as Eivor has a Man's Best Friend ability which lets him send in a wolf against enemies, and you'll find other special abilities in Books of Knowledge. The trailer also revealed that while you can choose Eivor's gender at the start of the game and change it whenever you want, you can also select the option to "let the ANIMUS choose," which will switch between the male and female Eivor throughout the story.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla launches on November 10th for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.

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Xbox Series X|S

Written by Heidi Nicholas

Heidi tends to lean towards indie games, RPGs, and open-world games on Xbox, and when not playing Disney Dreamlight Valley, happily installs every new wholesome game that appears on Xbox Game Pass, before diving back into favorites like The Witcher 3. She's looking forward to Age of Mythology Retold, Everwild, Fable, and Avowed on the Xbox horizon. Heidi graduated with an MA in English Literature before joining the TrueAchievements team.