The trailer introduces aspects of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla that we haven’t seen so far, primarily in terms of how Eivor and the other Vikings live outside of war. It juxtaposes their identity as “heartless” and “godless” barbarians with Eivor letting innocent people escape mid-battle, while grave combat scenes are intertwined with playful sparring in a pastoral village. It’s also our first proper look at female Eivor, given that Valhalla’s marketing has predominantly focused on the male protagonist so far. You can check out the trailer below. The second half of the trailer is more in line with what players will likely expect from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla - bloodstained battlefields, powerful enemies, and the illustrious hidden blade. As you can see in the trailer, Eivor appears to be outmatched, coming up against Valhalla’s version of Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane. After he deflects her attacks and renders her defeated, he turns to his commander and asks for permission to kill her. However, despite being granted said permission, his hesitation causes him to pay the ultimate cost - unbeknownst to him, Eivor has the hidden blade.
Although you can swap between male and female Eivor at any time in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, it was recently revealed that some devs wanted the game to focus exclusively on the latter. This is not necessarily surprising given the fact that Kassandra was supposed to be the only protagonist in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, but Ubisoft said “women don’t sell.” This news comes in the wake of Ubisoft suspending executives Tommy Francois and Maxime Beland, both of whom have since resigned their positions. Ubisoft also announced that three other execs – Chief Creative Officer Serge Hascoët, Managing Director of Ubisoft’s Canadian studios Yannis Mallat, and Global Head of HR Cécile Cornet. – would be resigning their positions, too. Hascoët and Mallat are no longer at the company, while Cornet remains in a different position. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is due to launch for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia on November 17, 2020.
