Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is bringing back one of the series’ best features

Ubisoft has confirmed it will be bringing back one of the series most beloved features with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, ensuring it’s a worthwhile tribute to hardcore fans.

The Hidden Blade has been sadly absent from previous entries, or was present but required several stabs to achieve a lethal takedown. It rid your actions of a satisfaction they used to have in the past. Now, it’s set to make a welcome comeback. 

Speaking to Kotaku, Ubisoft’s Ashraf Ismail confirmed that the hidden blade will be far more prominent in Valhalla, capable of murdering fools with a single strike. 

“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,” Ismail said. “There was an identity and a uniqueness that we wanted to bring back for Valhalla.”

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The hidden blade was so satisfying in the series’ earlier outings because it truly made you feel like an Assassin. You were an ominous figure capable of infiltrating a location, blending in with the crowd and dispatching your target without so much as a whisper. This was all thanks to this iconic weapon. 

Valhalla hopes to make a return to such experiences, and will also adopt a smaller yet still grand scale compared to Origins and Odyssey. Both games sometimes felt too big for their own good, lacking a sense of focus to really help them shine. 

“Eivor receives the hidden blade quite early on,” Ismail told Kotaku, referring to Valhalla’s main character. “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.”

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will launch in Winter 2020 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Stadia and PC.