During the Ubisoft Forward event on July 12, the company revealed showed off gameplay features of its upcoming game, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. These details included the ability to dual-wield any two weapons, bring a cat onto the player's longboat, and even participate in poetic, 9th Century Viking rap battles. However, one detail was not revealed during the event, but instead divulged through one lucky gamer, who got to sample the game months before its release.
Ethan Gach had the chance to stream the new Viking-centered game directly from Ubisoft's computers, as this is how many game previews are being offered amid coronavirus. During his gameplay, he discovered something that separated Assassin's Creed: Valhalla from its predecessors.
Although fans were recently told by voice actor Magnus Bruun that Valhalla would bring Eivor into the Assassin's guild in a new way, Gach's discovery does not pertain to the story. Rather, it is a pretty interesting gameplay mechanic, that will hopefully stick around for the game's official release.
In his preview of the game, Gach revealed that the Eivor can switch gender at will, at least in the preview build. "You can swap back and forth between the male and female versions of Eivor, seemingly at will," Gach wrote, "I played most of the demo as the female Eivor. Toward the end of my session I noticed an option to press up on the D-pad while toggling between menus. Doing so let me interface with the Animus and start playing as the male Eivor moments later, complete with new animations and a different voice. The whole thing was seamless, at least in the demo."
This news is unlike the possibilities within any previous Assassin's Creed game. Even though the game allows players to seamlessly transition from one gender to another, Valhalla's cover art only represents the male Eivor. This is a unique choice for Ubisoft, although players will be able to customize their in-game character's tattoos, hair length, and face paint.
During the Forward event, Ubisoft promised to clearly represent the brutality of Vikings in battle, but also acknowledge their background. Vikings were often looking for new settlements on which to live and farm, instead of just ransacking villages without reason; Ubisoft emphasizes these warriors in as accurate a manner as possible. In line with this Viking quest for new farmland, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla's gameplay places a huge emphasis on exploration.
Due to the fact that previous Assassin's Creed environments and political downfalls were more historically accurate than players may have realized, it seems that the company wishes to continue this trend with Valhalla. Because Viking warriors respected both males and females in their war parties, it is understandable why Ubisoft offers a gender selection of the main character to players. Although Gach's reveal of the seamless gender swap may impact any connections that players may form with the character, they will still be able to make a variety of decisions that will impact the game's story and world, regardless of gender.
The Ubisoft Forward event, which debuted today, July 12, 2020, revealed many new facts about Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. For any players who were unsure about the game's potential, the recently revealed gameplay and the team's attention to detail, customization, and worldbuilding will undoubtedly bring those players into the fold.
During their event, Ubisoft officially revealed when Valhalla would release, as well as the fact that the game would be available for both current and next-generation consoles.
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla releases on November 17, 2020, for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: Kotaku