By now, Assassin’s Creed fans have likely seen their first look of gameplay from Valhalla, the latest entry in the long-running series. Game Rant had the opportunity to go hands-on with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla for a lengthy play session that shined a light on how the game evolves and expands on its predecessors.

First and foremost, it should be mentioned that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is very much a follow-up to Origins and Odyssey. Many of the systems and gameplay mechanics should be familiar to any who have played those prior games, and those who hoped Valhalla would radically reinvent the series might be disappointed to see how recognizable the experience is.

That being said, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla still feels like the sharpest version of that new AC formula, in terms of its combat, world design, and storytelling. It may borrow from The Witcher in a few different ways, but Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has that recognizable Ubisoft framework working behind the scenes.

The preview that Ubisoft had available showcased some of the new gameplay options in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, a look at the game’s approach to storytelling, and then a portion of the open-world map to explore. Arguably the big selling points for Valhalla are the raids and assault battles, which feel a little more hand-crafted than what was in Odyssey.

Players as either female or male Eivor guide a group of Viking warriors towards a given point and then begin the raid. They fight their way through a location before eventually defeating a leader and claiming the territory. Raids are a lot less chaotic than the large scale battles in Odyssey and they have a greater focus on a single goal.

Assaults also borrow that raid concept but feature more detail and a stronger narrative thrust. In our demo, Eivor advances on a fortress with rolling thunder in the background, and fiery arrows raining down from the sky. It’s a visual side of Assassin’s Creed that fans have yet to see up until this point and it was very impressive. The way weather and elements can set a tone is something that Valhalla exudes across the board.

Even though the raids are a new concept, the combat in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has a familiar feel. Dodging, parrying, and ability usage are still keys to survival, and players will need to balance a variety of enemies to stay alive. Valhalla does offer a few more options to help manage a group of enemies, though, like a stomp move that either kills or severely damages an enemy should they be knocked down. But that formula of attacking, dodging, parrying, and then using an ability when an Adrenaline meter is full is still present from Odyssey and Origins.

What sets Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s combat apart is its brutality. In true Viking fashion, Valhalla puts a greater emphasis on the efficient nature of Nordic combat. There is still an elegance to the movement and everything feels smooth when flowing between enemies, but the hits are harder and the finishers are extremely violent. Nevertheless, if players liked the combat in Odyssey, they should be right at home here. It may be a tad more challenging thanks to some aggressive enemy types, but a familiar formula was still on display.

After highlighting some of the new mission types, the demo then showcased one of Valhalla’s story missions that featured new gameplay mechanics but no combat. The mission had some strong character moments, a few fun mini-games, and it helped establish the world of Valhalla in just a short period of time. Much like Odyssey tried to deepen the character of Alexios/Kassandra through their interactions, Valhalla looks to be taking time away from the stomping and the smashing to highlight Eivor’s relationships and personality.

Of course, the open world of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will give fans exactly what they are looking for. Visually, England circa 873 AD has a lot of cobblestone towns and ramshackle villages, and the comparisons to The Witcher are almost inescapable. The way the sunlight pierces the fog on the moors or the moonlit glow reflecting off the hills, all establish a firm sense of place in Valhalla. Because there aren’t as many recognizable landmarks as Odyssey or Origins, Valhalla has to impress through its overall visuals, and our preview featured an open world that was jaw-dropping.

Players can explore the world at their leisure, following points of interest as they go. By using Eivor’s raven, Synin, players can pick a specific location and know generally what is available there. It's an evolution of eagle vision that works for both scouting enemy territory and figuring out what to do next. Exploration still has the sync points and the enemy outposts with loot, but the ability to more clearly see what is available is a welcome addition.

Open world exploration features more variety than in past games, but some familiar setups. There are Legendary Animals to tackle, World Bosses to defeat, and new raids to engage in, along with some environmental puzzles and other secrets not worth spoiling. Not every location is just another battle with a group of enemies, which is a balance that Assassin's Creed has struggled with.

The skill tree has been significantly revamped in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla to make everything feel a little more connected and to add stat boosts alongside new abilities. The layout is like a constellation, which branches out into three different “zones.” Each of these areas has a web of upgrade points (think smaller stars on a constellation) that will give boosts to things like melee damage, ranged damage, or stealth attacks. There are also upgrades that amplify an existing ability like poison buildup.

But the big points on the skill tree are the abilities, which are again mapped to the triggers and tie into either melee or range. Our demo was limited in the abilities available, but the standouts were a melee attack that saw Eivor throwing multiple axes, a bull rush that can smash an enemy against a wall, and an arrow buff that puts an enemy to sleep.

Stealth is largely the same as players remember from recent Assassin’s Creed games with one key change. Stealth assassinations now offer a timing mechanic that if players press an attack at the right moment, they will deal enough damage to kill a target. One of the criticisms of the stealth in Origins and Odyssey was the inability to stealth kill some beefier enemies, and this mechanic seems to be Ubisoft’s answer to that.

There is still power and damage values associated with gear/weapons, though, but how that influences combat in a larger sense wasn't clear. Enemies do have levels next to their health bar, but it seemed we were evenly matched throughout the demo. The combat was still challenging, however, so there is the possibility of increasing one's power level in order to make certain enemy encounters trivial.

We didn’t collect too much gear outside of some new weapons, but there was enough to see how the system generally works. Players’ upgrades and gear will buff their stats in melee, ranged, and stealth, and those values will determine how much damage a player puts out in those categories. The RPG aspects were still on display, so keep that in mind.

When rumors first surfaced that Assassin’s Creed was going to feature Vikings, players considered whether this would be the next leap forward for the franchise a la Origins. However, time spent playing Assassin’s Creed Valhalla shows that this is more of a refinement of the existing era of AC rather than a reinvention. Combat is fast and fluid, but the basic framework is on display. The storytelling and writing feature a greater emphasis on fun character moments heightened by gameplay. And the visuals are some of the best that Assassin’s Creed offered to date, giving off serious Witcher vibes.

Whether or not Assassin’s Creed Valhalla appeals to players will depend on their opinion of the past games and interest in the setting. It certainly feels like Assassin’s Creed with Vikings, but it’s also not a reinvention of the series. Based on our time with the game, it’s hard to imagine the game not pleasing fans.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla releases November 17, 2020 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.