Assassin's Creed Valhalla

As part of Ubisoft Forward, select media were invited for a hands-on preview with two of Ubisoft’s most anticipated games: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs Legion.  I was invited to play both of these up-and-coming AAA games from the comfort of my home. Check out my hands-on impressions article and video gameplay with Watch Dogs Legion.

With my Xbox One controller in hand, using a remote streaming solution on my PC, it only took a few short seconds to get connected to Ubisoft servers. I then, spent the next 3 hours with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

While I would love to be able to share with you the entire 3 hour session, I’ve edited it to 20 minutes to give you a good idea of my experience in the East Anglia region. Please note, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is still under development and a work in progress.

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Assassin's Creed ValhallaAssassin’s Creed Valhalla Details

Platform(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Stadia and PC
Release Date: November 17, 2020
Developer(s): Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: Action-role playing
Modes: Single-player

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – The Ultimate Viking Fantasy

My hands-on preview took me to East Anglia in the year 873 CE. It’s an English region that has been devastated by war and taken over by bandits and rogue Vikings. The scenario I played is the second half of the story arc for this region.

My experience began with Eivor looking to secure a new King on the throne of East Anglia to bring back peace to the region and to forge new alliances for the clan. Evior is on the hunt for the enemy clan that have assassinated Oswald, who would be the future King of East Anglia. Check out the video below, which was directly captured during my 3 hour gameplay session.

Familiar and new gameplay elements

If you’ve played the last few Assassin’s Creed games, you’ll feel right at home. The game presents a skill tree that allows you to expand Evior’s abilities through skill points that are earned throughout the world by completing various tasks and defeating enemies.

As you can see from my gameplay video above, there are two types of approach you will want to consider when engaging the enemy: stealth and combat through raid. By surveying the area with your crow, you are able to safely locate, tag enemies and identify the mission objective. This makes it much easier to take our enemies one by one, without being spotted by other enemies.

The second type of approach when fighting your enemies is to sound the horn and call in your allies. Not only does this alert your enemies of your presence, it also allows you to use the sheer numbers of your allies to overwhelm the enemy.

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Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla launches November 17, 2020

After only spending 3 hours with the game, there is no doubt about it, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will be one of this year’s hottest games. I’m excited to explore the open-world, engage in world events, solve puzzles, battle bosses, fight against legendary animals and more in this alternative history of the Viking invasion of Britain.

Even with my short time with the game, I had to make some harsh choices that directly affected events later on in the game. Sometimes these choices decide who lives or dies. And, sometimes they determine who will be your enemy or ally down the road.

If you’re a fan of the Assassin’s Creed series, you’ll want to keep your eye out for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla when it launches November 17, 2020. As a side note, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla supports Microsoft’s “Smart Delivery” program, which allows you to purchase only one copy of the game that will work on both the Xbox One and Xbox Series X. And, if you purchase Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on PlayStation 4 you’ll be able to upgrade to the PS5 version at no cost.

Pre-order Assassin’s Creed Valhalla for PlayStation 4
Pre-order Assassin’s Creed Valhalla for Xbox One

Play at Best Buy

Make sure to bookmark and visit the Best Buy Blog as well as our Play at Best Buy gaming hub frequently all summer long. Here we will have special offers, including pre-order links to new games, contests, and the latest news. And, don’t forget to check out my Twitter feed as well as Best Buy Canada’s.

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Jon Scarr
Jon is the Gaming Editor and is based in Toronto. He is a proud Canadian who has a serious passion for gaming. He is a veteran of the video game and tech industry with over 20 years experience. You can often find Jon streaming the latest games on his YouTube channel. Jon loves to talk about gaming and tech, come say hi and join the conversation with Jon on Threads @4ScarrsGaming and @4Scarrsgaming on Instagram.