Assassin's Creed Valhalla Has An Instakill Hidden Blade, Just Like The Old Games

Ubisoft has revealed that Assassin's Creed Valhalla will see the return of the instakill hidden blade. Killing any enemy--regardless of who they are--with a single hidden blade assassination was once a staple of the franchise, but that aspect of the game has been a bit restrictive in the past few entries.

According to Kotaku, Assassin's Creed Valhalla creative director Ashraf Ismail said that Eivor's hidden blade will be lethal enough to instantly kill any target in a single blow--provided you're assassinating them.

"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."

The hidden blade hasn't been a one-hit-kill wonder in Assassin's Creed for a long time. Though Assassin's Creed's leveling system predates Assassin's Creed Origins, the 2017 game was the first that required you to both level up your character and your hidden blade in order to maintain the attack power of your assassinations. If you didn't, then more powerful enemies would withstand your attack, essentially negating the usefulness of assassinating.

Upgrading the blade required you to hunt down animals for crafting materials--which wasn't a very popular activity in Origins. 2018's Assassin's Creed Odyssey continued this trend but tied the upgrade for assassinations to collectibles as opposed to crafting materials.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is scheduled to release in Holiday 2020 for Xbox One, PS4, PC, Xbox Series X, and PlayStation 5.