Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Leaked Footage Showcases 30 Minutes of Gameplay

Earlier today, roughly 30 minutes of fresh Assassin’s Creed Valhalla gameplay footage was leaked online by currently unidentified sources.

The leaked video likely comes from the same gameplay footage that Ubisoft planned to reveal during their upcoming digital event on July 12. While there was initially some debate regarding the accuracy and legitimacy of the footage, the fact that Ubisoft has been removing reposts of the video throughout the day wherever they may appear tends to suggest that it is the real deal.

That being the case, it’s not exactly easy to find a working link to the leaked footage. If you’re curious about what you’re missing out on, though, we can offer a general breakdown of the footage and the reveals that it contains. Just know that this breakdown likely contains spoilers for the official gameplay reveal that will seemingly be released in the very near future.

For those still with us, the footage focuses on the previously confirmed female variant of Valhalla‘s playable protagonist, Eivor. It begins with Eivor walking around a Viking camp, where she seems to be interacting with various allies. This part of the game resembles the open-world elements of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. From there, we see Eivor board a longboat and participate in some naval gameplay on her way to assault Burgh Castle.

The assault on the castle sees Eivor and her allies overwhelm the enemy forces. At the conclusion of this massive engagement, we see Eivor confront a man named Rued (who seems to be the lord of the castle). It’s then that the player (as Eivor) is given the option to either kill or spare Rued.

In terms of new content, this preview features such previously discussed innovations as more involved naval combat/navigation options, an expanded skill tree that resembled constellations, and little touches like the apparent ability to enter the Animus from an in-game menu. We also get to see quite a bit of the dual-wield gameplay that Ubisoft has said will help define Valhalla‘s combat.

Generally speaking, though, it actually doesn’t feel like Valhalla will be that different from Odyssey outside of its setting differences and other obvious exceptions. While that may not come as a huge surprise considering that Odyssey managed to successfully re-invent and refine an RPG-like take on traditional Assassin’s Creed gameplay, those expecting something completely different may end up being somewhat disappointed by what they see in this upcoming preview.

So far as that goes, though, we should point out that Eurogamer claims this footage is a work-in-progress version of the game. That “work-in-progress” status likely only applies to some of the rough edges we see in this footage rather than potential plans to introduce sweeping gameplay changes, but it will be worth keeping an eye on Valhalla‘s ongoing development changes.