Spoiler: Today’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Trailer Won’t Feature Gameplay
After last week's hugely-popular cinematic trailer comes a gameplay teaser trailer. But it's not a gameplay demo. What? | Source: YouTube/Ubisoft North America
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is set to feature in today’s next-gen gameplay-focused Inside Xbox.
- Ubisoft has confirmed that it will showcase an ‘in-game first look teaser’ rather than the promised gameplay trailer.
- We can expect the rest of Inside Xbox’s bill to follow suit. We’re unlikely to see much actual next-gen gameplay.
Ubisoft has announced that the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla gameplay trailer set to feature during today’s Inside Xbox won’t, in fact, feature any gameplay.
Last week, when Xbox first announced the next-gen gameplay-focused Inside Xbox, Ubisoft was quick to confirm that Assassin’s Creed would be making an appearance with a ‘gameplay trailer.’
The natural assumption was that would-be fans would witness protagonist Eivor raiding Saxon lands and fighting enemies from the player’s perspective. The trailer might be heavily stylized and curated, but the wording suggested a first look at what playing Assassin’s Creed Valhalla would look like for players.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla In-Game First Look Teaser
This, unfortunately, won’t be the case. Late yesterday, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla creative director Ashraf Ismail published a short video teasing the event . The tweet was accompanied by another that clarified the trailer would be an ‘in-game first look teaser.’
Additionally, when fans started responding and expressing their excitement for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla gameplay, Ismail was quick to clarify that the footage would not be a demo.
When asked to clarify and, in particular, to confirm this wasn’t going to be a ‘5-12 minute gameplay demo’, Ismail doubled down: ‘not a gameplay demo no.’
At this point, any news about Valhalla is welcome. The initial reveal trailer has garnered considerable hype among the gaming community, and there’s certainly an appetite for more.
The question is, why did Ubisoft advertise a Assassin’s Creed Valhalla gameplay trailer? As one Twitter user notes, what’s the reasoning behind labeling it a gameplay trailer, raising hopes, only to deliver something else entirely.
What To Expect
If we put the disappointment aside for a moment, what can we expect from this ‘in-game first look teaser’ for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla? Sweeping shots of the game world, a brooding voice-over, and few vague allusions to the game’s overarching narrative – very much the same as last week’s reveal, but in-engine.
We expect something similar to this world premiere gameplay trailer for Assassin’s Creed Origins:
Instead of this, which is what many were expecting:
The news puts somewhat of a dampener on Xbox’s event. Those expecting a look at actual next-gen gameplay should probably temper expectations and, at best, expect in-game trailers instead.
