Assassin’s Creed is one of the premier video game franchises out there, but sadly for fans Ubisoft did not release a new Assassin’s Creed game in 2019.
This means that a new game in the series is almost certainly coming our way in 2020, an indeed Ubisoft teased another entry in the series in its military shooter The Division 2 last year.
And now there’s further confirmation that another Assassin’s Creed game will likely be hitting shelves this year, as product listings for Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok have appeared in online retail stores Amazon and GameStop, as was recently reported on GameRant.
Actually, Amazon Germany presumably listed the game’s Valhalla Edition for a while – the product listing was later taken down, but not before website Metro could grab a screenshot of it (see below).
Aside from this, there will be two other editions – Standard and Gold – of Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok if this listing is to be believed. A Gold edition will likely include any expansions Ubisoft is planning for the game aside from the main game, plus other stuff, as was the case for 2018’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s Gold Edition. This included the game’s two expansions (which were split into three episodes each) and also the Assassin’s Creed III remaster.
The game has not yet been announced by Ubisoft, but a recent leak posted on forum website Reddit claims the game will ship on September 29 – a fall release as has been the case with other Assassin’s Creed games to date. This will be a cross-gen release, and will come out on PS4 and Xbox One, as well as on PS5 and Xbox Series X according to the leaker. This is something Ubisoft itself hinted at last November when it said two major, unannounced AAA games in development at the company would be cross-gen titles.
This leak also confirms that players will be able to choose between a male and female protagonist in Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok, something which was also claimed in an earlier leak of the game last year, which amongst other things confirmed the game’s Viking setting.
What’s new here is that Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok will presumably offer four player co-op gameplay like in Ubisoft’s earlier game Ghost Recon Wildlands, making this the second time the series has gotten co-op after 2014’s Assassin’s Creed Unity.
Also, Ubisoft seems to have taken a tip from Bethesda’s Skyrim, and experience can be gained by using skillsets in-game, which is one way to unlock skills in the game. The others are by buying skills with skill points (like in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey) and through progression in Ragnarok’s storyline.
Combat has also gotten an overhaul and will be more difficult too according to this leak. Players will have to take into account enemy reaction times and parry times, as well as their own health levels in fights in order to survive.
Also, Odyssey’s adrenaline mechanic has been replaced by a “berserker mode”, the use of which allows players to activate special runes (lightning, fire and frost) which deal specific damage types to enemies.
Something which could make Ragnarok’s gameplay more dynamic and interesting is the fact that Ragnarok will supposedly include different classes with different skill trees each (a bit like in an Elder Scrolls game), so it seems Ubisoft will continue to expand the series’ RPG elements.
Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok could be similar to Bethesda’s fantastic The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Of course, this being a game about Assassins, stealth will be of paramount importance, so it’s a good thing that Ubisoft has chosen to improve this aspect of the game in its upcoming Assassin’s Creed game according to this leak. Hiding in mud and snow will now be possible if you have acquired the right skills in the game, plus hiding in crowds is now more realistic as players won’t be able blend in and go unnoticed unless they are wearing the right armour or outfit.
And locating a good hiding spot will definitely be a good thing in Ragnarok, as the Assassin’s iconic hidden blade is making a comeback here – it was nowhere to be seen in 2018’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, as that game took place hundreds of years before the Assassin order was founded. The blade itself can be customized more in Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok than in the earlier games, in order to give it the look you want according to the leaker.
Read more: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey review
Also interesting is that there will be less ship combat in Ragnarok, something which earlier leaks had claimed too (a good thing in my book), and that weapon durability will be a factor in the game. This could be something of a mixed bag, as having to regularly repair or discard weapons could become something of a chore throughout the game, although at least player’s inventories won’t be teeming with hundreds of unused weapons as in Ubisoft’s earlier game though.
This leak has also confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok’s map will be massive – all of northern Europe claims the leaker – with unique kingdoms including cities like Kiev, London, York and Paris, meaning this could offer even more hours of gameplay than Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (an already massive game) did in 2018.
Of course, this leak and all the others which have emerged to date could turn out not to be true, and maybe Ubisoft’s next Assassin’s Creed won’t be about Vikings or have any of these features. What if something else (maybe Assassin’s Creed Japan) is next on Ubisoft’s list instead?
There’s not much longer to wait in order to find out whether the current run of leaks can be trusted, as presumably the game will be announced at the PlayStation experience event in February, so stay tuned for further developments as the clock ticks down to Sony’s event next month.
Read more: New leak reveals more details about Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok