Assassin’s Creed as a franchise has gone a long way. When the formula was getting a bit stale, Origins and Odyssey shook it up by introducing a whole new system that, while excellent, was criticized because of the lack of “stealth” involved and focused mostly on RPG mechanics.

Don’t get us wrong, both of the latest titles still had some stealth elements sprinkled in, but noticeably missing are the Hidden Blade and the instant kills you can pull off with it. Remember how you just killed EVERYBODY back during the older games like the Ezio Trilogy? It’s the literal definition of 1 shot 1 kill.

Valhalla will be different this time around, and Creative Director Ashraf Ismail says that this latest offering will see the return of not only the Hidden Blade, but instant stealth kills as well. In an interview with Kotaku, Ashraf Ismail was quoted, saying:

“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,” “There was an identity and a uniqueness that we wanted to bring back for Valhalla.”

True to his word, you can see the return of the Hidden Blade at the 3:30 mark of the reveal trailer. Check it out below:

“Eivor receives the hidden blade quite early on,” “We continue with the idea that Eivor is not a trained assassin. Eivor is a Viking who receives this badass weapon and has to learn very quickly. Early in the experience, Eivor will learn a technique that, with the right timing … can one-shot-kill virtually anybody.”

Adding these mechanics back into the game will certainly appease fans who have grown tired of the RPG approach that Origins and Odyssey brought about, but while also balancing the good features that this new system resulted in.

It also suggests that there will be a focus on stealth again, something every fan of the game will welcome with open arms. While we do not know how and in what capacity it will be implemented, it is at least a comforting sign that they’ve considered it in the game design process.

Valhalla is looking to be a game where Ubisoft has listened to its fans and this is a great sign of things to look forward to when the game launches in Holiday 2020.