While Ubisoft has done well to give fans all the information they need to make an informed decision aboutAssassin’s Creed Valhalla, there are certain elements that the developer still wants to keep secret. How the story and events of the game will tie in withLayla’s storyline in the modern day, for example, has been a closely guarded secret.
During our hands-on preview ofAssassin’s Creed Valhalla, we saw some glimpses of how at least one of the modern storylines will manifest. Unfortunately, in order to remain spoiler-free, we can’t say too much about it.
What we can say is that Layla is playable inAssassin’s Creed Valhallabut what we saw was not a modern day segment. Instead, one of the side activities in the game, called an Animus Anamoly,swaps Viking Eivorfor Layla Hassan as she tries to unlock a memory from the Animus.
The mission we played (and presumably how these missions will work) saw Layla using free-running and climbing to get from point A to point B in an obstacle course that hovers well above theworld ofAssassin’s Creed Valhalla. There were some puzzle elements where Layla needed to “energize” platforms to climb on them and progress, but it wasn’t particularly challenging. Truly, the most exciting part of the mission is that players actually get to see Layla, which suggests that her role may be larger than in the past two games.
Ubisoft had previously confirmed that Layla Hassan would be part of theAssassin’s Creed Valhallastoryline as the moden day protagonist. The developers also teased the Animus Anomaly concept, but now having played it, the missions' importance has become clearer. Animus Anomaly missions will function like many of the collectible missions in pastACgames – giving players small snippets of a larger scene that has major story implications, but only rewarding them with the full scene once everything is collected/completed.
While the fan base always seemed to be clamoring formore of Desmond Milesin the olderAssassin’s Creedgames, the reception to Layla Hassan has been mixed, to say the least. Her role as a “new Desmond” has been met with some trepidation, even though there has been a desire to see the modern day storylines involving Juno expand. Perhaps this is Ubisoft’s answer to both, with Layla not interrupting the flow of the main game, and the cutscene adding more layers to thatJuno/Precursor mystery.
AlthoughAssassin’s Creedhas revamped its formulain some key ways over the last few iterations, Ubisoft has seemingly added pieces that harken back to the earlier games. These Animus Anamoly missions seem like a perfect way to bridge the gap between the modern day and Animus segments, without completely pulling the player out of the action. Moreover, if all of them together offer some revelatory sequence, then it will certainly be worth finding and completing all of them.
Assassin’s Creed Valhallareleases August 02, 2025 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. The PS5 version will release on July 23, 2025.
