In "Assassin's Creed Valhalla," as in "Odyssey," you will roam the vast open world as either the male or female protagonist, but unlike its predecessor, you are not bound by that decision.

Whereas "Odyssey" and "Syndicate" had playable assassins as brothers and sisters, in "Valhalla" you will always play as Avor and choose your gender first. However, Ubisoft has confirmed that you can change it whenever you want.

Game director Eric Baptizat told GamesRadar, "You can decide if you want to be male or female.

"But you can always change the skill tree or the gender of your character.

This wouldn't have made much sense in previous games, where the brother you didn't choose would be the antagonist. Interestingly, however, according to Baptizat, this choice affects the story. It's not just that the character models and voice actors are different. However, it is still one story.

"It was important to allow the player to make this choice. It has some impact on the story, so it is something the player can decide to play as they wish, but it is not two different stories. Whatever choice a character makes, it is the same story for that character."

Baptizat adds that the team wants players to "experience all the possibilities of the game." It's definitely going to save them a lot of headaches. I loved playing Cassandra in Odyssey, but I got a little FOMO. After finishing, I briefly considered starting New Game Plus, but after 150 hours I was pretty tired. I thought I would have to worry about my choices in Valhalla, but it looks like I won't have to.

A November 17 release date was announced yesterday, but in the meantime you should check out Wes' Assassin's Creed Valhalla hands-on for more details.