Assassin’s Creed Shadows took the world by storm when it was revealed during a Ubisoft Forward event last May. Having been in development since 2020 under the working title Assassin’s Creed Codename Red, Shadows was created to allow players to finally experience Feudal Japan through the eyes of two new protagonists.
Last July, I previewed Assassin’s Creed Shadows and walked away eager to see if Ubisoft Quebec would deliver another hard-hitting classic. After spending this past week playing the final game, I must admit that Shadows has exceeded my expectations and is another great entry in the series. Here are more of my thoughts on what you can look forward to if you decide to check it out.
An Important Promise
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is an action role-playing game developed by Ubisoft Quebec and marked as the fourteenth major installment in the series. Set in 16th-century Japan during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, Shadows highlights the changing landscape of Japan amid a civil war under the intense rule of Oda Nobunaga. After he invades the Iga province, the narrative shifts towards two main protagonists with different perspectives on the vicious event.
Fujibayashi Naoe (voiced by actress and singer MASUMI) is a young female shinobi assassin from Iga province who suffers greatly from this invasion and starts a life-altering quest to honor a promise. Yasuke (voiced by actor and short movie producer Tongayi Chirisa) is a former African slave turned Samurai serving under Nobunaga who embarks on a personal journey shortly after this event. Naoe and Yasuke join forces as the storyline progresses to restore order and eliminate bigger threats on their shared radar.
While Shadows does have a very compelling narrative structure, it’s worth pointing out that Naoe’s story remains the central focus for the entirety of the 40+ hour campaign. Yasake has a personal journey that you’ll experience for the most part but it doesn’t feel as important or meaningful as his partners. In many ways, Yasuke feels like an assistant to Naoe which is fine, but might be disappointing for those expecting more from him.
The hour-long prologue lets players try out both protagonists but Yasake doesn’t become playable again until the end of Act 1. As the story unfolds, players are presented with playable flashback origin stories from both characters. This helps flesh them out further and is the perfect connective tissue for their future motivations and actions. There are also several twists and turns that keep things interesting and fans of the franchise won’t be disappointed by these revelations.
A Legendary Duo
The Animus Hub is the new main menu you are introduced to when you start or continue your Shadows playthrough session. The slick interface will be the central entry point for Shadows, previously purchased Assassin’s Creed games and future installments. The four features of this hub are Memories, Projects, Exchange, and Vault.
Clicking on Memories allows you to access other timelines (games) within the series while Projects are your go-to for new unique missions with unlockable keys. Exchange is where you can exchange those keys for reward incentives and Vault is where all your archived data and videos are stored. Having every Assassin’s Creed game available here is a cool way for new players and veterans to explore or revisit previous stories in the series.
Diving deep into gameplay, Assassin’s Creed Shadows presents players with two different playstyles that can impact how they approach certain missions. Naoe and Yasuke are the living embodiment of these playstyles and a solid balance between familiar and new approaches to combat.
Naoe is a stealth-oriented shinobi assassin who can use her agility and parkour skills to traverse buildings, crawl under tight spaces, steal important items, sneak up on unsuspecting targets, and eliminate them close up or from afar. She can also use a rope by pressing the LB button when climbing taller buildings where she can’t freely reach the ledge above. Lastly, she has an Eagle Vision ability that can be used to find hiding spots and highlight nearby enemies in red.
Two Different Ways To Play
While stealth is Naoe’s strong suit, there are many instances where she can hold her own in combat. In addition to having the hidden blade, she also uses a katana, shuriken, smoke bombs, kunai, bells, and other tools. As you continue to level up your character, you can use your skill points to unlock more deadly weapon-specific attacks or master your techniques as a shinobi.
Players most familiar with Assassin’s Creed games may gravitate towards Naoe’s playstyle. She is fast and most effective because of her size and skills. However, you can still get overwhelmed if you don’t use stealth and try going after every enemy in your path. I highly recommend considering these factors before approaching every mission and combat scenario that comes your way.
Yasuke is a larger-than-life combat-oriented tank-stylized samurai who is brutally precise at eliminating foes and obstacles that might get in his way. Unlike Naoe, Yasuke can run through doors and annihilate his adversaries with his long katana, teppo, kanabo, or bow. While many will criticize his inclusion in this game, he isn’t just handed the samurai title. His journey is centered on earning this title and proving himself worthy of keeping it through tests, trials, and tribulations. While I still argue that his story isn’t on the same scale as Naoe’s, I did appreciate their depiction of how he was viewed as an outsider but still made every effort to help those in need.
Without question, Yasuke’s playstyle is an instant game-changer for the series in more ways than one. His size and stature make him stand out like a sore thumb. This is perfectly illustrated in stealth scenarios because he can still be seen while hiding and more effort is required to get him to the top of a building. Once he is at the top, there is an animation of him balancing himself to avoid falling followed by a different animation once he leaps off the building. This new way of playing may be challenging at first for some players but it creates some brutally satisfying battles once you get used to it.
When used together, Yasuke and Naoe are a force to be reckoned with. Both can use noise, lights, and shadows to remain undetected by enemies for some time. In one particular assassination mission I played through, both heroes had a task to complete before taking out the intended target. As Yasuke, I infiltrated a base to take out several guards. After that, I switched back to Naoe to open the inner gates and expose the target’s location.
Once it came time to kill the target, an option appeared to choose either Yasuke or Naoe to complete the task. This wasn’t the only instance where choice and dialogue were split between the two characters and I’m eager to replay some of these choices to see how things would play out differently.
A Massive World Worth Exploring
Aside from everything I mentioned above, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has everything else you typically would expect from a standard AC title. The world map is massive with nine distinct regions to cover and every area has a specific skill level number that your character should be at before entering. The goal is to earn enough XP through mastery and knowledge points to level up faster. You can do this by completing story missions, accepting contracts, engaging in side activities, and uncovering secret locations.
A base-building element is also an aspect of this game where you can improve your hideout and upgrade weapons/equipment after finding the right materials. When you art fighting or doing side activities like drawing animals in the wild, Naoe and Yasuke can pursue romantic relationships with other characters. Based on what I encountered, these relationships can only be explored with specific characters but I’m curious to see if this can be expanded further in future sessions.
While you do obtain a horse very early in the game, there are several places you’ll be able to use fast travel for after exploring them. The camera pan synchronization animations you see after reaching tall buildings are also back. While perched, you can use your focus by pressing the Left trigger button to see and mark other areas of interest at a distance. You can also use scouts to reveal key objectives in an area you haven’t yet explored.
As time passes, you’ll notice seasonal weather changes that impact every area. This is another key component of the overall gameplay experience as approaching an enemy base during the winter means you’ll have to account for snowy and icy conditions. Every time the season changes, you’ll get a brief video montage that shows the shift of changes before directing you back to your game session.
Speaking of visuals, Assassin’s Creed Shadows looks phenomenal in every aspect of the world. The character models are incredibly detailed and all the iconic landmarks and settings from this historical period look unbelievably real. You will find yourself getting sucked into this world and just like most Assassin’s Creed games, you’ll have the urge to keep coming back for more. Even when I wasn’t playing Shadows, I kept thinking about it and looking forward to spending more time with it.
Playing on the Xbox Series X, there were no noticeable performance issues, crashes, or glitches that hindered my overall gameplay experience. I usually expect some problems when getting early access to a game and I’m glad this wasn’t the case for Shadows.
PS5 Pro console owners who decide to pick up this game will benefit from a few enhancements on the performance end. The same could be said of PC owners depending on how the specs are on their dedicated system. Regardless of where you decide to play, the game runs smooth as silk and you’re in for an absolute treat.
Final Verdict
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is another solid entry in Ubisoft’s ongoing action-adventure series. Adding two new protagonists with vastly different play styles on the backdrop of Feudal Japan proves that Ubisoft Quebec can make exciting changes to a franchise long overdue for new ideas. If you’re a diehard fan of Assassin’s Creed games and period pieces in this setting, this game is worth checking out.
This written review was based on a digital review copy of Assassin’s Creed Shadows for the Xbox One X provided by Ubisoft.
