As a former lapsed fan of Assassin’s Creed who stopped closely following the series after Black Flag and firmly coming back when Odyssey rolled out, I’ve been excited to see how Shadows would be like after being sorely disappointed by Valhalla. Needless to say, based on the title of this blog post alone, I’m clearly very happy with it.
Let’s go over my thoughts on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and hopefully help you figure out if the game’s right for you or if you should give it a pass!
Full disclosure: I’m still playing through it as I write this.
A Blend of New & Old
One of the things I really like about Assassin’s Creed Shadows is how its core gameplay offers a nice mix of elements from both the newer RPG-style entries and the older stealth-focused ones. Rather than leaning too heavy on either hack-and-slash combat or sneaky assassinations, both are now viable options entirely based on your preferred protagonist.
The Dual Protagonist System
Although you briefly play the intro as Yasuke, a samurai who feels slower and definitely more conspicuous compared to the traditional Assassin’s Creed protagonist, you actually play a large chunk of the first act as the ninja, Naoe.
For roughly 10 or more hours worth of the story, depending on how much you get distracted by side content, you’re going to be stuck playing as Naoe. Being a shinobi, her entire deal is that she’s generally terrible in a straight up fight but can quickly and methodically clear out entire areas without raising any alarms.
With expert difficulty on, playing in or behind cover becomes essential. The time of day and light fixtures play a significant role in stealth now too, as you (obviously) become more visible while the sun’s up or if you’re standing beside stuff like lanterns and campfires, though you can extinguish some of these through varying means.
Sure, you can still easily win fights if you’re good at parrying and dodging, but you’ll often find that it’s too much of a hassle to do so, especially when you’re facing more than one enemy or even just one armored elite. It’s a bit reminiscent of the first few games of the franchise, though you can’t just get instant kills with counters here.
On the flip side, Yasuke is for those who really enjoy the action-oriented nature of the more recent mainline games. He’s a horrible choice for parkouring, and he definitely isn’t built for stealth. Instead, he’s an enormous tank who can cut through crowds with his arsenal of large and hard-hitting weapons.
Both of the playable characters have their own unique set of usable gear and abilities, allowing you to seamlessly swap between two distinct playstyles without needing to respec or re-equip your stuff.
Having a hard time trying to clear a castle undetected or just want to plow through all of the samurai and their subordinates? Swap to Yasuke and tear up the place like you’re Eivor in the middle of a raid. Want to slip in and out of the shadows instead like an actual ninja? Well, Naoe is quite literally one.
Their dynamic within the story is also pretty great, with Yasuke being the older, often level-headed individual balancing out the young Naoe‘s more vengeful and occasionally “immature” persona.
The Signature “Ubisoft-isms”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Ubisoft open world game if it didn’t have a few issues with what I’d call “clutter”. There are a ton of collectibles and points of interest that you can clear all throughout the map, and there’ll be a lot of running in between.
Luckily, they seem to have somewhat cut down on it with Shadows. There’s dynamic events every now and then, but you’re not attacked with a barrage of fluff right off the bat. Generic NPCs will sometimes drop hints about optional side content too. As I’m writing this, I just overheard two peasants talking about meditating monkeys, which is actually referring to one of the collectibles you can get as Naoe.
It’s definitely nowhere near the amount of stuff you stumble into while playing Valhalla. Whether or not this is a good thing is entirely up to you. Personally, I welcome the slightly reduced number of “random BS” to do around the map.
The one issue I do have with the open world, though, is how it probably gives you a little too much freedom. More than once now, I’ve killed an NPC that turned out to be a target for a side quest completely unrelated to what I was currently doing.
This results in the extensive “Objectives” menu showing me an “unknown faction” with a crossed out target. I think it’d be better if they just didn’t spawn these people before you start pursuing them, just to avoid a bit of that initial confusion. It’s nothing game-breaking, at least.
Well Within Expectations
I’ve noted this in a piece I did about Monster Hunter Wilds, but I’m typically easy to please when it comes to writing in games. As long as it’s structured well enough and isn’t full of glaring issues or messes with the game’s flow, I usually won’t have too much of a problem with it.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows, based on what I’ve played so far, delivers a fairly easy-to-follow plot that isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but engaging enough to keep me hooked. Hell, one of the initial scenes where the main antagonists all lined up in a Tarantino-esque moment was enough to win me over early on. I have Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill posters in my room, so I’m clearly a sucker for that stuff.
The game continues to push the “Assassins vs Templars” theme that it’s well-known for, though both groups here fall under different labels befitting of its setting. Overall, the story’s very grounded as there’s been no mystical elements involved, unlike most of the other recent entries. Fans who’ve grown tired of the fantasy RPG stuff will likely be pleased with how “normal” everything seems to be in Shadows.
Maybe the DLCs will introduce some Japanese mythological stuff? We’ll just have to wait and see…
Neat Little Details
No matter what you think about Ubisoft or their games, there’s no denying that their developers are really good at creating visually impressive worlds and sprinkling in some neat little details for the sake of immersion.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows continues with this trend. Not only is its presentation of feudal Japan nothing short of breathtaking, but there’s also a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle features added to the game that both showcase the developer’s keen attention to detail and respect for the culture being represented.
Small things like characters taking off their shoes when entering houses or being able to pray and make offerings at shrines all around the map are minor details that make the experience a tad bit more immersive. Stuff like the tea ceremony lessons early on also piqued my interest.
Even people’s interactions with the environment have a bit of thought put into them. The weather can potentially affect how NPCs move around or see, certain types of terrain slow you down, and small objects breaking can alert nearby enemies.
Addressing Some Issues
Before I close this out, I just need to get a few things off my chest. The game has been subject to some silly “culture war” nonsense, and I’m not going to talk about it in detail here. It’s just not worth the time and energy, really, and the people who started it all thrive off the attention. Instead, let’s focus on a bit of relevant points being thrown around.
“Historical Accuracy”
I don’t get this whole issue with “historical accuracy” that’s become a heated topic in some spaces recently. Are we really going to care about this all of sudden in a franchise where Ezio, one of Leonardo da Vinci’s best buds (lol), tried to kill the pope in a fistfight? I’m sure there’s much more absurd examples out there, but that was the first thing that came to mind.
Assassin’s Creed has been a sci-fantasy series from the start, so it’s not like we’re treading new ground here. The game takes some liberties with its depiction of historical figures and events to tell its own story, as it has always done. It was never trying to be a documentary.
Monetization & Live Service Nonsense
Being a single player game, it’s just silly for this to have so many microtransactions, regardless of whether or not it’s just purely cosmetic or “skips a bit of grinding”. Back in the day, we could just unlock stuff through pure gameplay or use cheat codes to get resources, but Ubisoft just loves monetizing everything.
There’s also a battle pass in Shadows that you unlock after reaching a certain point in the story. It’s entirely free, sure, but why is it there in the first place? Are we expected to do menial tasks on a daily/weekly basis?
I know It’s been this way since as far back as Black Flag. I just think it’s still worth pointing out as a negative, despite not really affecting the game as a whole. The mere existence of features like these in a single player game just sets a precedent that other greedy companies are unfortunately likely to follow.
To Sum It All Up…
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a solid step up from the last RPG-style entry in the series with a more grounded story and a refreshing new take on its gameplay. There’s still a bit of that classic parkour “jank” that’s become a reoccurring issue in the franchise, but it’s a far cry from what we had to deal with in, say, AC2.
This game’s open world sheds a lot of the fluff that its predecessors used to have, though there’s still a good amount of engaging side content that the average player won’t feel the need to speed through the main story.
It’s not some sort of flawless masterpiece, but it succeeds at keeping things fresh by trying out new features or improving on old ideas. The new combat system, for instance, has been pretty good, though the lack of variety in generic enemy types make your gear and ability choices not matter too much.
They did a great job with the dual protagonist system, which they first tried in Syndicate if I’m not mistaken, as both characters have a completely different playstyle rather than just almost being a plain reskin of each other. Stealth has also been significantly improved, and if this is a sign of what’s to come with future Assassin’s Creed games, then there’s much to look forward to.
Overall, I think this has been a solid return to form, at least when examined through the eyes of a longtime Assassin’s Creed fan. If you already disliked the series, this probably won’t reel you in, but if you were just a fan who’s tired of the shift to a more action-oriented style, then you might have a blast playing through it as Naoe.
