ASSASSIN’S CREED SHADOWS

Of the dozens of Assassin's Creed titles that have been released to date, the one that has divided audiences the most is Shadows. Despite being set in a beloved and sought-after setting (feudal Japan), first impressions of the gameplay, and especially the addition of the colored samurai Yasuke, created a large wave of reactions that led Ubisoft to even postpone the title for several months (the game was slated for release in November 2024) and cancel pre-orders.

Of course, we're not 100% sure that the reason for the postponement was just public reaction and not that AC: Shadows wasn't ready. However, the buzz surrounding its name, as well as the various rumors that Ubisoft and its franchises are for sale, have made AC: Shadows perhaps the most important game for Ubisoft's existence. Whether or not this is true, only time will tell. For now, what we're concerned with in this review is the final product and whether Shadows is a game worthy of the legacy it carries.

A legacy that in truth feels tired, as the last "big" Assassin's Creed, namely Valhalla and its expansions, was one of the most bloated open-world games we've ever seen. This writer states, without guilt, that he skip it after the first 8-9 hours, being horrified by how much it asked the player to do, while instead having a good time with the more comprehensive AC: Mirage, released about a year and a half ago.

AC: Shadows also follows the "action-RPG" nature of Assassin's Creed (i.e. from Origins onwards), it doesn't reach the vast proportions of Valhalla, but it's clearly another huge game, with dozens of missions and activities filling the map and the player's time. If there's anything worth mentioning, however, in terms of the consequences of the title's late release, it's that the game is almost bug-free and with excellent optimization. I really don't remember playing such a well thought out Assassin's Creed before its release, and that was the first positive thing I took away from Shadows.

The second is the setting and the premise of the game, which is quite interesting. We would say that it hits the bull's eye if combined with watching the recent remake of the Shogun series, as it is set in almost the same period and some historical events, such as the existence of the Portuguese preachers and the depiction of real battles, give off quite nice vibes. AC: Shadows is set in Japan in 1579 AD, where the daimyo Oda Nobunaga (actual person) is trying, by force of the sword, to unite the entire country from factions. Of course, this is not something easily managed and for many factions, Nobunaga's ultimate goal seems more imperialistic than unifying, so wars are a very common occurrence. However, Nobunaga's decision to invade the peaceful province of Iga, which he utterly destroys, has been the catalyst for a series of events, all of which have the young shinobi Naoe as their starting point. Being one of the few survivors and at the behest of her father, Naoe is tasked with retrieving and guarding a mysterious box that both Nobunaga and his double-digit number of sidekicks have their eyes on.

In the end, although our shinobi manages to retrieve the box, her custody of it didn't go very well, with the conflict against the Shinbakufu, as they are called, leaving her in a miserable, half-dead state. Alongside these events, an African, colored samurai appears, a subordinate of Nobunaga, who, in addition to being a very, very strong warrior, is on an inner quest for his past, which for some reason is combined with Naoe's box. Inevitably, then, the lines of the two protagonists' lives will begin to intersect in order to find the truth behind the box, but also to reveal once again the eternal conflict between Templars and Assassins...

In general, the game's plot is at a satisfactory level, although as is the case with most Ubisoft games, it lags a bit in the area of writing and dialogue. There is therefore a somewhat "lighter" writing and expressions that one would hardly encounter in the 16th century, but fortunately without any extremes (if we heard any "yo bro", we would fall out of the window), while the open nature of the game and the fact that we can take on various missions in any order we want, do not help to build a solid narrative structure. This becomes more apparent after the ten or so hours of the game, where in these we only control Naoe (Yasuke only enters in at predetermined points). Once Yasuke officially enters the game, we can switch between the two protagonists whenever we want to, which results in the plot's coherence being somewhat lost.

Basically, this is the most common drawback of open-world games, but here we were given the impression that it's a bit more pronounced, as several missions have flashbacks in time, in an attempt to further delineate the main heroes and lore. However, narrative aside, AC: Shadows remains committed to its goal, which is none other than to provide a fun activity park.

Some things remain unchanged or at least borrow a lot of elements from Valhalla. There are still choices during the dialogues, which has some influence on the development of the story, but also on the friendships (or enmities) we will acquire, and there is also base-building, which acts as a Hideout and its development provides us with some things that will make our work easier. For example, by building a blacksmith building, we can improve and/or engrave our weapons, and we can train the supporting characters we meet during the adventure (and after we complete their storyline, OF COURSE) so that they become more efficient.

Probably the biggest novelty of the game is the scouts. These guys don't appear during gameplay, only when we recruit them, but through the map, we can give them commands to "scan" parts of the map and locate points of interest. In most missions, if not all, their use can prove crucial in locating our objective of the day, without having to waste hours to discover it. Besides, they have the ability to collect large amounts of raw materials, with which we can upgrade our Hideout buildings. However, the management of scouts is directly intertwined with the implementation of the four seasons system. The seasons are not only of a visual nature, but also of a practical one, since they renew the uses of the scouts we can make, erase the "memory" of the guards if we are wanted in a certain area, and complete the resources that the Hideout "produces". Combined with the familiar day-night rotation system, which also affects the way we can approach a mission, they create a really convincing, living world and Ubisoft deserve credit for the result.

An approach that depends purely on the protagonist we choose to play. Naoe is the classic Assassin, where her handling is similar to all the previous Assassin's Creed we've played so far. She prefers to move silently in the shadows, carries a very useful grappling hook for climbing on rooftops, and has an array of gadgets (shurikens, kunai, smoke bombs, etc.) that can help her in any situation so that she can go unnoticed. Of course, she's still a very formidable opponent if she needs to unholster her katana, but compared to Yasuke, it only takes a few hits to drop her dead.

Yasuke, on the other hand, is a completely different story. Enormous and wearing heavy equipment, he's practically nothing like the "airy" Naoe. His bulk doesn't even allow him to climb, and on the rare occasion that he has to take a leap of faith, his fall is so sloppy that even he mocks its conclusion. In essence, by choosing to play with Yasuke, we automatically opt for the more action-packed side of the game, where we get in and pity the enemies. The guy is really a slaughter-machine. Undoubtedly this approach is welcome and we would say sometimes redemptive, for example when we are fed up with the stealth approaches that playing with Naoe requires and we want to get the heat on a bit. After all, with some exceptions, we can play all of the game's missions with any hero we want, so there's no limitation on how we play.

This is helped by the combat system, which is improved compared to the recent past, but unfortunately is still far from exciting. It's based on the counter/parry/attack trifecta, however the plethora of special moves we can unlock (Yasuke even has...Spartan kick!), weapons and the fact that enemies don't wait their turn to be killed one by one create a decidedly more intense rhythm. And the warnings of the enemies' next move, in the form of colored flashes on their weapons (white for parry, blue for combo attack and red for unblockable) and the large "windows" of reaction they provide make things much easier, so that duels that could have been thrilling end up being just plain fun and enjoyable. We can only imagine how much better things would be if the combat system in these duels had an implementation similar to a Sekiro or Wo Long, without necessarily having the same level of difficulty.

This is something we missed in AC: Shadows, as well as the fact that the AI is still mediocre, with the guards moving around a bit casually in the area, forgetting our presence after a few minutes of investigation or not not noticing us in time, being in front of their eyes. I don't think we need to go into much detail about the AI part, if you've played any Assassin's Creed in the last ten years, you'll immediately grasp its mechanics like a day hasn't passed.

Beyond that, the game includes everything you'd expect from an Assassin's Creed title. A map full of secrets to explore, dozens of side quests, contracts, with the corresponding rewards of course in equipment, new moves, money, etc., which to see it all, takes over seventy hours of gameplay. However, the main campaign doesn't last more than forty hours, but really, who can count it, since it's very hard not to be tempted to stray from the main path, leaving your horse, to explore a temple or engage in a "sport" like archery.

However, grinding is not as optional as we would like, as in order to unlock the higher branches of our skill tree and place our mastery points there, we need to collect a lot of knowledge points, which can only be gained through side activities like "pray at three points of the temple". In general, it is not difficult to collect knowledge points, but in order to reach e.g. the next tier, we need to have collected ten and, consequently, make visits to ten side activities, which is not that exciting after the fifth time.

Moving on to the technical side, AC: Shadows, while lacking state-of-the-art graphics, is beautiful. In particular, the landscapes, the coloring, the depiction of the different seasons and weather conditions (rain, wind, fog, snow) are truly amazing. The character design on the other hand, while decent, seems to not quite follow the standards of our era, with some issues in the realization of the faces, and the animation doesn't have any tremendous improvements from the last Assassin's Creed. It's probably a matter of the graphics engine, which is still marked as adequate for 2025 standards.

As for the audio part, the basic requirement to get into the mood of the game is to choose the immersive mode, where the game characters speak in their own language. Once you do this, combined with the beautiful soundtrack and excellent sound effects, you are transported directly to the Sengoku era.

In summary, Assassin's Creed: Shadows does not reinvent the wheel, nor is it the landmark game that will redefine gaming. Nevertheless, it's a worthy and well-crafted Assassin's Creed title that will certainly satisfy fans of the series, probably win over some who had left it some years ago, but will hardly convince its detractors to bother with it. It's a familiar experience, but at a high quality standard, so if that's good enough for you, then don't hesitate to give it a chance.

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