It has taken a long time for the Assassin’s Creed franchise to finally explore Japan, a location that fans have eagerly been waiting for. Thankfully the game makes full use of this popular historical backdrop. The idea of an Assassin’s Creed game set in feudal Japan is as thrilling as one might expect, delivering an experience that blends historical intrigue with the franchise’s signature open-world stealth and combat mechanics. While Assassin’s Creed Shadows builds upon the successful formula of Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, it introduces a few changes aimed at enhancing the player experience such as the two distinct warrior archetypes: the stealthy and agile Shinobi Ninja and the disciplined but formidable Samurai Warrior. This dual-character approach adds some variety to the gameplay and bridges a gap between the more stealthy nature of classic Assassin’s Creed titles and the brawler feeling of the more modern games. While some changes are clear improvements, others are questionable but despite any uncertainties, the game has left a lasting impression on me. Assassin’s Creed: Shadows stands out as my favorite entry in the series to date, successfully bringing together the best stealth elements of the franchise with the long-awaited setting of historic Japan.
Assassin Creed: Shadows maintains a high level of intrigue, seamlessly blending those classic AC science fiction elements with the historical setting of Japan in the 1500s, offering players a breathtaking world filled with rich, immersive landscapes. The environment showcases vibrant colors that shift with the seasons, from the bright reds and earthy browns of autumn to the snow-covered expanses of winter. These diverse settings create a visually stunning experience that draws players deeper into the world AC is crafting. A dynamic seasonal cycle further enhances the realism, bringing the world to life with ever-changing conditions. The game’s weather system plays a crucial role in the immersion too as environmental elements react in real time, adding to the sense of authenticity. Winds rise before an impending storm, thunder and lightning clash in the skies, rain soaks the soft dirt all while small animals scurry for cover.
Despite the game’s vast scale and intricate details, it maintains an impressive level of technical stability. I ran into very few technical bugs, allowing me to be fully immersed without frequent disruptions, that is, outside of the occasional hiccup with getting my horse stuck, but I’ll take the L on that one. I played the game on Performance mode and it runs like a dream. The only area to give me any hiccups was the Settlement, there was a noticeable shift in frames-per-second while navigating there. Otherwise the combination of stunning visuals and the dynamic weather made the exploration an unforgettable aspect of the game.
The narrative is filled with memorable moments that keep the tension and excitement alive. The story follows two lead characters: Naoe, a skilled shinobi from the Iga clan, and Yasuke, a samurai serving under Lord Nobunaga. While both protagonists offer compelling perspectives, Naoe’s journey as a stealthy warrior proves particularly more interesting to me. As their paths intertwine, they form a strong alliance, and they let their differing views on the events add an extra layer of depth to the story. This prevents the plot from being a simple tale of revenge, instead enriching it with more character. The game is divided into nine distinct regions, each containing a largely self-contained chapter. Also, progression doesn’t feel stagnant, or in other words, I never felt like I ran into a lot of filler quests. Once I go back and complete everything Shadows has to offer, that might change. But if you’re invested in the unfolding story, there aren’t any unnecessary slowdowns. You’ll also be able to choose an option that will take out player choice when it comes to dialogue, called the Cannon Story Mode, this mode will play out all player choices in cutscenes to what the developers have determined are the cannon decisions.
Speaking of the story, it follows the two protagonists, Yasuke and Naoe, as they embark on a mission to expose and dismantle the shadowy organization of masked members. This group wields immense power and influence, threatening the stability of the land. Yasuke, a formidable warrior, relies on sheer strength and combat skills, while Naoe, a master of stealth and silence, employs the classic AC covert approach. The game features a multi-mission structure that allows players to choose between the two characters, each offering their distinct playstyle. Yasuke’s brute force approach makes him ideal for a fight-first mentality, overwhelming enemies with raw power. In contrast, Naoe’s stealth-focused abilities enable her to infiltrate enemy strongholds undetected and eliminate targets with precision. While some missions cater specifically to one character’s strengths, Naoe’s skillset generally provides a strategic advantage in most scenarios, making her the preferred choice for players who favor a more tactical experience or just like a traditional Assassin’s Creed experience.
The combat in this game is a little more difficult than its predecessors. Enemies exhibit high aggression, frequently using combinations of attacks and unblockable moves. Many opponents possess strong defensive capabilities, often blocking attacks and wearing armor, which effectively grants them an additional layer of health. To succeed in combat, players must prioritize defensive maneuvers such as dodging and deflecting while carefully timing their attacks to exploit enemy weaknesses. Thoughtful execution of abilities is also crucial for maintaining the upper hand in battle. Yasuke excels in direct combat and wields a variety of powerful weapons, including swords, naginata, kanabo, bows, and guns. His immense strength allows him to perform feats such as running through walls and causing tremors with his attacks. His durability is another advantage, as he can endure multiple hits before being defeated. This makes Yasuke a formidable warrior, best suited for aggressive and overwhelming combat engagements. Unlike Yasuke, Naoe is more fragile and relies on exploiting enemy weaknesses rather than brute force. She struggles to stagger enemies unless she utilizes specialized tools. When facing groups of enemies, especially armored opponents, she can become overwhelmed quickly. As a result, Naoe benefits more from using stealth-based tools, such as smoke bombs, rather than engaging in direct melee combat. Her combat approach revolves around ambushing enemies and striking from the shadows. The game’s stealth mechanics are deeply integrated, allowing her to crawl, dodge while prone, and use Eagle Sense to detect enemies through walls. As a big plus in my book, you can upgrade to double assassinations, further enhancing her stealth capabilities.
The skill progression system in this game is more streamlined than the complex skill constellation found in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Each character has a skill tree tailored to their specific weapons and combat specializations. The skill nodes feel impactful, offering meaningful upgrades rather than just passive damage boosts. Some skills improve weapon functionality, such as Naoe’s ability to use her chain sickle to grapple enemies. However, Yasuke’s skill tree is less effective for ranged combat, as his abilities are better suited for close-quarters encounters.
The Objective Board in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is an expanded and more intricate version of the system previously seen in Assassin’s Creed Mirage. It serves as a central hub for tracking both individuals in need of assistance and targets for elimination. The board is tied to the game’s narrative, specifically in uncovering members of the secret society operating in Japan. Players gradually reveal these hidden figures by gathering and analyzing various clues. This system builds upon the clues mechanics from earlier Assassin’s Creed titles, refining and expanding them in Shadows. It provides a concise list of clues to help players determine the locations of their objectives. However, the effectiveness of this feature is closely tied to exploration of the game world. Players are encouraged to deduce their objectives’ location by interpreting map clues rather than relying on direct markers. Leading me to one of the more frustrating aspects of the system, the lack of visible markers. These markers won’t show up until the player is visually near the objective spot, to the point it feels like it wont pop till you’re standing right in front of it. This design choice leads to aimless wandering, my longest lasting up to 20 minutes. While an option exists to bypass this mechanic, doing so comes with a punishment, certain achievements are locked behind the intended exploration method, effectively discouraging players from taking the less frustrating route. I don’t mind unveiling clues to locate a target, I also don’t mind searching within a certain radius of the target, but what I find the most frustrating is not having anything to tell me, I’m getting closer to the marker.
To assist with locating objectives, players can also utilize scouts. These new scouts help narrow down an area by the player pinging possible locations, unfortunately they do not reveal hidden features or clear unexplored portions of the map. Their effectiveness is limited, as they do not remove the fog of war, you’re still reliant on sync points for that, and each use consumes a resource. Since scouts are difficult to replenish, especially in the early stages of the game, their use becomes a strategic decision or something you just live without. If there were a central theme to Shadows, it would be that the game is trying to encourage organic discovery rather than checklist-driven gameplay. This is my biggest flaw to this game. I DO want a checklist to tell me what I should be doing, guide me to where I need to go. There are ways you can still give the player a checklist AND create discovery, but Shadows leans too heavily on the “I’m not going to tell you, so go explore for hours” mentality.
The Hideout and Settlement Mechanics are a way to give your game some customization, as they function similarly to Ravensthorpe from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Players can collect various resources such as minerals, crops, and wood throughout the world to construct and upgrade different structures within your settlement. These buildings not only enhance the hideout’s appearance but also provide new gameplay assets and features. One of the key structures is the Forge, which serves as the primary location for managing and upgrading your protagonist’s equipment. Another important building is the Dojo, which introduces a unique summoning ability, allowing players to call allies for assistance. Additionally, there are passive buildings that offer benefits without requiring frequent player interaction, making them a low-maintenance yet rewarding aspect of the settlement. Customization is a prominent feature, with a variety of cosmetic options available through natural gameplay progression, such as completing tasks and looting. You can even collect pets to populate your Settlement! It’s almost very similar to how the customization of the Teapot in Genshin Impact works. If you so choose to ignore this aspect, maintaining or decorating the hideout remains entirely optional.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows breathes new of life into the aging Assassin’s Creed games, and one that brings back a lot of the stealth aspects the series is known for. Sneaking around and just wiping a base clean before ever being seen is just as satisfying as it ever was. The two protagonists have complement each other and are able to pick up where the other is weakest, but thankfully not to the point where you must rely on the brute force of Yasuke only. For us diehard fans of the Assassin’s Creed series, the ones who mourn for Desmond on December 21st, Shadows offers a refreshing welcome back to hidden ones.
A PlayStation 5 code was provided in advance by the publisher for review purposes
