Summary
Assassin’s Creed: Shadowsrepresents a milestone entry for the franchise. For as long as the series has been popular, players have been clamoring for what feels like a perfect fit for its gameplay, being housed in a Japanese story. Literally years later, Ubisoft is finally arriving at an era that both fans and developers have been eager to visit, and with that comes the weight of expectation. After all,Assassin’s Creedhas made much less obvious settings for its world work with games likeSyndicateandBlack Flag.With feudal Japan the destination that many default to as a natural environment for a future entry, it’s time to prove that sentiment is true.
While we weren’t able to gohands on withAssassin’s Creed: Shadows, we did get a sneak peek at the game during a closed-door presentation held at Summer Game Fest. During the demonstration,I saw both Yasuke and Naoe tackle the same assassination mission with dramatically different approaches, and saw a bit of an approach that holds the player’s hand a little less during target investigations.
It really does feel like a blend between the more RPG-style elements of recent entries and the return to stealth that Mirage brought with it, and at first blush, the combination is a winner, balancing modern and traditional to create a diverse experience tailored to the unique characters featured in Shadows.
Yasuke Is Like Nothing Assassin’s Creed Has Seen Before
Nobunaga’s Giant Samurai Is An Imposing Presence
It’s impossible not to address the elephant in the room that isAssassin’s Creed Shadows' feudal Japan - that would be Yasuke, the playable samurai who towers over most of the other characters seen during the demo with seemingly impossible strength and poise. While he’s certainly a fit in the era the game is visiting - samurai were incredibly influential to the continued political fluctuations of Japan at this time - he is a less obvious inclusion in a game usually about stealthy, ninja-like acrobats contorting the shadows to their will.
Yasuke does approximately none of that. Instead, he tackles enemies head on, which was obvious during the demonstration right from the beginning, where he rode into town and was drawn into a conflict between money-hungry villains and exploited villagers.Yasuke’s fights feel like a series of duels, with the samurai adept at parrying blows and following up with his own. He had access to two melee weapons in the demonstration - a club, not unlike those you might see an oni carrying in traditional art, and the more elegant (and recognizable) katana.
The katana has a much more noticeably samurai feel to it, with Yasuke wielding it almost like a dance form.
Both weapons had their strengths. The club was brutally efficient, demolishing enemies with ease should their guard be down or their armor broken. It’s slow, and leaves Yasuke open to follow-ups if used carelessly, but it was a damage-dealing force with more than a couple exceedingly violent execution animations. By contrast, the katana has a much more noticeably samurai feel to it, with Yasuke wielding it almost like a dance form, successfully blocking his enemy’s best shot before following up with lethally quick strikes.
There’s much more to Yasuke than just the imposing strongman, which is important. I had concerns his depiction could be pigeon-holed into a one-note approach, but he looks like he has quite a bit of viable approaches - just not any that look like the usual stealth players might expect fromAssassin’s Creed. He’s well-designed, though, and even has a rifle that helps him avoid being zoned out of fights by a group of enemies with a mixture of melee and ranged weapons.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows' Dual Protagonists Offer The Perfect Way To Merge Both Eras Of The Franchise
Assassin’s Creed Shadows' two new protagonists, Yasuke and Naoe, have different combat styles to appeal to both types of Assassin’s Creed players.
There wasn’t much available to see about his actual character, but he plays off Naoe well. While she appears a bit more subdued, Yasuke exudes confidence - in the demo, he notes that she shouldn’t worry about him, but rather worry about the tens of samurai that stand between him and their target. He refers to himself as “the outsider” a few times, hinting at the way he’ll navigate this extremely tense period of Japanese history as one of Nobunaga’s most trusted and powerful samurai.
Naoe Is The Traditional Assassin’s Creed I Love
A Deadly Whirlwind Of Chains, Knives & Shadows
If Yasuke is the embodiment of the modernization of theAssassin’s Creedfranchise, Naoe is the revitalization of its past. She’s the smallest protagonist ever in a mainlineAssassin’s Creedtitle and she takes that advantage and Naruto runs with it. Her gameplay is characterized by savvy decision making, precision kills, and on-the-fly adaptations that feel true to the core values that defined the best ofAssassin’s Creedin the past.
One thing Naoedoesn’thave is Eagle Vision- that’s been scrapped in favor of a mechanic called Spy Network, which gradually allows players to build their own group of intel gatherers and informants and direct them to acquire valuable secrets about targets. The lack of Eagle Vision means players need to use their heads to find targets, with clues like “likes to wander the garden at night” offering chances to scout soon-to-be-dead bad guys.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Thankfully Won’t Have A Common But Controversial Gaming Feature
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is thankfully avoiding a controversial gaming feature that has become more prominent in recent years.
Naoedoeshave the series' usual parkour elements, and she does them with aplomb, navigating rooftops quickly and deftly. In the gameplay demonstration, she was able to go prone in a pond and use a bamboo reed to breathe underwater to close the gap between her and her target. That seems pivotal to her identity as a playable character - creative flexibility, rather than the straightforward approach of Yasuke.
Naoe’s actual combat certainly isn’t lesser than Yasuke’s in the demo, though. She’s able to wield knives with incredible grace, and her kusarigama creates the potential for crowd control and escape. The latter felt exciting and so perfect forAssassin’s Creedthat I could easily see it being a favorite of many, roping in a hapless enemy just trying to swordfight before executing them amidst a tangle of chains and blades.
IfMiragewas a return to form for the series,Shadowsis its evolution.
Personally, I’m more excited for Naoe as someone with fond memories ofBrotherhoodand other early entries.The fact she’s so different from Yasuke is a compelling reason to engage with the latter too, though, and it’s there that I feelShadowshas really found its footing. If both characters are as interesting and deep as they look in the demo, it’ll be tough to choose just one - and with the ability to swap between them at most points in the game, it’s nice to know I won’t have to.
A Striking, Exciting Balance Between Old & New Assassin’s Creed
Potentially The Most Influential Assassin’s Creed In Some Time
My biggest takeaway from the lengthy presentation is just how muchShadowsrepresents the joining of two previously parallel ideas- the “modern"Assassin’s Creedthat features open world, RPG elements, skill progression, and more, and the more “traditional"Assassin’s Creedthat was stealth-based first, with a focus on player’s solving world puzzles through observation and creativity. IfMiragewas a return to form for the series,Shadowsis its evolution, a blend of the action gameplay that has begun to characterize its recent entries and the smart, savvy concealed weapon approach that made it stand out in the first place.
It’s obviously too early to tell just how muchShadowsactually balances these two ideas. In the presentation, Ubisoft stated that the majority of gameplay will let players choose between Yasuke and Naoe.There will be character-specific missions and narrative beats that necessitate restricting choice, but beyond those, it seems freedom is the name of the game. In a lengthy campaign - nevermind potential side content, given the open world Japan its set in - that can be a difficult design ask. Yasuke can charge through environmental obstacles, while Naoe can scale over them. How often will those nuances be present, and how much will they really change gameplay?
“A Triumphant Homage” - Assassin’s Creed Mirage Review
Assassin’s Creed Mirage marks a concerted effort for the series to return to its roots, but that doesn’t make it immune to longstanding issues.
If the answer is substantial, this is the deepestAssassin’s Creedgame ever made. For now, what I’ve seen puts it on my radar way more than it was previously. I’ve always had a soft spot forAssassin’s Creedbut have found some of the more recent designs (saveMirage) a bit too bloated for my taste. IfShadowsstrikes a balance between just enough open world content and significantly more stealth gameplay than, say,Odyssey,I think it will make a name for itself alongsideBrotherhoodas one of the series' best. I can’t wait to see more ofAssassin’s Creed: Shadows, and I’m starting to think it might actually make good on a location that feels like it has to be done near-perfectly to satisfy long-time questions.
