Honor, Loyalty, Courage, and Respect, are some of the core tenets of the Bushido way of things that also does loop back to the Brotherhood of Assassins, be it a few hundred years apart, give or take.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a particular one, with how it ebbs and flows with the thematics and gameplay that, for someone who has been enjoying the current renditions of their formula, is both old and new in one package that I could see being divisive when it launches later this week.
The tale of Naoe and Yasuke is one of intrigue and deceit. One of the stealthy takedowns of a person in power, or just tanking it all as you barrel towards a castle, no one standing in the wake of the destruction. It’s the product of Ubisoft knowing there is stiff competition for the Sengoku period of games, so why not just go silly with it?
So, how does AC Shadows fair?
Presentation
As one of the few folks who still cling to the Xbox Series S, I don’t really mind the 30fps cap as the visual does pop up pretty well, with how much the greenery is, while also punctuating the embers of fires during the night time as you stroll through the night, it just looks incredible when you hook it to a pretty good TV or monitor,
This is running on their latest AnvilNext engine that powered 2023’s Mirage, so a nice graphics overhaul is welcomed as it now joins their sister engine, Snowdrop, in making a game that’s just eye candy to the players. Though its weirdly stiff cutscenes still persist when you’re talking to NPCs in the open world, so some things change while others still stay the same, and I kinda like that familiarity.
The cinematics, though, are quite the highlight of the early game, as they just ooze coolness that you would expect from recent shows like FX’s Shogun and the like.
One thing I won’t count against the game is the performance of both main protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke, that does deliver quite a compelling duo with how they get entangled in the business of assassinating the bad folks, with their arc intertwining even during the prologue and them meeting up as the games really opens up, just show well the developers have balanced both protags storyline far better than previous attempts like Syndicate.
Music also has the sauce, as the kids would say. Taking quite a lot of influences from some interesting tangents, like this one part of an early game cutscene just feels like an homage to Spaghetti Western, to even one track during Yasuke’s training cutscene that I honestly think is a reference to one song that keeps Yasuke’s legend within pop-culture relevance in Reggae form. If it was, then props to the composers for incorporating that.
Gameplay ![]()
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, we’re introduced to the AC’s variation of a hub where starting Shadows, is where the games will be in. And it’s called the Animus Hub, which long-time fans of the series would know is basically a staple of the future portion of the game. It includes 4 core features, like Memories, where you’ll be able to launch the games from there, Projects, basically the live-service game portion of AC that updates missions regularly and goes towards the Exchange for keys to get rewards, Pretty much a form of a Battle Pass but more lore-accurate to the series.
It does help you explore around the massive Open-World, as these are usually situated at points where the next mission arc would commence, so it would be seen as a sort of a quest teaser for locations you haven’t been through, with you being able to do it as either Yasuke or Naoe at any point.
Speaking of which, both of our main protagonists essentially play like a combination of the two previous AC games in order, Yasuke being Eivor’s role in terms of how he plays, with brute force and tanking hits without issues, while Naoe plays like Basim, where combat is doable but the usual Assasining nature is within her side of the game, complete with the blade and Eagle Eye, which has been reworked to be more grounded in this rendition. 
And dare I say that combat has been this smooth in years? The way you could parry and immediately attack with both characters is quite fun in motion. Though I do see that they still kept the leveling system that feels arbitrary at times then and even now for Shadows, a few side-quests or castle raiding could raise those levels rather quickly, so it does feel like a non-issue.
The gear you got in your travels consists of Yukatas, Nagitas, and even the first iteration of the flintlock gun that some noblemen carried as you went through the chaos of combat. Heck, your hat also counts towards defense, which can be transmog into one that suits your fancy in the menus.
There are even enemies that will counter you if you’re not careful, so be warned when you think of doing a double assassination.
Content![]()
Like its predecessors, Shadows is a big game. With so much to do and see around Japan, one moment you could be sketching Tanuki silently at the edge of the sea, while the other parts could see you doing Kuji-Kiri meditation to initiate a flashback, there is lots to do in this one neat package. And I reckon it’s going to take players at least 50 hours to see all of the stuff that Shadows has to offer.
Scattered around towns in your hideout are contracts that see you either taking out bandits across town or even talking to the town folks to initiate a chain of assassin targets that could garner some rather interesting combat encounters, like perhaps taking all of them down together in a temple. It’s the sort of emergent gameplay that’s quite welcomed in a sandbox as big as Shadows.
Personal Enjoyment![]()
My interest in Assassin’s Creed doesn’t really go back that far than Bloodlines on the PSP, with short stints of playing the likes of Odyssey, and Syndicate on PC and finally going full into the series starting with Valhalla when it launches back in 2020. So getting the opportunity to play Shadows from the start without having to listen to a bunch of weirdos saying the game is terrible without even playing it, is something I would always be thankful for.
And while people would lambaste Ubisoft for creating a game based on a formula that they haven’t really deviated from (bar Mirage), it’s a pretty good romp in my view and I pretty much enjoyed my time playing this, perhaps playing it some more even after this review period because it’s that big.
Verdict
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is Ubisoft’s putting their eggs in the basket of Action RPGs with a wide open-world to explore in their own way. It might take a while to play as both Yasuke and Naoe but just playing around this game just feels right as it immerses you into the world. Really, if you’re a casual player who wants one game to play this year, it wouldn’t hurt to consider Shadows, in my opinion.
Played on Xbox Series S, Review copy provided by the publisher.
AC Shadows
Bascially Ubisoft’s putting their eggs in the basket of Action RPGs with a wide open-world to explore in their own way, just playing around this game just feels right as it immerses you into the world.
- Presentation 8.5
- Gameplay 7.5
- Content 8
- Personal Enjoyment 8