After its initial November 12, 2024 release date was pushed back to February and then again to March 2025, it stands to reason that Assassin’s Creed Shadows might have gained a little heat as far as expectations were concerned. After all, it’s a wonder it even took this long for the series to reach feudal Japan in the first place. But here we are.
That being said, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is one of the more interesting and refined experiences the series has produced in quite some time. It excels in its punchy combat, gorgeous visuals and an emphasis on the choice between a structured narrative and the freedom to tackle things as you see fit.
While it plays things a little safe in terms of its delivery, it’s clear that developer Ubisoft has learned some valuable lessons in terms of what works and what doesn’t, making this feel like a genuine step forward for the now veteran franchise.
A Tale of Two Warriors
Players take control of two unique and separate protagonists in Yasuke and Naoe, as opposed to choosing between a female or male version of Valhalla’s Eivor, or between Odyssey’s Alexios or Kassandra. Shadows now splits its story between its two characters and does a great job of having the two intersect at certain points.
Players will initially spend more time with Naoe, to begin with, a young Ninja in training, who via an intense introduction, is sucked into a plot of vengeance and discovery, after her father is murdered. As she learns of her clan’s true origins, we join her as she eliminates the members of the Shinbakufu clan, responsible for turning her world upside down.
Yasuke’s story will instantly feel familiar to anyone who has read or seen any iteration of James Clavell’s Shogun as our protagonist is left with a Japanese clan as collateral, only to become a strong samurai in the hands of those who realise his potential.
Without spoiling any more than the basic premise, I will say that the main narrative has a bunch of memorable sequences and set pieces, highlighted by the moments that bring these two protagonists together. These ‘crossroads’ moments are true highlights and bring real depth to the moral dilemmas that have been raised, generally unintentionally by each character.
Japanese-American actress Masumi Tsunoda and Zimbabwean actor Tongayi Chirisais are as wonderful as Naoe and Yasuke respectively, bringing some real depth and emotion to pretty much every scene.
While the story is relatively linear and well-paced should you wish to proceed down that route, Assassin’s Creed Shadows also allows you to go your own way and explore its hidden corners. Side quests will pop up on the map as you explore new regions, and most of these missions do a great job of shaking up the formula while introducing you to some unique and sometimes hilarious NPCs in the process. Naoe can even utilise scouts to help her track down specific areas of importance during missions, which is a nice touch should you get stuck.
While the voice acting takes a little bit of a dive here in these missions, I do encourage players to explore every once in a while to take advantage of the game’s sheer variety.
It’s also worth noting here that the game allows you to play in Canon Mode and Immersive Modes, each with its implications. In the game’s Canon Mode, any dialogue choices are essentially removed and protagonists cannot romance certain NPCs. This essentially steers you towards the narrative Ubisoft had intended. Once turned on, this cannot be turned off.
The Immersive Mode, however, essentially replaces the dialogue with Japanese dialogue. As good as the English voice acting is, this is also fantastic. Unlike Canon Mode, this can be turned off at any time.
The only real issue here is that the game initially switches between characters only when the story deems it necessary. So if you’re not progressing the story at first, you could be stuck with a certain character until you decide to continue on that specific journey. The game does allow you to switch between characters freely after a certain point in the story, but it just takes a while to get there.
Either way, while most of the main missions are based around checking off certain tasks to complete assassinations and partaking in some series action setpieces, some sincere and emotional moments add a decent amount of stakes and weight to the main story, making it a worthy centrepiece for this experience.
The Way of the Samurai
Assassin’s Creed Shadows plays out, for the most part, like its older siblings. As far as mechanics are concerned, Shadows plays similarly to Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla in that your right shoulder buttons account for light and heavy attacks. Shadows, however, is much less reliant on statistics.
Overall combat feels incredibly punchy and responsive, as you blend a mix of light and heavy attacks, along with dodges and parries. Holding each of the attack buttons can also initiate posture attacks, which can knock your enemies off balance and break their guards, leaving them open to a flurry of attacks.
Enemies don’t feel overly difficult but do a great job at mixing up their attacks and strategies, making combat feel consistently fresh.
Beyond general combat, Naoe and Yasuke have their unique playstyles and approaches, with Naoe relying on her agility and stealth, while Yasuke relies more so on brute strength. They control in the same way but feel almost entirely different. Playstyles still yield some sense of flexibility, although each character has access to their exclusive weapons.
While combat feels a little more satisfying than Yasuke simply due to his reliance on heavy and ranged weaponry, Naoe’s more agile approach means you’re always on your toes, dodging and parrying moves that Yasuke would normally smash through.
Upgrading your abilities and weapons also feels much easier and more rewarding this time around. There are minor statistical boosts to things like health and damage depending on what clothing, armour and weapons are equipped, but it never feels detrimental to your experience should you have a preference that’s not entirely stat-based. Now players can gain skill points to unlock new abilities like special moves and attacks.
Levelling up your character is still relatively important to be able to access certain areas or take on certain enemies, but that pillar of progression feels woven into the game’s traditional narrative-based progress, as opposed to a flurry of numbers that don’t quite match the numbers of your opponent.
Most of the main missions in Shadows also do a great job of flexing the range of the mechanics on offer, be it via stealth, action or even traversal. While assassinating targets is the overall goal, you may sometimes need to meet with them, sneak into an area to eavesdrop on a conversation, or simply get a read on their overall defences and strongholds.
You may even need to get into their good books by tracking down items of interest like gifts, before getting up close and personal and making your move. The game then allows you to proceed as you see fit, lashing out against crowds in a daring faceoff, or simply sneaking out the back door with minimal friction.
When you’re not in the thick of combat or sneaking around wonderfully constructed castles to get that perfect assassination, Shadows allows you to build and customise your hideout, similar to the Ravensthorpe settlement from Valhalla. By collecting resources out in the wild like wood, minerals or crops, you can build new areas and buildings in your hideout that give you access to things like new equipment and cosmetics.
While it’s not necessarily central to the experience, there’s a decent amount of depth here, and if you’re looking to grind down the track for new assets, this can provide a decent amount of opportunity.
Look the Part
From a visual standpoint, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is simply gorgeous. I can understand the many comparisons to Ghost of Tsushima here, but Shadows is brimming with vibrant colours, impressive lighting effects and some gorgeous vistas for you to leap from.
Players can choose from a Quality Mode which prioritises resolution and detail at 30 FPS, or a Performance Mode which prioritises a smoother 60 FPS at the cost of some visual fidelity. I’m a sucker for smooth frame rates, but even then, I must say that Shadows help up pretty well visually.
Make no mistake, it does look better when in Quality Mode, but I feel as though that speaks to how good the game already looks. It’s also worth noting, PS5 Pro users can take advantage of a Balanced Mode, which delivers 40 FPS with an emphasis on visual fidelity.
While frame rate drops do pop up now and then, I can’t say they were frequent enough to detract from the overall experience.
Finally, the game’s soundtrack is also worth mentioning here. While the game throws in a few unique rock-infused tracks that sometimes feel out of place, it generally addresses a sense of atmosphere and authenticity that should not go unnoticed.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Assassin’s Creed Shadows might be weaving together a web of all that has come before it, but it has done so with grace and confidence. Ubisoft has learned from its past mistakes, and while it plays things a little safe, is steering things back in the right direction.
Thanks to an engaging narrative, satisfying combat and gorgeous visuals, Assassin’s Creed Shadows makes for one of the most interesting and engaging action titles of the year, and a clear sign that there’s still some life left in this franchise yet.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Engaging narrative; Fantastic combat; Sense of choice and freedom; Gorgeous visuals
Lowlights: Takes a while to be able to switch freely between both protagonists; Doesn’t necessarily reinvent the Assassin’s Creed formula
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC
Available: Now
Review conducted on PlayStation 5 with a pre-release code provided by the publisher.
