4 hours ago
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It's as fun as you'd expect an AC game with katanas and ninjas but the writing lacks sharpness
A glance at Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and it seems like business as usual for the long-running open world adventure series. And though it does a lot of the same stuff seen in recent installments of Assassin’s Creed, it experiments with certain parts of the formula. Much about Shadows will appeal to players looking for more satisfying stealth than in recent installments, while other experiments don’t really work in evolving the overall experience.
That being said, Shadows is the Asssassin’s Creed that players have been asking for a very long time. It finally delivers on the long wishlisted setting of feudal era Japan. Between Renaissance Italy, Victorian London, Pirate Age Caribbean and more, the series has explored many eras and regions. But when Ubisoft confirmed in 2022 that Sengoku period Japan would be its next destination, players lost their shit.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows faced some challenges in its journey to the finish line, not to mention some bad faith controversy, but after spending nearly a full week with the game, I can confirm that this is the shinobi and samurai fantasy players have wanted. And while there’s no shortage of games featuring all that sword and ninja goodness, few franchises can deliver on this fetish at a triple-A level like Assassin’s Creed.
You don’t have to be a dyed in the wool series fan to enjoy Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Like other installments, the narrative doesn’t spend much time with its over meta-plot. But it’s also worth noting the series’ fast and loose interpretation of well known historical figures and the bending of known events to suit its broad mythology of secret societies at war with one another: Assassin’s Creed has always been more “highlight reel” than historical record.
Naoe’s tale, improved stealth
YASUKE AND NAOE. The two characters give the player different gameplay experiences but Naoe’s stands outThe game begins with a brief introduction to Yasuke, a foreigner who rises to the station of personal retainer to Oda Nobunaga before switching you over to Naoe, apocryphal daughter of actual shinobi legend Fujibayashi Nagato. Individually, the two protagonists of Assassin’s Creed Shadows present different extremes of where the series is now. However, it’s clear that the Naoe is the game’s intended protagonist. Although Yasuke is based on an actual historical figure, he ends up being somewhat peripheral to the overall narrative.
Playing as Naoe gives you a more concentrated stealth experience, especially on higher difficulties where raising the alarm gives you more trouble. Yasuke’s existence feels largely supplementary (though not any less enjoyable). For while Yasuke gives you the thrills of a powerful samurai, he lacks the robust tool kit available to Naoe. My expectation was that their progression trees would intersect somewhat – Yasuke acquiring some stealth and traveral equivalents to Naoe’s and Naoe acquiring more brutal encounter clearing moves.
That never happens, which is fine. I embrace any game for what it is trying to be rather than what I hope for it to be. Ubisoft Quebec put so much thought into expanding the tactical depth of its stealth experience so that it no longer feels like the afterthought it was in 2018’s Odyssey. In Shadows, stealth means playing the board by taking advantage of strategic opportunities and forcing hostiles to reposition where you need them to be. Gone are the days of simply hiding in the tall grass and pressing a button ad infinitum ad nauseaum.
DOGGO. No modern game is complete without furry companionsFor example, lights are now greater factors to consider. As you sneak about at night, you’ll want to blow out candles and knock out lanterns to gain the cover of darkness. Some enemies will even look up to the rooftops if they find kunai in dead bodies, which means you’ll have to crouch prone (a new movement option) to avoid being seen. The seasons and weather also make a difference. In winter, you don’t have the option of hiding underwater but you can walk across frozen moats to approach a castle wall. Guards will do more extensive patrols during the summer and favor being indoors during the winter.
As Yasuke, it becomes clear you can only engage with a limited range of Shadows’ design. He can crouch in bushes but enemies spot him much more quickly. He also can’t take to the roofs the way Naoe can as he lacks the jump height or the grappling cable that lets her get anywhere. And if you try to walk on some of the more delicate parkour aids in the environment such as ropes, they break and snap under his weight. Yasuke is designed to storm enemy crowds, parry every assault on his person and slaughter them all. But only that. Which is fine in the levels and missions that are designed with him in mind, but his limitations are apparent everywhere else.
Improved action
I wasn’t terribly bummed by this, mind you. The action in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is as thrilling as any AAA game needs to be, and definitely better than in recent entries. Whether you’re deftly skulking about the rooftops as you stalk and kill dozens of guards or taking on an elite warrior with a frenetic series of strikes and parries, the game is a blast so long as you welcome what it gives you. The unfortunate reality is that Naoe ends up embodying all three pillars of Assassin’s Creed design far greater than Yasuke does.
HIGH PLACES. Finally a chance to gaze at Japan from this iconic AC point-of-viewHowever, the game falters in other places. Like many other Ubisoft games I’ve reviewed, the narrative doesn’t amount to much of anything. Worse still, much of the character writing is preoccupied with cliches found in other Western works about the East, with fixations on honor, guilt, etiquette and cultural purity. Sure, these themes have precedent, but when every game about Japan from the West features them, it’s kind of exhausting. Moreso when it invokes metaphors about butterflies, flowers, origami and bonsai. Ghost of Tsushima was arguably worse about this, but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing.
The best AC in years
There are great moments like Yasuke imparting some insights to Naoe about the world outside of Japan and the persistent action movie buddy dynamic they have as they exchange glances and go, “Can you believe this guy?” But there isn’t a real trajectory to their relationship. I mean sure, sometimes you meet someone who instantly becomes your bestie, but the lack of visible growth is a missed opportunity. And that’s to say nothing of Naoe’s constant back and forth between impetuousness and maturity. Meanwhile Yasuke’s motivations basically amount to, “some bad guys do need killing!”
CATTY. And don’t you worry if you lean towards the meowy side on the pet-loving spectrum; the cats are here too. Also, the game’s English voice acting lacks a certain naturalistic quality, that might be chalked up to a choice in direction. Thankfully, Assassin’s Creed Shadows ships with Immersive Mode, which can be turned on any time to set all characters to speak in their historically correct language, which is mostly Japanese though some characters such as the Jesuit missionaries that arrived in Japan mid-century speak Portuguese. It’s a very cool feature which allows you to enjoy the Japanese and Portuguese dubbing, which in my estimation features more naturalistic performances, without changing the language of your menus and UI.
These complaints will likely register for some as merely relative or inconsequential. And that’s fine! I’m certain many people are going to enjoy Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Between the satisfying gameplay and its dazzling technical achievements this is arguably the most put together Assassin’s Creed in years.
Score: 8/10 – Rappler.com
