Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S (Reviewed), PC
Release Date: March 20, 2025
Price: $69.99 USD – Available Here 109.95 AUD – Available Here
Overview
Ever since the first Assassin’s Creed franchise started exploring different time periods and countries to set itself in, many fans have begged for the franchise to be set in Japan. Between the country’s signature style, storied history, and of course the birthplace of the shinobi, it seemed like a sure thing. However, over the years as new games were announced and released those hopes dwindled until finally, Ubisoft revealed Assassin’s Creed Shadows, bringing fans of the franchise to their most desired location nearly eighteen years after its debut. Sporting dual protagonists and of course set during the final stages of the Sengoku period in feudal Japan, does Assassin’s Creed Shadows manage to make the most out of this long awaited setting?
Story
The story begins unlike any entry in the franchise before it, with players taking on the role of a real person that existed in historical times. Players begin their adventure as Yasuke, briefly seeing how the large African man is treated by his Portugese and Jesuit owners that rescued the man at sea during their travels to Japan. The group is meeting everyone’s (not) favorite warlord Oda Nobunaga to seek permission to spread the word of their religion within the region free of Nobunaga’s army or restraints. At the meeting, Oda Nobunaga takes an interest in Yasuke and makes the man his own subordinate and, after a time-skip, a powerfully skilled samurai warrior unmatched as a bodyguard as they lay waste to a rebel village.
It is here that the main story and, generally from the way it feels written, the actual protagonist’s storyline begins as Naoe finds that her village of shinobi warriors is being overrun by Oda Nobunaga’s forces. With only a swift death awaiting them, her father leads Naoe to retrieve an unknown sacred item contained within a box that they have been entrusted to protect for generations and while the pair manage to do so, it isn’t long before they are beset by over a dozen masked assailants. This unknown group of warriors makes short work of Naoe and her father, leaving both to bleed out into the dirt as Naoe burns their masked visages into her memory, swearing revenge. With the help of a passing monk and young boy, she survives her injuries and begins building her own “Iga Clan” hideout with a mission to track down the ones who slayed her father for revenge and regain the box that was stolen from them.
Perhaps it is because players spend almost the entire first part of Assassin’s Creed Shadows as Naoe, but her storyline feels far better crafted and more personal, working as a tale of both revenge and seeking out a deeper meaning behind everything all while trying to uncover the mysteries behind her own clan’s historical lineage. This not only includes the mysteries of her mother, but aspects that tie into the grander Brotherhood as a whole, making Naoe the de facto protagonist and main character of the journey. This even includes her interactions with most of the main side-characters who grow and interact with her as well, since certain characters will only interact with one character and not another. On the other hand, once Yasuke finally enters the story again and becomes a playable character alongside Naoe, his storyline and progression is still tied relatively tightly to her own.
Yes, there are still personal development as Yasuke comes to terms with how he became the warrior he is as well as trying to find out his own lost past while trying to find a new purpose in life, his storyline never really hits with the same impact as Naoe, though there are still some great moments and scenes where he finds purposes and a place for himself even in a land that will never see him as nothing more than a stranger. In fact, he himself even states that he feels bound to her in some unknown way, with various hints being dropped along the way about the Brotherhood and lineage. Yasuke’s lacking storyline isn’t due to the fact that he existed, in fact players are shown exactly the main interactions that he is mentioned in, including the scene everyone familiar with the Sengoku era knows is coming, nor is it tied down to his continued story as history doesn’t really say what happened to the man past this point beyond that he survived, so it’s just poor writing unfortunately. Thankfully, as a set of dual protagonists they work together quite well, as scenes featuring both Naoe and Yasuke are incredibly endearing past their initial hostile encounter. We won’t specify what these moments are so players can enjoy them for themselves, but these two protagonists interacting with one another is a great aspect of having a duel lead. It is also worth noting that there are various choices players can make throughout the game and while these appear to be rather minimal most of the time, some choices state they will “deeply affect” a character. Those who want the “canon” experience can select an option when starting the game that turns off these choices.
As for the core storyline, it is roughly what players have come to expect from an Assassin’s Creed title, only slightly more evolved. Players will be given targets that they can track and hunt down, revealing more plot details along the way and having various twists and turners that work quite well before blossoming into even grander “boards” of targets to hunt down. Even the side-quests are incredibly elaborate, whether they are trying to hunt down yokai rumors to put someone’s mind at ease or slaying (and even sparing) a twisted family tree tormenting a town, they all are rather unique though it must be said that discovering some of these could use a bit of work. Players can stumble right into the hostile location containing a target, kill him/her, and complete a mission they didn’t even know existed until the board springs up on the quest menu. Along these same lines, being able to hunt most of the main antagonists in any order, especially in the middle part of the game, does lead to some significant disconnect in the way the story flows, making it feel unnatural with entire targets having absolutely no knowledge or even reason to do what they did. This can lead to the middle part of the plot, which is unfortunately the largest, being the weakest aspect of Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ grander story.
Gameplay
In many ways Assassin’s Creed Shadows is still the same as past entries as players will find themselves dropped into a sizable open world that, theoretically, allows them to travel anywhere immediately. This is stopped of course by the fact that certain regions have level limits where facing off against any opponent a few levels higher than the player would spell doom, even with an assassination attempt. The map is still filled with various question marks and “synchronization” points that no longer actually reveal the area but mostly serve as fast travel spots. These question marks must be traveled to to find out what they are, either a den of enemies, a temple/shrine to explore for knowledge, kofun to navigate, or even a full blown “castle” or “palace” filled with enemies to hunt and valuable loot inside. Quest objectives can be identified by one of Naoe’s spies or directly located by the player through a handful of clues given to them. Pinpointing them with spies helps speed up a search at the cost of being able to use them to smuggle resources back to the headquarters, though spy count can be refilled with in-game money or the changing of a season.
One completely brand new aspect that appears to add some level of extra gameplay depth is the seasons. Every few days (unrealistically) the seasons will change in the game, going from spring, to summer, to fall, and then winter before repeating. Along these time changes guards will respawn in previously swept areas, spies will return tto the player’s base with any smuggled goods they were assigned to teal, and the layout and design of some locations will also change. Longer nights can make sneaking around easier as Naoe while a pond that was an easy hiding spot is now frozen over and can make her slip if she runs roof ast over it. Along these same lines, guard and civilian patterns will adjust, grouping up more during the summer and spending time outside while huddling around fires or staying indoors in winter.
Regardless of the season, the biggest aspect of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the way its duel protagonists are meant to be played. Naoe is clearly the assassin, being of shinobi ancestry she is as agile of an assassin the franchise has ever seen at this point, capable of swiftly navigating up and down walls and rooftops, scampering across ropes, using her grappling hook to swing along, and of course utilizing her hidden blade for plenty of deadly assassinations from all manner of different angles all while utilizing various ninja tools such as kunai, shuriken, smoke bombs, and even bells to draw enemy attention elsewhere. Naoe can wield a katana, tanto/hidden blade combo, or kusarigama with both her and Yasuke both being able to equip two weapons at a time. Most of Naoe’s combat abilities allow her to either swiftly defeat a foe or escape from harm, utilizing longer distance attacks and dodges to target weakpoints as the young shinobi is not meant for a stand up brawl. She can certainly hold her own, as the game’s combat system revolves almost entirely around being able to deflect glowing blue or basic attacks and leaving enemies open or dodging out of the way of red unblockable attacks and counter attacking but any major battle will see her at a disadvantage even at equal level opponents.
Interestingly enough, stealth has evolved a bit in Assassin’s Creed Shadows as not only is there a “visual” meter that shows how easy it is for Naoe to be spotted thanks to how bright the environment might be, but enemy AI has grown a lot more intelligent. Whistling to draw an enemy into a bush will lead to them potentially swinging their blade down into the location of the whistle rather than blindly investigate, keeping players on their toes. Along these same lines, servants in larger areas can locate bodies and gather more guards to try and search for the culprit and if it just so happens that a kunai is buried in the body, they’ll be paying attention to the rooftops as well, knowing a shinobi was the cause. This adds some extra layers of navigation to stealthing around a large scale compound, though thankfully I have not noticed any missions that completely require stealth, meaning if players are caught they can likely fight their way out and sneak back to the objective, at least in my experience.
Those looking for a full down brawl will find that Yasuke is the character to pull out in these instances. While the large samurai is capable of crawling through bushes, he is incredibly noticeable and can snap brush and ropes with his weight alone, making sneaking nearly impossible. In fact, his assassination attack is literally a screaming murder that basically taunts every enemy in the area to his location. This is primarily because Yasuke is designed to be a monster of a fighter, capable of dispatching standard enemies with complete ease and cutting swathes through even heavier armored or larger foes. Combine this with the fact that some of his earliest abilities make him automatically block any attack and he can straight bull rush through doors and enemies, and he’s a force to be reckoned with. Wielding a long katana, naginata, kanabo, bow, or teppo (flintlock rifle), Yasuke is the antithesis of stealth and it does make for some interesting dynamics of seeing how to intricately navigate a location as Naoe, silently slaying her way through enemy guards, patrolling servants, and unlocking a treasure inside of a castle compared to just charging down the front gates as Yasuke and slaughtering everything in sight.
Both Yasuke and Naoe share level ups, “master points” that serve as skill points, and even knowledge level that raises as players complete puzzles in the open world. Ironically, players who spend a bit too much time in the early part of the game may find themselves unlocking and obtaining armor and weapons exclusive to Yasuke even though they can only play as Naoe up until act two. Once the two join forces, players can choose to swap between them at will outside of enemy territory but it is worth noting that some missions will require players to take on a certain character no matter what, meaning if players have been neglecting to keep Yasuke’s equipment upgraded he might be in a bit of trouble in these instances. Though once again, players will also often be given choices on who they want to have tackle a situation, selecting between Naoe and Yasuke but unfortunately rather than giving players control of one and the computer the control of the other, the other protagonist vanishes entirely from the mission, something that feels like a massive oversight to the whole “dual protagonist” aspect. Sneaking through a castle as Naoe while Yasuke tears up guards and causes a distraction would have made for some exciting dynamic gameplay but unfortunately that is never the case here.
Outside of standard exploration, stealth, and combat, players will also have their home base to manage to some degree. The home base can be upgraded and have various buildings that provide buffs such as the ability to have more scouts at a time, upgrade previously obtained gear so players can keep their favorite items up to snuff, and even manage allies they recruit along the way. There are also plenty of little cosmetic additions players can make such as adding in landscaping, trees, lanterns, shrines, or just simply make a small zoo of pets that Naoe and Yasuke have interacted with out in the world or Naoe has drawn as one of the collectables. Unfortunately, this can also lead to some less than stellar rewards during exploration. Wiping out a bandit camp and looting a treasure chest only to be given a different type of tree or gravel path feels like a complete waste sometimes, making loot something of an issue throughout the game.
Audio & Visuals
It must be said that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is an absolutely gorgeous looking game. This is especially true thanks to the aforementioned seasons system that will see every location in the game vary slightly from season to season. Lush spring foliage with cherry blossom trees, flashes of lightning during a monsoon-like rainstorm that obscures everything, or blanketing an entire village and countryside white with snow, the season system is quite gorgeous. The layout of the maps is also quite interesting as well, though since it stays true to Japan’s mountainous nature, a lot of locations are only easily accessible by following paths, making straight shots to an objective often a harder trek around unclimbable hills or difficult brush that has to be slashed through to navigate. The character designs are handled excellently and there is a nice level of detail to every element of clothing, armor, and weaponry with each also having quite a lot of variety, though players can make any armor look like another if they’ve obtained it before. It is also an incredibly bloody game, with Naoe able to slash throats like the best assassins and Yasuke brutally taking down enemies even in open combat, using a naginata to cut off a foes arms before decapitating them or just directly slicing a head clean from a body with his long katana.
It also must be stated just how cinematic a lot of the in-game cutscenes are presented. These cutscenes look straight out of a samurai movie with both presentation and sound design. This is thanks to the soundtrack featuring an excellent collection of background music that is both fitting for the time period but also a number of tracks that work wonders during the more action packed or high impact moments. The voice acting is unfortunately a bit less impressive, as the English voice cast is, for the most part, bad. The English voice actors for Naoe and Yasuke handle their roles well enough but almost every other side-character, including some of the primary villains, sound terribly stilted in English. Thankfully, players can choose to either play with a Japanese voice track accompanied by English subtitles or even an “authentic” option that will mix in Japanese voice work as well as Portuguese depending on the character talking at the time.
Overall
Assassin’s Creed Shadows delivers on the long-awaited promise of exploring feudal Japan, offering an expansive world and protagonists with distinct playstyles, one more compelling than the other. Naoe’s journey stands out as the emotional core, blending a personal tale of revenge with the larger Assassin’s Creed mythos, while Yasuke’s brute-force approach provides a refreshing contrast, despite his storyline feeling underdeveloped in comparison all while both characters provide a fittingly distinct gameplay experience, even if Yasuke is a bit too busted. That being said, while the evolving seasons and intelligent enemy AI add layers of immersion, the fragmented mid-game narrative, slightly bloated open world that often has poor rewards, and occasional pacing issues detract from the overall experience. Nevertheless, Assassin’s Creed Shadows successfully combines the series’ signature stealth and combat with a richly detailed historical setting, making it a worthy addition to the franchise despite its flaws.
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