GAMERTIMES

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ASSASSIN’S CREED SHADOWS.
YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!

Ubisoft has released the next entry in the Assassin’s Creed Series known as the Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The game since its announcement faced controversies regarding historical accuracy-fuelled skepticism; challenges shifting to Role-Playing Games filled with heavy action. But, the final product surpasses expectations, delivering the best Assassin’s Creed experience in a while.

The game introduces us to 2 new characters – Naoe, a Swift Shinobi and Yasuke, a powerful Samurai, like really powerful – offering unique playstyles. Naoe is a agile Shinobi who excels in stealth while the Yasuke is a powerful Samurai whose raw power is way more than Naoe’s. While his combat prowess is sluggish, he in size is huge that stealth gameplay becomes challenging with him.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set in feudal Japan during the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (starting in 1579) and follows two protagonists—Yasuke, a former slave-turned-samurai serving Oda Nobunaga, and Naoe, a shinobi seeking revenge for her father’s death. Set against key historical events like the 1581 Assault on Iga Province, the story weaves through regions like Kyoto and Osaka, blending urban areas with traditional architecture.

Yasuke helps Nobunaga invade Iga, leading to Naoe’s quest for vengeance against a group called the Shinbakufu, ultimately revealed to be led by Ashikaga Yoshiaki. The pair join forces to protect “The Jewel”—part of Japan’s Imperial Regalia—uncovering its connection to the Assassin Brotherhood while battling the Templar Order, paving the way for the Brotherhood’s rise in Japan.

Now, let’s talk about the visuals of the game. It’s breathtaking. The world Ubisoft has built is impressive and might just be one of the best-looking open-worlds we’ve seen in a while. The realistic lighting, the shadows significantly enhance immersion, whether you’re sneaking through villages in the night or exploring vibrant landscapes during the day. The seasonal changes adds another realistic effect to the game visuals whether its Spring, Snow, Autumn – it enhances the world of Shadows.

The feudal Japanese setting is recreated with meticulous attention to detail, from traditional architecture to lush foliage, making exploration a visually rewarding experience. However, like other open-world games of Ubisoft, Shadows follows the same path of tracking objectives using focus abilities and hunting for collectibles which in a way detracts the otherwise streamlined gameplay.

The map, its way too big which visually is amazing, but quest and collectibles-wise will soon make you bored as this has been the problem with previous AC’s games. There are castles to invade to kill the Daisho and loot their chests to gain – epic or legendary outfits, weapons, headbands, and trinket.

Gear Progression still exists in the game, but no longer overwhelming. However, the skill tree relies on the ability to unlock collectibles, requiring players to go out in the wilds and hunt for knowledge points at temples, or character-specific collectibles – for Naoe its Kuji-Kiri, Kano paintings, and Hidden Trails; while for Yasuke, its Katas and Horse Archery – Then there’s Kofuns which can be completed by both, but there are few which are doable as one character as they require their unique abilities, such as Naoe being able to use grappling hooks and Yasuke pulling heavy stuff, and breaking stuffs. It’s worth adding, you can go to all the regions after Prologue, but Yasuke exclusive collectibles can’t be collected after Act 1 Completion.

As for the game musics, you just listen to it when not playing, at that time, it sounds good. However, during combat, the soundtrack isn’t good as it gives confusing vibes like the fight is in 16th Century, but with modern 21st Century music, which doesn’t blend well with the gameplay, and at times you may feel it’s better to keep the music off, because they don’t cross with each other well. An traditional/cultural music of older times to the game would have elevated the gameplay experience.

Performance-wise, it tries to stay stable at 4K 60 FPS (PS5) (tried on XSX, same thing), as quarter of the time you’ll see the frame drops. Whether its in Performance or Quality Mode, it happens. Notably, the game requires a big updates as there are bugs which sometimes causes the game to either shut down, or ruin the gameplay. There are few bugs which effects the characters movement – sometimes they’ll get stuck in walls or in mid-air when jumping off the castle; or sometimes you’ll just magically travel from one place to another when all you were doing is riding the horse.

On the combat front, Naoe has three weapon choices – Katana, Kusarigamas, and Tanto; Yasuke on the other hand has five choices – Katana, Tento, Bow, Naginatas, and Kanabo. Shadows offers a simple, accessible combat system with audio cues and options like Guaranteed Assassination, but sometimes suffers from inconsistent input. Sometimes press buttons triggers attacks before executing desired actions – like assassination causing issues in stealth scenarios. Limited control over equipment changes during combat further hampers the experience, making the combat feel frustrating and restrictive.

Despite everything, I can’t believe how much I enjoyed the game. I honestly spent more time playing as the Samurai, Yasuke ’cause how big and exciting his combat, kicking boulder size enemies and they go flying, I find it so much funny. I’ve invested almost 90 Hours to this game completing almost everything, but the Japanese visuals stuns me always.

Ubisoft finally bringing the Assassin’s Creed series to the Japan was what got many fans excited with expectations on they don’t mess it up, and they didn’t. This game should help Ubisoft take the future game in this series in the right direction.

“Assassin’s Creed Shadows in the Japanese Setting did what was expected from the game, a beautiful world to explore, and combat which makes the game fun to play!”

Special Thanks to Ubisoft for providing us the review copy of the
Assassin’s Creed Shadows!