Assassin's Creed: Shadows Review — "The Next Best Game in the Series"

Assassin's Creed: Shadows Review

In 1579, Japan is divided between powerful daimyo, each trying to seize power for themselves. Chief among them is Oda Nobunaga of Owari Province, who is at the height of his power. His influence is so great that Jesuits who come to Japan seek his approval. During one of these visits, the Jesuits introduce Yasuke, then known as Daigo, a slave bodyguard. He quickly attracts the attention of a powerful daimyo, which sets the stage for the story of Assassin's Creed: Shadows . This prologue introduces us to the historical period and key events that the game's protagonists will experience.

I've been playing Assassin's Creed games for over 15 years now, and as you can imagine, my experiences with the franchise have been mixed. There have been moments of pure delight and deep disappointment, but the franchise has always managed to evoke at least some emotion. This time around, those feelings are mixed, but I still found something interesting in the game. On the one hand, the game offers good stealth mechanics and a great combat system. On the other, it suffers from an average story and repetitive, formulaic exploration and side activities.

Scenario "in the shadows"

Assassin's Creed: Shadows follows the adventures of samurai Yasuke and shinobi Naoe from the Iga province, a region in conflict with the Oda clan. Following the prologue described earlier, the game plunges us into the thick of the battle between Oda Nobunaga's soldiers and the Iga shinobi. Initially, we play as Yasuke. We are soon introduced to Naoe, who is tasked by her father to find and protect a small box. At this point, he also hands her the now iconic Hidden Blade. However, what seemed like a simple task quickly becomes a much more complex mission, as Naoe finds herself embroiled in events that will change her life forever.

I don’t want to give away too much about the game’s prologue. However, from the start, players are treated to a lengthy introduction to the story, delivered through lengthy conversations and character introductions. In terms of the quality of the story and dialogue, the first hour of the game is solid. It builds intrigue for us and presents key historical events from a new perspective – something the Assassin’s Creed series has always done well. Unfortunately, the plot soon becomes overly cautious, giving the impression of a story that lacks boldness and bite. This feeling persists throughout most of the game, with a few moments where genuinely interesting things happen. However, these moments are fleeting and are often undermined by predictable dialogue and a formulaic approach to storytelling.

Shadows introduces a familiar theme – a big secret hidden in a mysterious box. This secret becomes the driving force behind Naoe’s vengeance, leading her to seek out those who harmed her and stole something valuable. Of course, these people belong to a powerful organization that is hungry for control and influence. If, like me, you’ve played previous Assassin’s Creed games, this setup will feel all too familiar, and the organization is actually the same. It’s a story structure we’ve seen many times, only now it’s been reworked in a new setting with different characters. While the plot has potential, it’s not fully realized. On paper, the story of a shinobi caught up in the machinations of the Assassins and a former slave turned samurai sounds compelling.

Yasuke and Naoe each have their own arcs, but while the shinobi's story feels a bit uninspired, the African samurai's is much more engaging - albeit very slowly. It's only towards the end of the game that we finally get a deeper understanding of Yasuke's past, and his true motives. This part of the story was the most exciting for me, but it wasn't enough to raise the bar for the plot to a high level. Unfortunately, the plot is too simple and unmemorable. It lacks that "wow!" factor.

Shinobi and Samurai

Let's get away from the negatives and focus on the real strengths of the latest installment in the Assassin's Creed series. If you've played the franchise's recent RPGs, you'll already be familiar with the formula. However, Assassin's Creed: Shadows expands on many of the game's elements, adding new mechanics that improve both the difficulty and freedom of missions.

Let's start with the combat system, which will be different for the two main characters. Naoe is a nimble shinobi with acrobatic moves. She doesn't do much damage and is more vulnerable in direct confrontations, but she excels in stealth mode. She also has access to various shinobi tools and an arsenal of weapons designed for assassins. During my playthrough, I mainly relied on the katana and tanto, with the latter being necessary for performing double kills. However, in addition to these weapons, players can also use the kusarigama, a powerful weapon that is effective even in the early stages of the game. When I used it, I often pressed the heavy attack button, which allowed me to control the fight. I found the weapon too overpowered, so I switched to other types.

In combat, we can use light, heavy, charged light and charged heavy attacks. As in previous installments of the series, dodging and parrying play a key role. In addition, we have access to special attacks that can be unlocked through the skill tree and improved over time. Fights allow you to perform smooth attack combinations with animations that vary depending on the weapon and character used. Many enemies wear armor that must first be destroyed before real damage can be done. I was particularly impressed by the level of detail in this mechanic - watching parts of the samurai armor break off during combat is a real pleasure. This adds a sense of realism to the game. Particular attention should be paid to the finishing animations, which change depending on the type of weapon. One of the interesting design decisions is that almost every fight ends with a finishing move, which is organically integrated into the fight and does not disrupt its flow. The animations themselves are brutal, cinematic and visually impressive.

Positioning is very important during combat, as the game allows you to not only throw enemies off cliffs, but also push them into walls or even other enemies, causing additional damage. Another great detail is the destruction physics in the game - it is easy to accidentally cut plants or paper doors during combat, which adds to the atmosphere. The game also offers weapon engravings, which, when combined with skills and equipment, allow players to create their own builds. For example, some builds are based on knocking down enemies and finishing them off. I played the game on the Expert difficulty level, which allowed me to fully enjoy the challenge of combat battles. The difficulty was well balanced - when I died, I knew it was due to my own mistakes and not unfair mechanics.

A key aspect of the game is the different playstyles of the two main characters. Naoe, with her shinobi skills, is very good at stealth, making her movements unnoticeable. Exploring the world is also more fun with her, thanks to her grappling hook, which improves her mobility and climbing ability.

On the other hand, Yasuke is a tall, strong samurai. He is disciplined, follows strict etiquette, and is guided by honor. Unlike Naoe, his strength lies in direct combat. Yasuke's fighting style focuses on brutal, fast attacks. His arsenal of weapons includes a long katana, a naganata, a kanabo, a bow, and a teppo, with each weapon having its own skill tree and special abilities. While I did enjoy the melee weapons, especially the naganata and kanabo, I felt that the bow and teppo were underpowered, causing me to rarely use them.

Yasuke wasn't built for climbing and stealth. Sure, you can try to do that with him, but it will feel unnatural and difficult, especially when Naoe is so much better at those types of tasks. I bring this up because there were a few times when I wanted to 100% an area and started clearing it as a samurai, only to be blocked by an object hidden high up in a castle or tower. In order to get the item without getting too frustrated, I had to leave the area, switch to Naoe, and climb up to get it. It was times like that that the dual-hero concept didn't feel fully thought out. Sometimes, especially during the main and side quests early in the game, it felt like the game was punishing me for choosing a certain character.

During main and side missions, we are often given the opportunity to choose which character to play as, which leads to some funny situations. In cutscenes, Yasuke and Naoe talk to each other, but after you choose the samurai or shinobi, one of them simply disappears. This creates some dissonance and takes some getting used to. The game also has dialogue choices (if you haven't chosen canon mode), which sometimes have consequences, but most often don't. There is some inconsistency here - while the game pays attention to detail in some areas, in other cases it takes a more relaxed approach to things.

One thing I particularly liked was the stealth mechanics, which have been greatly expanded compared to previous games in the series. First, in addition to crouching, we can now lie on our stomachs, giving us more options for approaching a target. A visibility indicator has appeared at the top of the screen, which helps us assess our detection level - this is especially useful on the Expert difficulty level, where enemy perception is at its maximum, and they quickly notice us and do not lose sight of us once they have spotted us. However, the enemy AI still leaves much to be desired, as they often forget that they have seen us after waiting long enough after detection. Despite this, the whole system is saved by the use of shadows, which now work like bushes - if we stay in them, enemies will not notice us unless they get too close. The mechanics of hiding in the shadows require us to extinguish or destroy light sources, and shurikens are useful for this. Our visibility also depends on the weather - during a storm or blizzard, it is more difficult for enemies to detect us. By default, the hidden blade doesn't kill powerful enemies in one hit, but we can change that in a few ways. One option is to buy the necessary skills, and another is to enable the one-hit kill feature in the game's difficulty settings. After testing the second option, I felt like I was cheating a little, but it also made taking out targets ten times more satisfying.

I played Assassin's Creed: Shadows on the PS5 console in Performance mode. The game maintained a steady 60 frames per second in the open world. The only performance issue I had was when I visited a freely expandable hideout, where for some reason the frame rate dropped to 30. Overall, I didn't encounter any major bugs, although every now and then Yasuke or Naoe's clothes would act weird in cutscenes, or a shinobi would lose the katana sheath on their back. The game also never crashed to the title screen. Occasionally, facial animations wouldn't work properly, making it seem like they were from a previous generation.

Visually, the world in Shadows is stunning, with typical landscapes of central Japan, including mountains and forests. The fauna is incredibly diverse and ubiquitous. You will constantly encounter various animals, including insects, wild boars, foxes, dogs, cats and many others. The architecture of this period is also beautifully recreated. We can visit locations such as Enryaku-ji, Kyoto or Osaka, which look very impressive. These cities are full of life, the inhabitants react to changes in the weather or to the chaos on the streets. Yasuke's armor and Naoe's outfits are carefully designed, and we can often find them in chests or earn them by completing missions.

A new feature introduced in Shadows is the seasonal system, which allows you to explore Japan in spring, summer, autumn and winter. It is a very interesting addition, integrated into the world of the game. For example, in winter, icicles hanging from the roofs of buildings can fall due to our actions, causing a stir among the guards who notice it. In spring and summer, it is easier to move stealthily through dense vegetation. Some side quests require you to complete them in a certain season. Although I did not come across many such tasks, it is still a nice addition. The game has a seasonal system, but unfortunately we cannot freely change the time of day. I consider the lack of the ability to choose the moment to carry out a certain mission a big minus - especially because heists at night have their own unique charm and are simply easier to carry out.

Exploration in Assassin's Creed: Shadows is one of the elements that disappointed me. We are presented with a huge open world consisting of 9 provinces, but we cannot start exploring them right away. They are locked with level requirements, meaning that we need to reach certain levels to travel through them without the fear of being destroyed by every enemy we meet. At the beginning, the open world seems huge, but as we progress, we realize that it is filled with mountains and dense forests that make it difficult to move around. This is where the path option comes in handy, showing us the way to the goal. Overall, exploration in AC: Shadows is designed with roads in mind, making the presented world much smaller than it seems. This would not bother me so much if it were not for the monotonous side quests and activities that quickly become boring. Although there are exclusive activities for Yasuke and Naoe to add variety, they too become monotonous over time.

Many contracts also require long journeys. In Shadows, we mainly use a horse for transportation, but traveling on a horse does not always go as expected. The animal often behaves strangely on a straight path, turns on its own, and does not always respond to commands. As for the parkour (which, of course, Naoe does), it has become quite spectacular. Shinobi performs impressive tricks, jumping from one building to another, and can use a grappling hook from the very beginning. During parkour, we generally need to hold a combination of two buttons depending on whether we want to go up or down. In the game world, I found places - such as cliffs - that I could climb, but there were also some that I could not. The game can be quite vague about where you can and cannot climb.

Earlier I mentioned the hideout, which plays an important role in AC: Shadows. It is a meeting place for our allies, and also a minigame. In the hideout we can build structures, almost like in a construction game. We can even create our own zoo! Building buildings makes sense in terms of gameplay, as the forge, for example, allows us to hire a blacksmith to improve our weapons and armor, as well as dismantle piles of katanas, naginatas and bows. However, building requires some effort, as you need to collect resources to expand your settlement. The best way to collect them is to complete contracts that are updated with each new season.

Assassin's Creed: Shadows is a game full of contrasts. On one hand, it offers great stealth mechanics and a great combat system, but on the other, it has a dull story and mediocre exploration. If you're a fan of the series, there's probably something here that you'll like, but if you weren't convinced from the start, the combat and stealth may not be enough to convince you.

Assassin's Creed: Shadows is a game full of contrasts. On one hand, it offers great stealth mechanics and a great combat system, but on the other, it has a dull story and mediocre exploration. If you're a fan of the series, there's probably something here that you'll like, but if you weren't convinced from the start, the combat and stealth may not be enough to convince you. I've spent almost 50 hours with the new Assassin's Creed, and while there were moments I really enjoyed, there were also times when I felt overwhelmed by the repetitive content and poorly written dialogue. What impressed me most was the setting, which was beautifully crafted and immersed me in a fascinating period of Japanese history, although it ultimately failed to live up to its full potential.