Assassin's Creed Shadows Review - Overthrowing Japan One Stab Wound At A Time
I’ve been itching to get back into a good Assassin’s Creed title. I have always enjoyed the series, but recently, it hasn’t quite been the same. I fell off Valhalla after 80 hours or so when I realised just how much I still had left and Mirage, while a nice nostalgia trip back to the AC of old, didn’t have enough meat on the bones for me. So I came into Shadows with high hopes, hopes that it would capture that grand style that Origins and Odyssey used to drag me in. Well after spending about 50 hours in Japan, I am happy to say that Assassin’s Creed is back and it is just as engaging as ever.
For those who don’t know, Shadows uses a dual-protagonist perspective similar to Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Players spend their time switching between Yaskue, a former African slave who is now a Samurai, and Naoe, a Shinobi who is chasing her family’s history after her father’s untimely death. Initially they are on opposite sides of a conflict, but soon realise that Japan is under the thrall of a secret organisation that is manipulating the country towards its own ends and join forces to end this threat. A classic setup that works well within the setting. The story was wonderfully pulpy stuff and the characters were all written well with pitch-perfect voice-acting performances. Naoe is a harsher, more hardened character who often leans towards violent action, while Yaskue has a gentler soul, recognising that vengeance leads down an undesirable path. These two philosophies play well together and lead to some cool in-game choices and memorable scenes.
The differences are much greater than just their personal approaches, with combat and movement varying greatly between the two. Naoe, being a ninja, is more agile and suited to stealth while Yaskue isn’t much for the quiet approach and can barge through doors to take enemies head-on. These two distinct gameplay styles certainly helped to keep gameplay fresh for the entire runtime. I took great pleasure in mixing things up, one minute sneaking through a heavily guarded castle to assassinate a corrupt lord as Naoe and the next smashing through a wall as I fought six other Samurai as Yasuke. Both approaches are equally valid and both are just as fun to play. In the end, I spent around 60% of my time playing as Naoe simply because exploration was more fun as a nimble Shinobi as opposed to the slower, yet infinitely stronger Yaskue, but I enjoyed my time with both protagonists equally.
The combat systems here will be familiar to those who spent time in Odyseey or Origins but have evolved nicely into something that has quite a bit of depth. Parries, dodges and special moves all play their part, but feel much more important as they open higher damage opportunities if performed with precise timing. Fighting as Naoe is an agile affair, where quick hits, vaults over the enemy’s back and nimble dodges are the order of the day whereas Yasuke hits big, blocks easily and has a lot of specials that regain health, making him the perfect option when a tank approach is called for. Combat is also visceral and bloody, more so than any of the Creed games that have come before it. Brutal stabbings, decapitations and impalings are the order of the day making this one much higher on the gore than I expected, but at the same time, it felt appropriate and never out of place.
Perhaps the single most impressive thing I discovered during my time with Shadows is the attention to detail that Ubisoft has displayed. There are small things that become apparent after some time with the game that may not seem like much, but add to the experience in wonderful ways. For example, getting up to galloping speed on the horse is much quicker when playing as the lighter Naoe and adversely, trudging through snow easier as the powerful Yasuke. This detail extends to the seasons, which play an important part in the game, with the clear march of time occurring around players as they progress. Snow will start to fall, winds will pick up, leaves will change colour and fields will dry out as the seasons get close to changing. This is a game that is full of small touches and stunning details that enhance the immersion without ever being obvious or forcing the player to take notice. This subtle approach impresses and I wish there was more of it in AAA games in general.
The world here is large, but not excessively so. It took me about 45 hours to complete the game while finishing a good chunk of side missions and I spent another 5 hours after that cleaning up some assassination targets that escaped my grasp during my playthrough. That is a comfortable amount of time for me and it left me wanting more at the end as opposed to the never-ending trudge the Valhalla became. The story is an engaging one and while the traditional Templar/Assassin’s story only really comes into the game in the final 3rd, the overall story is told in an engaging and well-written manner that will keep players invested for its entire length. The ending may split people though, with a cliffhanger that is obviously leading into DLC. At first, I was annoyed, but upon reflection, the main story had resolved and the fact I was left anticipating more showed that the devs had got the balance just right.
Sadly, some franchise problems that have been around forever still show up in Shadows. There is still the inevitable clunkiness to some of the movement, especially in tight places, where it is hard to precisely jump or run to the spot you are aiming for. The horse can and will be a pain at times, getting caught in the environment and occasionally the player will fall or slip for no apparent reason when navigating hilly areas. In fact, one change that I really didn’t like in Shadows is that not every surface is climbable, meaning that taking shortcuts across the mountains is a pain and I was much better off following the set paths and roads. It felt a little odd in a Creed game to not be able to climb the mountains I must admit and while it isn’t a huge problem, it is one that felt out of place considering the franchise’s history.
As for the technical side of things, Shadows ran like a dream on my PC. This is a beautiful game that had me stopping to admire the scenery on more than one occasion. That beauty didn’t seem to affect the framerate of the game either. My gaming rig (4080, i9) ran this at max settings with full ray-tracing in ultrawide and the framerate never dropped below 60. On my lower specced laptop (4060) it still ran beautifully with the only sacrifice being a reduction in ray-tracing effects and 1080 resolution. This feels like a very stable and optimised release, with only the very occasional graphics bug, usually something to do with flowing hair or clothes, rearing its head to break the illusion.
What it all boils down to is Shadows is Assassin’s Creed at its best. It sits comfortably with Black Flag, Odyssey and II as one of the premier games in the franchise and should be the perfect way for lapsed players to get back into the fold. The length is perfect, the combat engaging and deep and the attention to detail is second to none. The fact that after 50 hours I still want to go back and finish everything up is a testament to the world that Ubisoft has created and shows that while they have had some recent misses, they still know how to put together a fantastic AAA release. Shadows is a must-play for anyone who has enjoyed the series in the past and the perfect entry point for new players so there really is no excuse to miss this one.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to Japan. There are still some corrupt officials that need to meet the end of my hidden blade…
Assassin’s Creed Shadows was reviewed on PC with code kindly supplied by the publisher.
