Review: ASSASSIN'S CREED SHADOWS Helps Me Return to the Series

A few weeks ago, Ubisoft released the latest game in the popular Assassin’s Creed franchise, Assassin’s Creed Shadows. This addition to the series takes fans to feudal Japan circa 1579 CE and allows them to play as two different protagonists who we will talk about later. Ubisoft was kind enough to provide me a PC code to play Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but all thoughts below are my own. You can play the game now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S now. You can purchase the game from your favorite retailers including the Ubisoft Store (affiliate link).

Live the intertwined stories of Naoe, an adept shinobi Assassin from Iga Province, and Yasuke, the powerful African samurai of historical legend. Against the backdrop of the turbulent late Sengoku period, this remarkable duo will discover their common destiny as they usher in a new era for Japan.

Before we get too far into the weeds, let’s cover a few basic things. I’ve played Assassin’s Creed Shadows exclusively on my gaming PC (I was provided a code for Ubisoft Connect resulting in no testing on my Steam Deck) and I will include the specifications of the machine and the settings I settled on immediately after this paragraph.

Second, I have not completed the story, but have reached the point where I can freely switch between the two protagonists. Third, I want to quickly list my experience with the Assassin’s Creed series. I have finished Assassin’s Creed and all three titles in the Ezio trilogy and I have put several hours into Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

• PC Specs:

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X

  • GPU: AMD Radeon 6800 XT

  • RAM: 32GB DDR4

  • SSD: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB

• Game Settings:

  • Resolution: 1440p

  • Dynamic Resolution: On

  • Upscaler Type: Automatic

  • Upscaler Quality: Quality

  • Frame Generation: Off

  • Raytraced Global Illumination: Diffuse Everywhere

  • Overall Preset: Very High

Now let’s get into the actual review which I will attempt to keep light on spoilers. Overall, I have been enjoying Assassin’s Creed Shadows. I have been able to maintain a stable 60+ fps on my machine and I think it both runs amazing and looks phenomenal. In terms of performance, the big bummer is that cutscenes are locked to 30 fps and suffer more frequently from frame drops oddly enough.

The environments look and feel great with plenty of foliage and good detail in the textures. I love the detail in the different equipment and think most of the character models look amazing. The thing that really has me gobsmacked is the hair.

The hair in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is possibly the best hair I’ve ever seen in a video game. Now, the less important a character is, the less detailed all of these things are, but I wouldn’t say that any character is completely neglected. There are just some NPCs that are clearly levels of detail below the main characters and major NPCs.

One of the big things that was interesting in Assassin’s Creed Shadows was the use of dual protagonists. I know that Assassin’s Creed Syndicate also had dual protagonists, but this is the first one I’ve played with the feature. The two protagonists are the shinobi Naoe and the samurai Yasuke.

This brings us to a big change for the franchise. As far as I am aware, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the first game in the series where the player can play as an actual historical figure. Yasuke is an actual historical figure who was a black samurai who served under Oda Nobunaga. What’s really important about these two though is that they play extremely differently and are both needed for different things.

Naoe is a shinobi and so she is agile and stealthy. If you like playing stealthy like Altair and Ezio, Naoe is going to be your girl. She has access to tools like kunai and smoke bombs to aid you and your weapons are a katana, tanto, and/or kusarigama. Regardless, you will have to play as Naoe for roughly 10-11 hours before you can switch between the two.

Meanwhile, Yasuke is a big brutish machine of death as a samurai. He can wield a large katana, bow, and/or teppo (early rifle). He’s much more similar to Eivor although he does feel slightly more easy to control. Yasuke is so big that just by running he can break through doors and some walls and even knock over and hurt enemies.

He also just breaks crates and such by walking and standing on them. In addition, one of his first combat actions is very reminiscent of Ruroni Kenshin. I also want to note that Yasuke does not have a hidden blade. He can still perform assassinations, but they are not stealthy.

There’s more to each character than just their playstyle and feel though. Each character has different ways of meditation that impact them differently. Naoe practices kuji-kiri where she sits and meditates via flashbacks (at least the first 4).

These provide the player with more information about her backstory. You find the spot and press the corresponding buttons to the rhythm in order to initiate these moments. Meanwhile, Yasuke learns and practices kata which involves rhythmic button pressing as he swings his sword.

Both provide knowledge points which increase your knowledge levels allowing you to access higher leveled skills and abilities. I like these and I like that they’re different to match the different characters. In addition, certain quests and interactions may require a specific character to be used.

For example, I went as Yasuke to talk to an NPC about some business quest thing and in order to even have that conversation, you have to be playing as Naoe. Thankfully, it’s very easy to switch between the characters. You can do it when you fast travel or from the inventory screen.

In terms of my opinion, I like playing as Naoe more. When I play an Assassin’s Creed game, I like to try to be stealthy, ultimately fail, and then fight my way back to sneakiness. I also like her weapon selection more. That said, it can be extremely fun to play as Yasuke, walk into the middle of a hostile camp, and then proceed to wreck everybody. For me, that’s a good snack to have every now and then but the meal I want from the game is what Naoe has to offer.

Another aspect that I really enjoy about Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the constantly changing weather. This isn’t anything new to gaming, but there’s something about how it works in Assassin’s Creed Shadows that I like. It’ll be nice and sunny during the day, go dark at night, and then eventually it’ll just start raining. I love going on missions during the rain.

As I have already mentioned, I have not finished the story yet. However, I do like what I have experienced. Honestly, the mission when Naoe and Yasuke meet has been a real highlight for me. Everything just felt cinematic and well done and it truly is when the real story and game start.

There’s infiltration, burning buildings, fighting big characters, loyalty tested, questions raised, and so much more. There are some moments that really got to me and then they were followed by excitement for some butt kicking which was in turn followed by more tugging at the heartstrings and finally excited resolution as the true game started.

In case you couldn’t tell, I am really enjoying Assassin’s Creed Shadows. However, there are aspects that I don’t think highly of. For starters, I recognize I’m probably in the minority but I enjoy when the present time is better intermixed storywise with the past. In the first couple of games, the present plays a big role in the story and impacts what you do in the past.

In Valhalla there are moments outside of the Animus, but it doesn’t seem to really have any bearing or impact on the story although maybe that’s just because I haven’t finished that one yet. However, in Assassin’s Creed Shadows I have had a singular moment that teased a possibility of something going on in the present but it’s not as impactful as I’d like. This is the most minor of complaints, but it is something I wish was a little more incorporated.

Next, I am once again probably in the minority, but I am not a fan of the addition of skill trees in the series. The one in Valhalla is egregious and thankfully Assassin’s Creed Shadows has an infinitely better skill tree system. I wouldn’t mind going back to basics though and getting rid of the skill trees. Once again a minor complaint.

Possibly the most off putting thing about Assassin’s Creed Shadows happens early on. The game does a decent job of onboarding you with each of the characters and teaching you the basic controls; first with Yasuke and then with Naoe.

However, then you do kuji-kiri for the first time and the game has you do another tutorial over the basics that you just learned. From a narrative perspective, this approach makes sense. You have some action and then a flashback that shows how Naoe learned those skills. However, from a gameplay standpoint, it feels bad and boring.

I have two final tips for players. First, I highly recommend enabling Immersive Mode. It just feels so much better. I started with English voicing and it was fine, but changing to Immersive Mode really elevated the game in my opinion and did make it feel more immersive. Also, I do regret not choosing Canon Mode for my first playthrough. It’s a small thing, but I do think the first playthrough would be better without all the small choices.

I’ve really been enjoying my time with Assassin’s Creed Shadows. I haven’t even mentioned the way your character can paint wildlife or the cool art filter used when you assassinate targets. There’s a lot that I’m enjoying and if I’m honest, I like it tons more than Valhalla. It’s not perfect, but I would recommend it if you’ve been considering it.