Review – Assassin’s Creed Shadows

the new chapter of the iconic action and stealth series of, finally took the franchise to the long -awaited setting in feudal Japan. With two distinct protagonists, Yasuke and Name, players will be able to combine the innovative proposal for gameplay with historical elements through an engaging narrative.

This new story that adds data to animus is marked by the introduction of new mechanics that improve the heart of the franchise’s experience in its DNA: stealth and combat. Naoe, like a shinobi, carries stealth and uses eagle’s classic vision to detect hidden enemies, while Yasuke, with his heavy armor, is more prone to melee combat.

Two sides of the same coin that work together to make Assassin’s Creed Shadows the most cinematic game of the franchise while carries the difficult mission of being a success in the market. An easy task, but it can be achieved by the way developers got it right as they play a gigantic game while simple and interesting.

An epic drama

From an unlikely partnership, the story of Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes place on the Turbulent Sengoku Period of Japan, marked by civil wars and cultural exchanges with Europe, operating the European influence in Asia’s most stretched country. The game follows the journeys of two main characters: Nae, a fictitious shinobi and daughter of Fujibayashi Nagato, leader of an enemy ninja clan of Oda Nobunaga, while on the other side we meet Yasuke, a black enslaved by Europeans and that the confidence of Oda Nobunaga, leaving the Jesuit mission and becoming part of his army of Samurais.

The development of the narrative happens around Nae Yasuke, Tomiko and Junjiro, in an alliance known as the hidden lamic league, Kakushiba Ikki, who come together to follow a journey of revenge and renewal, defeating powerful enemies and recruiting new characters for this new league. Facing the Kakushiba group, the game explores themes about conspiracy, intrigue and spying, maintaining the rich tradition of mystery and historical-cultural content that the Assassin’s Creed series has as a characteristic, including adding an immersive way in which all the game dialogues happen in Japanese and only narrations follow in the chosen language.

Unlike the other franchise games, Assassin’s Creed Shadows explores the use of cutscenes to tell their stories and bet even more on missions that deepen the story of each of the characters, both main and secondary, to build a plot of events that connect questions about Japanese feudalism, the search for power between the nobles and warriors, and the disputes between groups and provinces, without forgetting assemble the puzzle around the guild of the killers.

These choices for the construction of the characters and the development of the story have made Assassin’s Creed Shadows very interesting than their predecessors, no longer just an adventure to play. However, this is perhaps the less “Assassin’s Creed” game of the franchise. If we look at evolution through the latest titles, Shadows is much more competent in really having an interesting story to tell. It also does not exempt the narrative of clicking, but they can maintain our interest in the development of Nae, Yasuke and the other characters, either through good plot twists or typical performances of a Japanese live action.

My ninja path

The gameplay in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is again easier to detriment to frantic gameplay as we even had syndicate, leaving aside the “souls like” style, based on defense and dodge, that Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla have. The return of the easy Parkour follows the new stealth mechanics, adding the ability to hide in the shadows and with a “visibility bar” that can be influenced by the climatic or geographical conditions of the region. Noe is fast and the controls respond very well to commands, making it easy to create our own shadows when we destroyed flashlights or erasing flames, adding a tactical layer to stealth navigation. Add this to your Hook Style with Kunai to expand the agility of Shinobi by reaching higher or distant places.

In turn, Yasuke has more focused mechanics in direct combat, with heavy and powerful attacks, reflecting his body structure and samurai personality. He is able to unravel heavy and brutal attacks with his katana, as well as using a kanabo (kind of staff studded with metallic tips) for devastating blows. Moving with Yasuke is more challenging and the skills of killers will not be available, but nothing will prevent you from going up to the top of a castle and witnessing a pleasant surprise when trying to perform a leap of faith.

The balance between stealth and body combat carries various skills to be unlocked and also depending on secondary missions for knowledge, not only rising from level. Not to mention the use of a limited amount of weapons, but they offer different gamebilities and combos together when combining long katana, Nagnata, bow and arrow, and teppo, from Yasuke, or Katana, either kusona, kusagama, and ninja tools, such as shuriken, kunai and bombs, which does not carry. Add it to the style of movement of each of the characters to have a good strategy layer to enter without being perceived and to escape alive or invade breaking the front door.

The defense and dodge are still present and are fundamental in combat, with no more fragile in this regard and Yasuke abusing your armor, but do not determine cadence in how you face enemies. The focus on Assassin’s Creed Shadows is beyond combat, prioritizing the experience you have during the journey to the determining points of the story and how the narrative builds the murders, either in the unbridled beating or the shadows. Even so it offers these two gameplay options, so you can pay attention to the story and not spend hours trying to invade a castle by a specific point. For many maybe a setback, but for me a more fun way to play.

Animus update

For those who played Rise of the Ronin or Ghost of Tsushima, Assassin’s Creed Shadows carries a lot of these games and sometimes it looks like a Déjà Vu, but it shines when you can find your own tone: simplify the combat mechanics, create secondary missions that go far beyond treading a path between two points or just collect items that can develop a story loaded with the many feelings, much of the many feelings, very much Cutscenes throughout the game scattered among the dozens of missions through the huge map.

It was enough for developers to internalize the need to observe around in search of the points of interest we had in Breath of the Wild to create an observation mechanics. Using the L2, we have a clear evolution in Assassin’s Creed Shadows in the use of the old “synchronization points.” Now it is no longer enough to climb to the top of somewhere to open your map, you will need to visit certain places and use the “Observe” to collect information or identify points of interest (through small light points) to explore in search of continuity for your missions. As support you have some tracks that point to map locations, but require your investigation, going to the place or using scouts, NPCs you recruit to various tasks.

The new generation causes Assassin’s Creed Shadows to shine even more, with impressive graphics thanks to the Anvil engine update. The inclusion of real -time global lighting (RTGI) creates a visually stunning environment, with dynamic shadows that affect enemies’ view, as well as the way weather conditions or stations completely transform locations and landscapes. All regions of the map are not generic or empty, translating the real condition of the time and with NPCs on all sides, including the construction of historical places, such as Osaka Castle.

Without being left behind, the soundtrack can explore the diverse team of composers, who have worked with the franchise, providing a unique Sonora experience, either when we stop to listen to the environment around us or with songs that grow at epic times, whether in important battles or events. Theme of Shadows is an isolated proof and sample of the quality that the game offers without relying on clichés such as Shamisen, Koto or any other typical instrument.

Last but not least, developers have maintained missions linked to Animus and all the trajectory that still exists (for some inexplicable reason), but without the abstract industries, to create the animus hub and connect the latest games with rewards obtained through memories, projects, exchange and chamber. However, better than this attempt to retcon and the connection between the franchise games, was to witness the work of historical-cultural research on Japan, having a rich content of information during the game. Instead of being just a mission that does not show the development of cultural elements, such as a simple tea, design or origami ceremony, you can now play, watch and learn about these issues during history.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows still misses small movement and combat bugs, nothing compared to the past, but mainly in horse movement and the lack of automatic riding, proving that the postponements made by Ubisoft helped deliver a more polished and cohesive title. With its interesting story, charismatic characters, impressive graphics, and engaging soundtrack, the game is ready to capture back fans of the franchise and bet on a new audience that seeks more about the history of Japan. Perhaps Ubisoft’s “final fantasy” is among us and can take a breath for the franchise to invigorate and stay alive for a while.