Assassin's Creed: Shadows

Assassin's Creed: Shadows is the thirteenth main installment of the best-selling series published by Ubisoft, initiated in 2007. The game was developed by Ubisoft Quebec studio (known primarily for Assassin's Creed Syndicate and Assassin's Creed Odyssey) in cooperation with fifteen other teams working under the wings of the French publisher.

Plot

Just like in previous installments, the key plot of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is the centuries-old conflict between the Brotherhood of Assassins and the Order of the Templars. The game takes us on a journey to feudal Japan.

Sengoku historical period

The game is set in 1579, during the late Sengoku period, also known as the Azuchi-Momoyama period. This is a time not only of great social reforms, the emergence of religious movements and artistic renaissance, but also of a great process of unifying the country.

An important role was played by the famous Nobunaga Oda, who is one of the historical figures that we have the opportunity to meet during the adventure. The others include Fujibayashi Nagato, the master ninja of the Iga clan, as well as Yasuke, who made history as the exceptional, black servant of Nobunaga Oda.

Yasuke and Naoe - main characters

Assassin's Creed: Shadows lets us take on the role of two characters between which we can freely switch:

1. Yasuke – the first playable historical hero in the history of the series. A subordinate of Nobunaga Oda of African origin (he came to Japan as a slave of the Portuguese), presented in the game as a powerful samurai.
2. Naoe – The fictional daughter of Fujibayashi Nagato, who grew into a battle-hardened shinobi (ninja) thanks to the training she received from her father.

Their paths cross when the Iga province is attacked by Oda's army, clashing with members of the resistance movement led by Nagato. For this reason, the protagonists are initially hostile towards each other, but over time they begin to cooperate.

The differences between the playable characters are also reflected in how they are perceived by the inhabitants of Japan, as well as how their relationships with individual characters are arranged (and with which of them they can have a romance).

Gameplay

In Assassin's Creed: Shadows we view the action from a third-person perspective (TPP). Although in terms of mechanics the production draws heavily from the legacy of the series, it also introduces a number of new mechanics.

Open world

The game allows us to explore an open world and its size is comparable to Egypt from Assassin's Creed Origins. The available area includes central Japan divided into three regions: Arima, Iga and Omi. In addition to the day and night cycle, we can also experience variable weather conditions and seasons.

Spring, summer, autumn and winter occur as a result of story events, and influence not only the appearance of the world, but also the gameplay and the behavior of the inhabitants of Japan. For example: hiding in dense bushes and swimming in reservoirs is only possible in spring and summer, while in winter icicles hang from the roofs, which can be knocked down, potentially revealing our position to enemies.

Missions and activities

The driving force of the story campaign is assassinating certain people, whom we can get rid of in any order. Additionally, during the game we undertake various missions and other optional activities, such as visiting castles and temples scattered all over the map, and finding shrines and works of art.

The game also features the ability to create our own spy network and send agents on missions. The information they obtain can be used to complete main tasks.

Parkour

The characters of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows can climb on environmental elements and overcome terrain obstacles in a skillful, parkour-like manner, and also crawl on the ground. Naoe has more freedom of movement than Yasuke, and additionally has a hook rope, which she uses to swing over chasms or for climbing.

Stealth

Compared to the previous parts of the series, the stealth system has been expanded. In addition to being able to sneak behind and over the heads of enemies, as well as hide in dense bushes, the game allows us to hide from enemies in shadows generated by the dynamic lighting system. Just like in the Thief series, an appropriate indicator informs us about whether and how visible we are. Additionally, we can destroy light sources (including lanterns), to remain hidden.

Although both characters can sneak around, Naoe, who is lightly equipped, clearly has the advantage in this respect. Even though Yasuke can also hide from adversaries, his heavy armor and massive stature make him much better suited for open combat. Both can also use the eagle's sight, which allows to know the position of enemies and see them through walls. Furthermore, in Assassin's Creed: Shadows, instead of killing enemies from stealth, we can decide to knock them unconscious.

Combat

Differences between characters are also reflected during dynamic clashes with opponents. While Naoe can only dodge and deflect enemy blows, Yasuke can block and parry attacks.

In addition to the iconic hidden blade, the game's arsenal includes katanas (used by both characters), kanabo (a type of club), naginata (a pole weapon with a blade), bows and arquebuses (smoothbore rifles), which Yasuke shoots from, as well as kunai (thrown, short blades), shuriken (throwing weapons with sharp edges, most often star-shaped) and smoke bombs, which Naoe uses.

RPG elements

Assassin's Creed: Shadows implements numerous RPG mechanics. Each hero and weapon type offer separate skill trees, which we develop as we progress, using experience points shared by both characters. Moreover, we can gather better equipment, and by using a specific weapon, we increase our proficiency. The game has implemented a crafting system that allows us to create our own katanas, using collected components for this purpose.

Game modes

Assassin's Creed: Shadows is exclusively single-player. It does not offer co-op or any other multiplayer modes.

Game engine

Assassin's Creed: Shadows runs on the new version of the Anvil engine. An advanced global lighting system was implemented, as well as a multitude of destructible objects, which can be cut into pieces using a katana, for example.

Collector's edition

The collector's edition includes the game Assassin’s Creed: Shadows in the Ultimate edition, a 40-centimeter figure of Naoe and Yasuke, a full-sized tsuba of Naoe's katana, a hanging scroll with Chalk (70x30 cm), a world map, two sumi-e lithographs, an 84-page artbook, and a steelbook.

The Ultimate version of the game offers a season pass (with two expansions and an additional mission), as well as the Sekiryu character pack, hideout pack, five skill points, and a red dragon filter for the photo mode.