Assassin's Creed: Shadows

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

Plot

Just like in previous installments, the plot of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is driven by 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 begins in 1579, late during the Sengoku period which is also known as Azuchi-Momoyama. 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.

The famous Nobunaga Oda played an important role during these times. The game gives us an opportunity to meet him during our adventure. The other historical figures 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 allows us to play two characters, between which we can freely switch.

1. Yasuke – the first playable historical character in the history of the series. A subordinate of Nobunaga Oda from Africa (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. Thanks to the training received from her father, she grew into a battle-hardened shinobi (ninja).

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 to each other, but over time they begin to cooperate.

The diversity of the characters is reflected, among other things, in how they are perceived by the inhabitants of Japan, as well as how their relationships with individual characters are presented (and with which of them they can have a romance).

Gameplay

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

Open world

The game provides us with an open world, the size of which 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 experience variable weather conditions and seasons.

Spring, summer, autumn and winter occur as a result of plot events and affect 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 water reservoirs is only possible in spring and summer, while the icicles hanging from the roofs during the winter can be knocked down, potentially revealing our position to enemies.

Missions and activities

The driving force of the story campaign is the assassination of selected 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 includes the ability to create our own spy network and send agents on missions. The information they obtain can be used during main missions.

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 grappling hook, which she uses to swing over chasms or for climbing.

Stealth

Compared to the earlier parts of the series, the stealth system has been significantly expanded. In addition to the ability to sneak behind the backs and over the heads of opponents, as well as hide in dense bushes, the game allows us to hide from enemies in the shadows generated by the dynamic lighting system. Just like in the Thief series, a suitable indicator informs us how visible we are. Additionally we can destroy light sources (lanterns and other objects) to stay hidden.

Although both characters can rely on stealth, Naoe, who is lightly equipped, clearly has the advantage in this respect. Although Yasuke can also hide from adversaries, his heavy armor and massive stature make him much better at open combat. Both characters can also use the eagle vision, which allows to learn where enemies are located or to see through walls. Moreover, in Assassin's Creed: Shadows instead of killing enemies after surprise attacks, we can alternatively knock them unconscious.

Combat

Differences between characters are also reflected during dynamic clashes with opponents. While Naoe can only dodge and deflect enemy attacks, 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 (type of 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 offers numerous RPG mechanics. Each hero and type of weapon has separate skill trees, which we develop as we progress, using experience points shared by both characters. We can obtain better equipment and continued use of the same weapon can increase our proficiency. In addition to this, the game has implemented a crafting system, allowing us to create your own katanas, using collected components for this purpose.

Game modes

Assassin's Creed: Shadows is a single-player game. It does not offer cooperation or any other multiplayer modes.

Game engine

Assassin's Creed: Shadows runs on a new version of the Anvil engine. The mentioned advanced global lighting system was implemented in the game. It also offers a multitude of destructible objects, which can be cut into pieces using a katana, for example.

Last updated on 16 May 2024