Ubisoft’s long-running Assassin’s Creed saga visits feudal Japan with Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Fans have long cried out for an Assassin’s Creed game set in Japan. The romanticised idea of ninjas and samurais, honour and battle, sits well with the series’ themes and gameplay.

2020’s Ghost of Tsushima had Sucker Punch Productions and Sony Interactive Entertainment beat Ubisoft to it with a game that was Assassin’s Creed in all but name. Drawing more from a Westernised fantasy melded with films of Akira Kurosawa than historical accuracy, Ghost of Tsushima nevertheless set a high bar for Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Whilst I’m a huge fan of Assassin’s Creed games, the rocky path of this latest game, with its lengthy delay and controversies during development, gave me cause for concern. With Star Wars Outcasts not being as well received as the publisher would have liked, Ubisoft has a lot riding on Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Thankfully, the extended development time seems to have paid off, with Assassin’s Creed Shadows being one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played and possibly the best Assassin’s Creed game in a while. But I didn’t find it instantly appealing.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows starts slowly, introducing the character of Yasuke, the black samurai who has caused much of the game’s controversy. Controlling the powerful warrior, players unleash hell through a carefully scripted sequence that has none of the open-world gameplay that the series is known for.

Players then switch to Naoe, a young shinobi, the polar opposite of the brutal samurai. Again, players are led through a curated sequence. With this, the game tries to ingrain its stealth mechanics into the player via a rather unforgiving scenario. Whilst it had me cursing, it wasn’t too long before I got to grips with Naoe’s moves. By the end of the prologue, I appreciated what the developers were trying to do, even if it was a bit on the nose and a chore at times.

As a reward for my efforts, the game world then opened up. And what a world it is.

The game builds on the vast open areas of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla whilst not ignoring the back-to-basics intent of Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s combat system. The result is a gorgeous-looking game that offers players enemy opponents that actually present a challenge. The enemy AI can sometimes be just as iffy as it has always been, allowing for some gaming of the system, by and large, though you’ll still need your wits about you.

The ninja/shinobi abilities of Naoe are totally befitting an Assassin’s Creed game. The animations as she leaps and runs across rooftops are straight out of pop culture references to the shadowy warriors. Whilst Naoe’s movements may be closer to Frank Miller’s depiction of ninjas in his Daredevil comics than historical reality, it ticks the box for me.

Whilst Valhalla’s Eivor gave me no inspiration for any finesse when dealing with fortified sites with multiple enemies (she is a Viking warrior, for God’s sake, a people not renowned for any subtlety), things are different with Naoe. Not only will attacks from multiple enemies quickly become overwhelming in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but Naoe’s abilities and movement also promote stealthy infiltration.

For players that have long given up on the stealth foundations of the series, there’s Yasuke, so you can continue to wage war, head-on. Whilst the powerful samurai isn’t really in keeping with the principles of Assassin’s Creed, most of the entries in the series of late have been straying far from the original premise, anyway.

Apart from the brief introduction at the beginning of the game, it was twenty hours in by the time I next had an opportunity to play as Yasuke, at the beginning of Act II. After this, players can switch between both characters. Some side missions and targets are available to both characters, but Yasuke and Naoe have their own story missions as well.

The game not only has a night/day cycle but also the turn of the seasons. This drastically changes the environment, with leaves turning orange and snow on the ground. Water also freezes, giving Naoe a fun slipping animation as she crosses the icy surface.

The game has a wanted system similar to the one in earlier games, and most recently in Mirage. This only comes into play after the first act. If guards ring a bell your character will be a target in that region and powerful guardian opponents will also spawn. The only way to remove a character’s wanted status is to wait for the season to change (or manually change it) or use scouts to remove it once your hideout has been upgraded. Switching characters also removes the wanted status, as long the other character isn’t wanted in that region as well.

Players can upgrade their hideout area with new buildings which add extra abilities. The forge allows weapon upgrades. The study and stables improve the abilities and number of scouts- which can be used to smuggle resources, reveal quest locations and remove a character’s wanted status. The Dojo allows players to train allies that can be called for assistance during combat. Other buildings increase experience multipliers and loadouts.

Probably the weakest part of the game is the story. That’s not because it is particularly bad, it’s just that the environment, the visuals and the gameplay all trump the narrative, which only really serves to move the player on to the next task. The Assassin’s Creed story has been a diminishing focus of the game since Ubisoft tied itself up in knots to such an extent that it had to kill off Desmond, back in Assassin’s Creed III. The emphasis since has been more on the vividly realised settings and the player’s interactions in those environments than a rigid story structure.

The game is every bit as packed with things to do as the previous Assassin’s Creed games to the point of being overwhelming. The vast environment is full of towns and villages, many offering ornate castles and fortifications with treasures to be unlocked once the daimyos have been defeated. There are also ronin that will attack on sight, creating a bit of mayhem if the local guards spot you fighting.

All this is tied together by visuals that look absolutely breathtaking. The game may use the same engine as previous Assassin’s Creed games, but this just makes for a more optimised experience. The atmospheric effects are incredible, with sunlight fighting through mist, and fog shrouding the landscape. Flowers blow in the wind as you run through them. In built-up areas, citizens go about their business. The world feels very much alive.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is still very much in the same vein as Valhalla, offering players a fantastic, huge environment to explore that is beautifully rendered. The gameplay balances the stealth of Naoe’s shinobi with the brutality of Yasuke’s samurai to give players two very different ways to play. The game is another hit for Ubisoft and one that they are no doubt in need of right now. The Assassin’s Creed saga continues to entertain with feudal Japan being a very fitting era for the franchise and one that fans are sure to enjoy.

Rating: Great