Assassin’s Creed Shadowsis, in certain ways, a return to form - and that includes the way it approaches its open-world map. It takes place in a fairly realistic recreation of 16th-century feudal Japan, consisting mainly of the middle of the mainland, prominently featuring much of the Kyoto and Osaka areas. Dotted with tall, foliage-thick mountains, imposing castles, and war-torn cities, it’s an immersive setting, with lots of detail andhidden side content to discover.
Compared to previousAssassin’s Creedgames,AC Shadowsisn’t the longest or the biggest, butit does have a pretty largemapwith plenty of scenic areas to get lost in. Here’s how it stacks up, size-wise, to previous installments, including more open-world entries likeValhallaand the most recent game,Mirage.
AC Shadows' Map Is Smaller Than Valhalla’s
Smaller, But Denser
ExcludingMirage, which was a lot less open,Valhallawas the most recentAssassin’s Creedgame. With its dual maps,Valhallahas a bigger map thanAC Shadows. In an interview withIGN,Shadows' creative director, Jonathan Dumont, compared it toACOriginsin terms of map scale. Valhalla’s map is commonly estimated at 120 square kilometers (46 square miles), which meansOriginsandShadowsare slightly smaller at what appears to be more like 80 square kilometers (31 square miles).
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Review: A Strong Game Stuck Between Worlds
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is an expansive and enjoyable entry in the long-running series, albeit with struggles to match its scope with quality.
This is mainly because of two specific factors ofValhalla’s map,the first being its dual settings. InAC Valhalla, you can jump back and forth between Norway and England, which simply means there’s more landmass to go around. That’s not even to mention the small parts of Vinland, and the more ethereal settings like Asgard and Jotunheim, that you’re able to explore at certain points. Then, there’sValhalla’s naval gameplay, which means countless square kilometers more are added by the inclusion of wide open seas.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Is Smaller Than Odyssey
To use another recent point of comparison,Assassin’s Creed Shadowsis also significantly smaller thanOdyssey. Again, this has a lot to do with the ability to sail between islands; set amid the Greek archipelago, and also including naval combat,Odysseyhas a lot of wide-open space, including the sea.
If we exclude water,Odyssey’s map is only about 130 square kilometers (50 square miles), which is still slightly bigger than the entirety ofValhalla.
Odysseyis the largestAssassin’s Creedgameby area, if you include the sea: it comes in at 256 square kilometers (99 square miles), making it significantly bigger than evenValhallaandBlack Flag, which is set in a massive area of the Caribbean. Therefore, it’s no surprise to seeShadowscoming in a little smaller.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Is Bigger Than Mirage
Mirage Features A Smaller Setting
Shadows' map may be surprisingly small when compared to earlier entries; however,it’s part of a more recent trend in whichAssassin’s Creedgames tend to have smaller, more condensed maps. Frankly, I foundAC OdysseyandValhallaa little too big - the amount of content was staggering, and I didn’t even come close to 100% completion in either. It seems that was a common criticism: the term"Ubisoft bloat" has since often been levied against games similarly jam-packed with sidequests.
AC Shadows Is The Happy Medium
The Goldilocks Of Assassin’s Creed Games
Perhaps in an attempt to fend off that criticism, there wasAssassin’s Creed Mirage: a far smaller, more linear gamewith most of its content set in and around the 9th-century city of Baghdad. Its size is an estimated 2.30 square kilometers (0.89 square miles) - not the smallestACmap, but the smallest in recent memory. In effect,Shadowsis the happy medium. It’s a lot bigger thanMirage, but nowhere near as big asOdyssey. It has plenty of side content to keep open world fans entertained, but not enough to make it intimidating.
That’s also reflected inAC Shadows' estimated runtime.It’s expected to take around 80 hours- probably a bit more - to 100% the game, whileOdysseycould easily take over 150. Don’t get me wrong, that’s still a lot of content, but it’s a lot more approachable in terms of completion.
How Assassin’s Creed Shadows' Review Scores Compare To AC Odyssey’s & AC Valhalla’s
Assassin’s Creed Shadows' review scores are now out, see how it stacks up against previous titles AC Odyssey and AC Valhalla according to critics.
In addition,Shadows' smaller sizemeans that its scaling is a lot more accurate. Of course, it’s nothing close to the real size of the part of Japan it depicts, but it feels closer. Since it’s only trying to depict a few regions, it can do so in more detail. Cities can appear larger, and there can be greater distances between adjacent regions.
So,Shadowsmay not have the biggestACmap to date, but that never really feels like a problem. There’s plenty of content to keep you busy, and plenty of land to explore as you immerse yourself in the feudal Japanese setting ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows.
