Assassin’s Creed Shadowsis a big game with some big changes, and getting a grasp on all of them without actually playing the game can be a challenge. Luckily for me, I’ve spent some time with my hands on the controller, and thepreview thatScreen Rantattendedat Ubisoft Quebec also encompassed a few interesting updates that occurred outside the gameplay sessions.
While Ubisoft hasn’t been shy about revealing features forAssassin’s Creed Shadows, I learned a lot more about how they actually work in my time with the game.I also walked away with a much clearer understanding of how much continued development is needed, a question that started burning with the game’s first delay and intensified after the second.
10Assassin’s Creed Shadows' Hideout Is Fairly Involved
More Than A Nominal Side Mode
Up until this point, I have to confess that I hadn’t been paying much attention to the hideout system inAssassin’s Creed Shadows, which providesa home base that can be arranged, decorated, and optimized for mechanical benefits. Although a bit of customization on the side can be fun, it often feels like AAA games implement such systems without much direction, and theYakuzaandLike a Dragongamesmight be the only ones that consistently manage to draw me into the management side of things.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Release Date, Protagonists, Setting, & Story
The first trailer for Assassin’s Creed Shadows reveals its release date, dual protagonists, and the first inklings of a story. Here’s what to expect.
After spending an hour with the hideout inShadows, it still doesn’t seem necessary, but I can see myself enjoying it in short bursts.Shadowshas a lot of beautiful assets, after all, and you can surround your buildings with gorgeous scenery and baby tanuki to pet.I’m most interested in seeing character conversations play out in downtime, as I tend to enjoy good side dialogue.
9The Animus Hub Is Real, I Guess
Assassin’s Creed Infinity’s Final Form
Originallyannounced asAssassin’s Creed Infinity,I’ve never considered the Animus Hub to be the most exciting part ofAssassin’s Creed’s upcoming slate. After seeing it in action, I still don’t, but I do at least have a better idea of what it is now.
Like the launcher adopted byCall of Dutyin recent years,the Animus Hub can jump seamlessly into various modern games from theAssassin’s Creedfranchise. Its other features strike me as expanded takes on Ubisoft Connect’s side content, with a free battle pass-like system for rewards and the opportunity to take on Animus missions in game. It’s all wrapped up in another new Abstergo storyline, so it does make sense for the series, but interest in that layer of interaction will definitely vary from person to person.
8Assassin’s Creed Shadows' Weather Is Great
Real Influence On The Game World
I’m not sure what it is about weather systems in games, but I feel like I started to tune out promises about them at some point.Games frequently market complex, dynamic weather possibilities, and in most cases, I don’t know if they actually turn out to be all that interesting.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows' Art Director Reveals The “Biggest Scale Ratio” Of The Open-World AC Games
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is setting one record for the open-world games in the franchise’s, and it’s all because of Japan’s mountain ranges.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows, however, actually has someseriously impressive weather tech, which the team dubs Atmos (not of the Dolby variety). The promise of weather-influenced mechanics through concepts like fog cover is cool, but I was more focused on the typical dynamic of light and shadow in the preview.What really excited me was seeing just how reactive the world wasto both momentary conditions and the changing seasons. From the smallest details of how plants move in the wind to the big changes in landscape as winter gives way to spring, weather has a surprisingly big impact.
7Yasuke’s Sword Is Bigger Than I Expected
I Wish I Got To Keep It
As theAssassin’s Creed Shadowspreview event took place in Quebec, not Japan, there wasn’t much to show off of the world within the game besides what could be found when diving into the game itself.Replicas of Yasuke’s armor and weapons did make an appearance, however, and the blades were freely available to be held and unsheathed with a bit of supervision.
In line with typicalAssassin’s Creedheightening,Yasuke’s main weapon is bigger than the typical Japanese blade of the time, and that scale is a lot more obvious when you’re not wielding it as someone of his size. The replica still wasn’t cumbersome to hold, however, so Naoe could probably manage a kill with it if she ever needed to.
6The Wanted System Is Totally Different
It Pays To Be On Good Behavior
I’m used to getting in trouble for bad behavior inAssassin’s Creed, a process that was traditionally solved by actions like ripping down wanted posters and paying off town criers. The details of how it works have bounced around a bit over the years, butlowering an assassin’s notorietyhas never been particularly hard.
Assassin’s Creed Shadowsmoves to a slightly less ephemeral punishment, perhaps with the intent of nudging players toward some of its more exciting systems. While a Wanted status and the threat that it entails isn’t easily shaken off,the two simplest ways to dodge the consequences are to allow the seasons to change or switch to the other playable protagonist, which ended up being one of my motivations to spend time with Yasuke.
5Yasuke & Naoe Are Nothing Alike
Protagonists At Opposite Ends Of The Spectrum
Assassin’s Creed’s other run at split protagonists,Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, didn’t make its duo feel that radically different outside of specialization.Shadowsdoes.Yasuke and Naoe take both ends ofAssassin’s Creedgameplay to their logical conclusions, and that dichotomy has really stuck with me.
I spent more time attempting stealth as Naoe in the preview, and while I’m sure I’ll do the same in the full release, the game does serve up plenty of opportunities that make you want to brawl as Yasuke.It might be a better solution to merging the franchise’s impulses than the catch-all compromises of other modern protagonists, and I’m curious to see if it returns with the same level of commitment in future games.
4Assassin’s Creed Stealth Might Never Be The Same Again
One New Mechanic Makes All The Difference
Despite stealth always being one of the most enticing components inAssassin’s Creed,the games have never had the most sophisticated approach to sneaking.As much asAssassin’s Creed 2is an all-timer for me, I wouldn’t say it holds a candle to other favorites likeDishonoredandHitman: Blood Moneywhen it comes to the stealth itself.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Was Influenced By AC Mirage In One Major Way
Although the two games are far apart in scale, Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Mirage ended up converging on one central element of design.
Assassin’s Creed Shadowsdelivers an obvious shake-up to the formula with the introduction of shadow-based cover, andgoing hands-on made me really start to grasp how much that changes area designand the approach to infiltration. In myinterview with game director Charles Benoit, he affirmed both his intent to use the system in any otherAssassin’s Creedgames he might make in the future and his interest in seeingAssassin’s Creedgames from other sources do the same, so things might be changing across the board.
3RPG Systems Are At Least Partly Delivering
The Choices Are Good, But The Jury’s Out On Side Quests
AfterAssassin’s Creed Originsswung the action-adventure series in an RPG direction,Assassin’s Creed Odysseydoubled down, and it’s no surprise that another game by the same team is sticking to that commitment.Compared to classic titlesin the franchise, that means a heavier focus on stat-based weapons and progression along with a smattering of choices and a larger spread of side quests.
Based on the preview,I’m feeling optimistic about the choices in this one. Staying my blade from a target didn’t ultimately spare his life, and I don’t expect complex, large-scale ramifications, but that decision and a couple of surrounding ones actually played out in an emotionally engaging way. What I’m not so confident about are side quests, as I didn’t run across much of particular interest in that regard within the bounds of the preview area.
2Yasuke Can Sing In The Right Hands
An Uphill Battle That Can Be Won
Assassin’s Creed’s parkour tends to be naturally stylish, and videos of skillful freerunning inentries likeUnityandMirageare widespread on the internet.I can manage some decent parkour with the more agile protagonists, but I can’t say the same for Yasuke, whose stiff clumsiness makes for an obvious roadblock.
I did get to see Benoit try his hand at stealth with Yasuke, however, and I’m almost more interested now in seeing how much people can do with Yasuke than with Naoe. There isn’t room for the same stylish tricks, butit’s definitely possible to achieve some smart stealth play with him, as Benoit deftly exhibited. I’m starting to think that the limitations are what will make it especially interesting, much like the thrill of scraping through a brawl with Naoe.
1Shadows' Delays Might Only Be For Polish After All
It’s More Solid Than I Expected
Assassin’s Creedgames have often launched in somewhat buggy states, and getting two last-minute pushes onAssassin’s Creed Shadowsdefinitely seemed like cause for concern. After spending six hours with the game, however,I think the preview build might already be pretty close to the standard release statefor the series. I encountered a few glitches, but to my surprise, it was hours before I saw the first.
Iasked about the delaysin my interviews with Benoit and art director Thierry Dansereau, who both answered that the additional time just let them push a bit further. Going by Benoit’s statement, it sounds likeNaoe’s parkour might have received the most touch-ups, and that’s looking pretty good right now. If the final stretch of extended development goes well, there’s a real chance that the March release ofAssassin’s Creed Shadowscould end up batting above the Ubisoft average in terms of stability at launch.
