Summary

  • Assassin's Creed Shadows may not be groundbreaking, but it delivers what fans want - old formula with a feudal Japan setting.
  • Weather mechanics and clue-based assassinations in the game are not as innovative or impactful as initially suggested.
  • The lack of response to racism surrounding the reveal of Yasuke and the portrayal of his character is concerning and problematic.

The very first thing we saw of Assassin’s Creed Shadows at the Ubisoft Forward was Yasuke petting a dog. It got a huge cheer from the crowd at the show, followed by a round of applause - clearly this was not the most critically minded audience. As I watched this raucous reception continue while the trailer continued to show us all the things Assassin’s Creed (and a dozen other games) has done a million times before, I was hit with a realisation - maybe I was the one who was wrong.

I’m not going to give up my career as a video game critic to become a professional screamer, but maybe I’m in the wrong for expecting Assassin’s Creed to change. Showing us a dog being petted as if we’re going to care about that is a very dated approach to game design, but people did care. Sure, a lot of people were probably just excited to be there, but there were no cheers for the new Skull and Bones season, Avatar’s upcoming DLC, or really anything in the show beyond Nix being a goofball in Star Wars Outlaws.

I would love for Assassin’s Creed to be creative and ambitious and modern, but it’s just… not. Maybe on a certain level it’s just foolish to expect anything else from the series. It’s not that Assassin’s Creed just deserves a pass from critics, but the overwhelming sensation I had watching the showcase was that it’s just not for me any more.

As well as the Forward, I saw a longer clip of the same section, highlighting the different ways the game could be approached. In the preamble to these clips, two things stood out and suggested Assassin’s Creed was finally evolving: the impact of weather or seasons, and the clue-based assassinations. But what did I just say about it being foolish to expect anything different from the series?

Image: IGN

One example given for the weather was that lakes could freeze over, limiting our ability to swim through secretly. So when they showed us a lake-based assassination, I expected the path to be blocked off the next time we saw it. Instead, none of the clips we saw had any meaningful changes from the weather at all. In one, a storm raged in the background, but had no impact on how the scene unfolded.

It’s the sort of mechanic that requires a commitment to realism for it to work. But a sequence with Naoe sneaking through a hut had her turn off a light just by pushing Triangle near it. She was lying down at the time, not within arms’ reach, and did not physically move to turn it off. That’s fine for a game where you say ‘screw it, more fun and easier this way’, but you can’t really take that attitude to immersive weather patterns and it’s odd that Ubisoft didn’t feel ready to show us what weather or seasons actually mean for the game.

As for the clue-based assassinations, you’re no longer given a specific target all the time, but instead some hints to their identity or behaviour. Maybe they work in a certain district. Maybe they wander the garden at night. Maybe they’re unpopular with a certain trade who can point you to them. It’s a cool way to immerse yourself in being an actual assassin, but the two examples we saw streamlined this to the point of feeling superfluous.

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As shown in the Forward, when Yasuke arrives in the market the camera instantly zooms to the end of the street right to our target. Meanwhile, all of our clues in the castle go unused as the target is just standing out there in the open. I hope it grows in complexity, but the fanbase probably prefers this more direct (if generic) approach.

Meanwhile, was disappointing to see absolutely no response to the torrent of racism surrounding the reveal of Yasuke. There was no defence of the approach or condemnation of the hatred that has bubbled up in response, neither in a serious and official statement or even a wry, cutting remark from any of the presenters who frequently amped up the crowd with hoots and hollers whenever anything happened on screen.

I’m also a little wary of the way Yasuke was shown off. The speakers did emphasise his skill and intelligence, but what we saw was a big, hulking Black guy who was gawped around by everyone he met, and was so strong he could literally crash through walls while being too clumsy to be quiet. For a character where race is going to be under the microscope, it was a rough first impression.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is more Assassin’s Creed. It’s what the people want. It looked like a cool version of the old formula, with the much requested feudal Japan setting, but it’s the old formula nonetheless. And for a lot of people, that’s enough.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Open-World Action-Adventure RPG Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 81/100 Critics Rec: 81% Released November 15, 2024 ESRB m Developer(s) Ubisoft Quebec Publisher(s) Ubisoft Engine AnvilNext Franchise Assassin's Creed
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