After years of fan outcry, the beloved Assassin’s Creed series will finally have an entry set in feudal Japan with this year’s installment, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. I saw a hands-on preview last fall at Gamescom in Germany, but the game was then delayed from its original November release date to February 14 (then postponed again to March 20) of this year. I got my first hands-on experience of the game alongside other journalists, marking a big moment for a game with a lot of expectations and hype.
My hands-on preview was split into two parts: a one-hour session exploring the game’s prologue and about three more hours in the later game. Although I’m not sure how immersed I was in the game, my characters were now both level 25 with legendary armor and many more abilities unlocked.
Set in 1579, the game takes a dual-protagonist approach, which is new to the series. Unlike 2018’s Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and 2020’s Valhalla, games in which you choose a main character from one of two character options, Shadows has you playing as a team of characters throughout the game. Ubisoft refers to this dynamic as a “stealth and combative” approach to the game in which the different abilities of the characters define how you will progress through the zones.
Each character plays differently but can be used for any mission and swapped at many points. The first character is Yasuke, a powerful black samurai brought to Japan as a Portuguese slave. Its large build and heavy armor make it a great choice for any missions where you plan to charge straight through the front door and fight your way to the end. If you prefer to kill silently from rooftops and in the shadows, Naoe is your protagonist of choice: a Japanese ninja who prioritizes stealth and maneuverability.
Many missions will give you the choice of who to start with, and except for a few cases, you will have to stick with that choice until the end. This means you won’t be able to start a quest as Naoe, sneaking around and trying to assassinate enemies, but then immediately switch to Yasuke when you’re spotted and surrounded by enemies. (When traveling through areas outside of missions, you can swap by simply pausing the game and holding X.)
That said, both characters can hold their own in the opposite playstyle, it will just be a lot more difficult. Typically, Assassin’s Creed characters from the past would be perfectly capable of playing both playstyles. So it’s an interesting choice to divide playstyle strengths between two protagonists and force the player to weigh their chances in relation to the style of play he prefers.
This contrast played an important role in the final mission we played, in which our heroes had to storm a castle and fight a corrupt lord inside. I originally started this mission as Yasuke, but found fighting through the front door to be just too difficult. After a failed attempt, I switched to Naoe and quickly climbed a wall (which Yasuke can’t do) and avoided fighting all together. What would have taken me probably 20 minutes of brawler combat and depleting all my health regeneration items was now stealthily bypassed in two minutes without any issues.
However, as the mission progressed, I now had to make my way through the corridors to the boss at the top. Instead of trying to squeeze through these narrow hallways filled with enemies, I switched to Yasuke and fought them head on. It was a fun change of pace.
At this point in the game, I had unlocked two of Yasuke’s abilities, which are used by holding RT and pressing one of the buttons on the controller (similar to previous character action games, such as Spider-Man ). The first ability was a very cool, super-fast slash that caused the screen to go black and white for a second while I made contact with the enemy, while the second was a massive, powerful kick which would send my opponent comically far away. the air. I loved using both and often used them to get through groups of enemies.
Both characters can also call on support allies to help them during missions, which act as combat game aids to help them in difficult situations. These allies can be managed, equipped, and upgraded from your base, and are used as distractions when trying to sneak around or even to aid you when facing multiple enemies at once. I had two at my disposal: a powerful woman who specialized in pushing and knocking down her opponents, as well as a stealthier man who attempted to one-shot the target and then use a smoke bomb to retreat.
Yasuke’s Charging Dash attack.
Another form of support is Scouts, who come into play when you try to find more information about your mission. Ubisoft says it has taken a “guide, don’t tell” approach to Shadows’ quests; subsequently, several of my missions didn’t have a marker on my map to head towards. Instead, it would give me clues about which area or building I should explore to learn more. During my preview, I had access to five scouts (and I didn’t know how to get more) that I could place anywhere on the map and which would reveal points of interest. The combination of clues and scouts should reveal the waypoint I need to head to to continue my quest.
From there, you can head towards your objective or press left on the D-pad to turn on the pathfinder, a translucent line that will direct you like a GPS. However, the game won’t hold your hand for every objective. The emphasis is on observation: by holding the left trigger, your character will focus and the camera will zoom in slightly. This will allow you to highlight enemies (which reveals their health and makes them visible through walls), and it will also tell you what loot to collect or what objectives you are looking for. It’s obvious from the start that rushing blindly into these missions will make things much more difficult than if you find a vantage point and survey the area first (another reason I’ve often preferred to start a mission with Naoe).
Spend some time creating a chic little hideout for your samurai and ninjas.
During my preview, I didn’t get a good sense of the overall story these characters are making their way through. The prologue suggested some motivation for their team, but the big mystery box remained hidden. However, long-time Assassin’s Creed fans will be wondering if the Animus, a narrative device that allows modern-day humans to revisit and play the role of their heroic ancestors from the past in these fantasy eras, is returning. In short, yes, in something called Animus Ego. Unfortunately, we had very little time with this meta-story component, but I can tell you that once again there are hackers, bugs, and something sinister going on behind the scenes of the project Apparently picturesque animus.
I’m extremely excited to play more Assassin’s Creed Shadows. As someone who loves Ghost of Tsushima, the setting of feudal Japan easily excites me. The wait isn’t that long either since the game will be released for PlayStation, Xbox and PC on March 30.
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