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As you may know, Ubisoft’s series of hooded assassins has evolved throughout the years. In the past, the majority of assassins could kill an enemy with a quick hidden blade to the neck. However, games like Odyssey and Valhalla changed this to a more RPG-like style. Now, you need specific gear to empower your assassinations. In that sense, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is no exception, but it also offers an option to turn on guaranteed assassinations, which are similar to the ones Ezio, Altair, and other characters pre-Origins used to do. But, is it the best option in the long run?
How Do Guaranteed Assassinations Work in Assassin’s Creed Shadows?
When you start a new game and at any moment during your playthrough, you can head to the main menu of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, select the “Difficulty Tuning” option, and toggle “Guaranteed Assassination” on or off. When on, this lets you instantly kill an enemy regardless of their HP segments. Whether it is a boss, an elite enemy, or a large foe, they all go down in one hit. This option applies to Naoe and Yasuke.
In that regard, guaranteed assassinations are basically what we had in the franchise before, and they are a more realistic approach to killing enemies. If you stab someone in the neck or the head, they are expected to go down with one hit. And while that is the “realistic” approach, it has a huge downside as you progress through the campaign.
Leaving the Option On Makes The Game Way Too Easy
While everyone is free to pick whatever option they want, after experimenting for more than 40 hours, guaranteed assassinations make Assassin’s Creed Shadows a breeze, even in Expert difficulty. At first, we played in Expert difficulty with guaranteed assassinations, and found the game too easy. So, we toggled the option off, and found out that there were a few additions to make the assassination mechanics more involved this time.
In previous games, it was weird to see an enemy getting “fatally” stabbed just for them to get up and fight you. In Shadows, there are a few animations for a failed assassination, which make the attempt feel more realistic. This was great to see, as it encourages you to have the right equipment to kill someone with one attack. Furthermore, there are a few enemies that might block your assassination attempt, and you don’t see that if you have guaranteed assassinations on. So, in short, the best way to play is with guaranteed assassinations off, especially to experience the game’s RPG elements, build potential, and to see some of the details Ubisoft added to the game for this mechanic.
However, you’re free to pick whichever option suits your playstyle better. Also, remember that this choice isn’t definitive, compared to Canon Mode. You can toggle guaranteed assassinations on and off on the fly.
