Recently, we faced a situation where the phrase “shun the non-believers” fits perfectly. Like many others, I was skeptical about finally seeing the Assassin’s Creed franchise take it to the Far East. I thought it was already too late for that. A good look at Rise of the Ronin or Ghost of Tsushima shows that. How wrong we were. The gameplay reveal of Assassin’s Creed Shadows proves that the game isn’t late at all, and beyond that, it’s already appealing to new and old fans. While the identity of what Assassin’s Creed wants to do is still a bit shaky, I can’t complain after watching Naoe and Yasuke smashing and slicing their way through this historical period.
During Ubisoft Forward’s show at Summer Game Fest, we finally got the long-awaited gameplay reveal of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which was flawless. I say flawless because it has anything an old-school fan might want. Back in the day, Ezio was the one delivering justice to the citizens of Italy with brutal finishers. As time went by, the likes of Kassandra or Eivor didn’t hit those notes too well. But Yasuke did. With overwhelming power and finesse, the brutality we love from this franchise is back. In certain moves, I couldn’t help but remember Connor Kenway’s killer moves as he swapped from one target to another.
But Yasuke wasn’t the sole star of the show. Naoe took the spotlight as well or rather turned off the spotlight to brandish the power of shadows. See, I always felt the stealth part of the series was a bit lackluster. Even in the golden era, sneaking relied on social stealth, which was a staple in itself. However, it failed to reach the immersive levels of Splinter Cell. Naoe is the embodiment of a shinobi. Agile, deadly, silent, and flashy, she’s the ninja-like character we were all asking for. Plus, the light and shadow mechanics that are a first in the franchise are a welcome addition that took a bit longer than expected to get out of the oven.
Ultimately, I feel a dichotomy at the same level as Ubisoft whenever it plays a game. On the one hand, I love every bit of gameplay we saw for Assassin’s Creed Shadows. On the other hand, I fear none of those systems will return. While the franchise had an established formula and clear path decades ago, it doesn’t anymore. It jumps from cluttered RPGs to contained stories and from a character-swapping adventure almost yearly. And while experimenting is completely fine, Ubisoft needs to find a formula and stick to it if it truly wants to revive this legendary series.
