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Assassin’s Creed Shadows Review: Dumplings Over Flowers?
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (version reviewed), PC, Xbox Series
Genre: Action-adventure, RPG, Ubisoft open-world
Ubisoft’s meal ticket series, Assassin’s Creed, is a clear case of having too much of one thing can be bad for your health and psyche. While the open-world action-adventure series took a turn into loot-based role-playing and combat-savvy game territory with 2017’s Assassin’s Creed Origins, Ubisoft just tapped on the beer pump consistently and without fail like a desperate alcoholic sticking around after closing time.
Which is why it was wise for the French company to put two to three years in-between AC titles for breathing room’s sake: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla with the Norse history and Assassin’s Creed Mirage which went back to stealth gaming basics. Sort of. So how about the best of both worlds? A stealth game with loot mechanics and an action-brawler type title with, again, loot mechanics and equipment to fuss about and levels to grind towards?
Enter Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which takes place in the long-requested region and historical period of Feudal Japan.
Addressing the shogun-sized elephant in the room, Sucker Punch already did their version -2020’s Ghost of Tsushima- and it was phenomenal. Thus, comparisons are unavoidable at this point. But what about the open-world Feudal Japan action title version made by the whole of Ubisoft and its thousands of game makers and designers who hopefully aren’t a victim of the latest sexual/religious harassment from its execs?
Better late than never, I suppose.
The time period? Feudal Japan 1582 when current Japan emperor Nobunaga was at his apex of his rulership. Our heroes? Two of them. We have a ninja named Naoe who seeks revenge against Nobunaga and everyone involved with burning her village of Iga down and killing her dad who asks her to retrieve and protect a secret box a clandestine group are obsessed about. And then we have Yasuke, a black samurai (and former slave) who ends up being lordless after 10 hours so into the story, in which he becomes a playable action character.
Both their tales are of revenge and redemption, though their arcs get swiftly resolve in favour of them building a faction where they have to deal with Assassin Creed things: shady organizations in Japan that need culling, the Templars, and a lot of Animus references and tidbits since you are playing as a bystander reliving the tale of the shinobi/samurai combo. Story-wise, it’s as traditional as it can get, though it has some moments of camaraderie and humour if you plan on delving through your allies’ sidequests. Our heroes themselves are also actual characters with their own unresolved issues throughout the story. Naoe’s quest to find the box and her father’s killers showcases her personal growth into a less vengeful person, while Yasuke’s arc really gets going later as he finds out the mastermind behind his past enslavement. While typical, its “grindhouse” flavour and apparent use of contemporary tracks to punctuate action beats is welcome and freshen things up from being another fictionalized portion of a period drama.
Yes, there are even romance options for Naoe and Yasuke if you so choose (straight or gay, your choice). And yes, I played it in Japanese dub since the game said at the start that it’s more authentic and immersive that way. [Update 19/3/2025 9am GMT+8] I heard that the English dub is on another level of cringe; may I suggest just switching to Japanese dub to be safe?
Other than that, do expect to spend a lot of your hours infiltrating castles, hunting down assassin targets, destroying groups of samurai and bandits, find scrolls and collectables for bonus points and experience, all in the very open world of Feudal Japan. And it is massive; that’s both a good and bad thing. Good because there’s a lot to uncover and a lot to explore while also admiring, as it’s all rendered out and presented in a beautiful fashion. Coastal towns, lush forests, long-stretching plains and paddy fields, all within four seasons in the country so that you get different shades of eye candy while you’re traipsing around with your horse.
I also say bad because you’ll also be exploring EVERY province in the map to get through 40+ hours of the game’s main campaign. Just when you think you’re done killing your intended story targets, it turns out you need to also complete both Yasuke and Naoe’s personal stories that finally give you closure. The way its gameplay is presented just feels like it’s wearing out its welcome, though on the flip side, you can take your sweet time exploring and conquering goals as you see fit. AC Shadows is NOT a game you should be rushing through.
It’s also not helpful that it introduces the knowledge system for your skills. Back then, if you had skill points via levelling and sidequesting, you can unlock skills bit by bit from bottom to top. In AC Shadows, your skill tree progress is locked and won’t unlock upward even if you have more skill points. Unless you gather a new resource called Knowledge Points. If you collect enough, your Knowledge goes up a rank which then unlocks the next tier of skills; there are 6 tiers total.
To get Knowledge Points, you have to do non-killing activities like search for lost scrolls in a temple, pray at different spots in another temple, do Naoe’s meditation, and practice Yasuke’s katas with a sensei in the middle of Japan’s numerous bumf*** villages out of nowhere. These activities, while kind of fun, do make the whole leveling up and unlocking of skills more of an extra chore for an already padded-out game.
Of course, I could go on about the odd graphical bugs (floating rice paddy till and sinking bowing nobleman, anyone?) and some of the sound issues I faced whenever I keep playing the PS5 version of the game running and on standby. And also the fact that switching characters isn’t quite seamless; you need to fiddle with the menu a bit and out of combat instead of doing a tag-team hotswap button option.
But that would mean my 40+ hours was just an obligation on my part to review games. Truth be told, I do enjoy the formula Ubisoft has laid out and created here, only in a different setting and with two different styles of play. That’s the reason why I keep playing Far Cry 5 even though it’s the weakest in the series. That’s also why AC Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla work for me: it’s a Western open-world RPG with tons to do, sights to see, eagle perches to unlock for fast travel, and historical figures to visit and/or kill. And you get to choose your flavour of fighting and conflict resolution, because both of them are fun to go through.
Naoe’s many shinobi skills and weapon selection are great and handy in a pinch, though she can die in 3 hits or less. Conversely, Yasuke is a tank that isn’t as mobile, but makes it up by wielding giant weapons that can cut a Japanese conscript like paper lanterns. He also can use a bow-and-arrow as well as a Teppo/firearm, so don’t bother with the former if you just want a rifle that deals massive damage at the cost of long reload times.
And even if the Knowledge system purposely slows down your skill tree progress, that’s because most of them can turn both Naoe and Yasuke into powerhouses at the endgame. How does assassinating two people at the same time with your Hidden Blade and ninja dagger sound? How about using your Hidden Blade as part of your combo that can potentially end fights super-quick? Or how about having Yasuke swing his giant club/kanabo endlessly with each slam hitting for game-ending damage? Or even do a super ground pound area-of-effect attack that can KO most bosses if the jump hits point blank? All of these are at least worth slogging through the new system.
Robbing each castle and mansion’s loot also bestows you with awesome equipment for our heroes, with some of them even being permanent mainstays. I lucked out in the first 10 hours killing all samurai daimyos in one Kyoto castle and ended up with a Yasuke-exclusive armour that lets you block red/unblockable attacks at the right time without taking damage. This carried me all the way through the endgame, meaning that if you put in the hours needed, you’ll feel like a badass ninja and samurai in no time flat.
You are sure to find the right weapon and equipment set (with additional talismans to boot) to play both characters your way. Me? I like my Naoe with her kusarigama killing things from afar and being a literal whirlwind of death with her AoE attacks. And my Yasuke is a giant club wielder from start to finish. No daimyo or head is safe from my black-powered grapefruit crusher.
Despite its flaws, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is still a decently fun action adventure-slash-role-playing hybrid (stats, grinding, and all that jazz) if you really need a huge timesink with a ton of money backed onto it. It may not change your mind about the Ubisoft formula of open-world games. But through it all, formulas work because they’re comfort food and deliver what is expected while looking darn good and polished doing so, without any fuss. And with a great soundtrack that mixes traditional with contemporary beats & melodies.
At the very least, there is a lot added here in Ubisoft’s latest to warrant at least 10 or so hours (out of the 30 required to go through the story campaign). It won’t beat Ghost of Tsushima in the sandbox-flavoured action-adventure, but few titles can. Earning silver is still a noble endeavour, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows will sort you out with its plethora of content.
Review copy provided by publisher.
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