Played on PC with a RTX4090 and PS5 Pro

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a long-overdue leap into Feudal Japan, a setting fans have been clamoring for since the franchise’s inception. Set in 1579 during the late Sengoku period, Shadows follows the intertwined journeys of Naoe, an Iga Province shinobi, and Yasuke, the historically renowned African samurai. Shadows accomplishes something special: a world that feels authentic, combat that respects both traditional stealth and action-oriented approaches, and a narrative that pays homage to classic samurai cinema while managing some elements of what makes Assassin’s Creed special.

However, its road to release was not without controversy. Ubisoft initially fumbled its PR handling, especially regarding Yasuke’s place in the story, leading to discourse about historical inaccuracies and character representation. The developers course-corrected with delays, ensuring that Yasuke’s role was firmly grounded in actual historical texts like The Shincho koki and The Honnoji-ki. They also rectified missteps, such as initially portraying Yara, a supporting character, as a female sumo wrestler—which would have been a cultural inaccuracy—and instead making her a former monk, a more plausible but still uncommon choice. These adjustments, along with their commitment to cultural respect, have resulted in an Assassin’s Creed title that stands among Ubisoft’s finest.

Chichihue

At its core, Shadows is a story of vengeance, honor, and survival set against the backdrop of Oda Nobunaga’s ruthless campaign to unify Japan. Naoe’s journey is a gripping shinobi revenge tale, rich with political intrigue, while Yasuke’s arc explores the complexities of a foreign warrior finding his place in Japan’s rigid social hierarchy. Their paths eventually converge, creating a compelling dynamic that feels reminiscent of Kurosawa classics while maintaining the ongoing mystery of the Animus, the Isu, and the Templars’ influence over the region. What sets Shadows apart is its cinematic presentation and deeper implementation of choice. Cutscenes feel like they belong in a high-budget period film, with top-tier motion capture and staging that captures the grandeur of the era. Every conversation, every duel, every moment of reflection is framed with the precision of a masterful Jidaigeki (period drama). The inclusion of genuine Japanese voice actors adds authenticity, and while I personally opted for the English dub due to the lip-syncing being tailored for it, both options are commendably executed.

Once I got to switch between Naoe or Yasuke, either choice can tackle any main quest without forcing an unnecessary swap. Both protagonists are integrated well, and their transitions feel natural rather than forced. When the game sets you off into the open world, it asks which character you’d like to embark with—something I found to be a great touch. Unlike Assassin’s Creed Syndicate‘s Frye twins or the gender choices in Odyssey and Valhalla, Shadows uses its dual protagonists in a way that feels essential to both the lore and gameplay, making this mechanic one of its strongest elements. This also expands to dialogue choices; it’s nothing new since Origins, but right at the start of the game, you have 2 choices – Canon or Choice. You can tackle the game with the intended story beats, or make your own choice, as you could have surmised. But what’s different is, no matter who you end up doing the quest with, the developers put extra effort into making Naoe or Yasuke’s reaction unique to their character. Their responses are different, their actions are separate, and I really found an appreciation for that kind of work. Additionally, there’s romance here – now, I only managed to see Naoe’s interaction with some womanizer, but there was a point where Yasuke winked at a woman he was interested in – I haven’t done everything in the game, but the developers did promise a slew of options for either characters, so I’m curious to see the extent of it. Now, while the effort Ubisoft made into hiring Japanese voice is good overall, not all voice acting is in that caliber – I cringed at all romance lines because it felt 100% forced to me. I don’t think the writers figured out a way to make flirting feel organic, it’s hilarious.

Now, here’s the thing – while all of that is great, the reason I personally play Assassin’s Creed is to see where they take its sci-fi element to. I want to learn what is happening in the modern world, the state of the Animus and the Isu civilization. In Valhalla we had a whole expansion regarding it, but very little development in the base game. Unfortunately, that is also the case here. We have no real indication what is happening in the modern world other than the new direction Ubisoft is taking with the Animus. This time around, it is acting as if the player directly is syncing into these simulations, and a rouge agent is hacking into our system to warn us that all of it is a lie. While venturing off and experiencing the dual protagonist, we will periodically get Animus rifts to explore, which gives us insight into what’s going on, but these events are far and few in between. All I got in my 50hr playthrough, up until the credits rolled, was that we are lied to, and the Templar order is interested in Feudal Japan. There were no real ancient artifacts to uncover that had strange controlling abilities, no real indication of the Isu at all, and we get no clue whatsoever on what’s happening in the outside world. I don’t particularly like that. Whether the developers left this part to be an explorable element to uncover as a side thing or not, remains to be seen – my main focus was to see how the main plot went and surmise from there; I’m nowhere near done doing everything there is to do in this game.

The Beauty is in the Brush

Shadows is hands-down their best-looking game to date. Utilizing advanced rendering techniques, the environments are stunning, with high-fidelity textures, ray-traced reflections, and impressive ambient occlusion. The world is alive with details that immerse you in the era. From the towering pagodas and bustling marketplaces of Kyoto to the serene courtyards of Buddhist temples like Kongobu-ji, every location left me aweing over its scope in design. I often stopped to take in the vistas – and that goes double with sound design; leaves shuffling while the wind tug on the trees, it all works together wonderfully; I haven’t felt this stimulated since The Witcher 3. The draw distances are vast, ensuring that iconic landmarks like Himeji Castle or the mist-covered mountains of Tamba Province loom in the background – it’s actually quite impressive on consoles how much detail is retained – it appears to go beyond the rolling mountains. Character models also benefit from an insane level of detail. Playing on PC and consoles showcased its hair strand rendering techniques; obviously the PC version extends this feature to NPCs as well, further enhancing immersion. The fabrics of kimonos, the scarring on Yasuke’s armor, the flickering torches illuminating Edo-style houses—everything is meticulously crafted, it’s rare to see repeated assets. It all combines to deliver a world that feels historically rich and deeply atmospheric, proving that Ubisoft has pushed its technical artistry to new heights.

One of Shadows’ greatest strengths is its dual-character gameplay, offering two distinct experiences that cater to both classic and modern Assassin’s Creed fans—a first in the franchise. Yasuke plays akin to Eivor from Valhalla (or Ghost of Tsushima), favoring brute force, katana duels, and an aggressive approach. His combat is weighty and impactful, with moves inspired by Kenjutsu, allowing him to parry and counter with deadly efficiency. Naoe, on the other hand, embodies the traditional stealth assassin. Her movement set is reminiscent of Assassin’s Creed Unity but refined to a point of responsiveness, though limiting to a degree, more on that in a bit. There are new tools to play with such as the rope – it can be used to displace enemies and take them out without being seen or traverse Japan’s enormous structures. Hiding in kakurega (hidden rooms) and crawling through confined spaces to create dynamic infiltration routes feels really great and the option to prone really brings its action stealth gameplay to new heights – dare I say…. MGS level. I think classic AC fans will truly enjoy playing as Naoe. I’m a real big fan of how different each character feels – Yasuke can rush through reinforced doors, take heavy damage and fight a group with ease, but lacks the ability to climb tall structures, or even gracefully landing in a pile of hay. Naoe is very nimble and squishy, forcing players to think before engaging. She can climb almost anything and is much faster. These play style forces the player to kind of play by rules enforced in a way that makes sense and encourage critical thinking.

Exploration has some rules now – it’s not like the previous AC games where you can climb any surface or structure you see – the terrain in Japan is mountainous, filled with valleys and steep hills. I found myself sliding down very often, and when trying to go off the beaten path, climbing most rocks proved to be difficult even for Naoe. There’s more emphasis in following the natural rule of the environment – this can feel a bit limiting for an open-world game; you can still attempt to wander off, there’s no invisible walls other than story focused one, but I kind of like that there’s rules set by the developers in saying that yes, there’s limitations here.

The game’s Mastery Tree serves as a skill progression system, allowing players to unlock new abilities and enhance existing ones. Knowledge Ranks, which are required to access higher tiers, are gained through activities like praying at temples, collecting scrolls, and meditating. While the system requires some grinding, it doesn’t feel overwhelming or monotonous. Base-building is another new addition, enabling players to construct and customize their hideouts. You can build blacksmithing stations for gear upgrades, training areas to improve companions, and even decorate interiors with pets and ornaments. It’s a small but meaningful addition that adds depth to the game’s world – It’s not something I tackled heavily but by the time I did I happen to have hoarded tons of materials to do some meaningful upgrades which helped me significantly throughout my journey. Seasons dynamically affect the environment, altering the landscape, enemy positions, and even travel routes. Lakes freeze over in the winter, affecting mobility, while autumn storms bring intense winds and rain that influence stealth mechanics. The environmental changes add an extra layer of strategy and depth that keeps exploration engaging – at some point you will be able to manually switch seasons for those excellent photo mode opportunities. Fast travel is expanded here, utilizing both traditional synchronization points and the option to purchase hideout locations that double as fast-travel hubs. These locations also serve as supply stations, allowing players to restock tools, accept new contracts, and manage their scout network. While exploration is streamlined compared to earlier Assassin’s Creed games, it still offers plenty of meaningful side activities, including Animus glitches, castle infiltrations.

The Curse of the Oni

There are some key elements that really bothered me throughout my 50hr playthrough. I am the type of person that loves to play games with as little UI as possible, and the options available is surprisingly lacking here. You can remove aim reticle, turning off enemy sensory directions, ect – but there are some intrusive VFX that can’t be turned off like the “hiding” outline, the black-and-white flashes of ability skills, or enemy stagger VFX. These effects to me removed the game’s otherwise authentic presentation – it feel utterly arcade-y, which at the end of the day that’s what this game is about, but it just bothered me. Speaking of VFX – what’s up with developers not figuring out how to make proper rain effects? Just copy whatever Battlefield or Rockstar does and that’s it! Additionally, transitions between cutscenes and gameplay suffer from an overused dissolve effect that repeatedly breaks immersion. Seeing fade-to-black screens when interacting with NPCs, switching menus, season’s change randomly or even mistakenly engaging with a vendor instead of petting a wild cat gets tiresome and disrupts the game’s otherwise seamless experience. While Ubisoft made great strides in their parkour movement, there’s definitely collision issues here – I’ll get the usual stuck animation when trying to traverse from pole to roof top, and often Naoe would drop down the wrong side of a building, resulting in being discovered. When using the rope to climb up, she would sometimes swing too far off and get caught between another object, resulting in her freezing in midair. Honestly, this is to be expected in a game so vertically designed and it was easy enough to reset – it just happens from time to time, especially in the heat of some form of action.

I know this isn’t the focus for an AC game, but when you have a game built with such great effort, having the lack of truly dynamic world events is very noticeable to me. Sure, Ronin will seek you out during your travels and challenge you, or you will see bandits stealing from some poor villager, and while the game doesn’t highlight that you can intervene, doing some will reward you in some way like world knowledge, scout points or gear – but when comparing to the unpredictable world-building in Red Dead Redemption 2 or Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Shadows can feel static. NPC interactions, while present, often feel scripted rather than organic. The absence of dynamic daily routines results in repeated animations—woodcutting, sack moving, and blacksmithing actions appearing identical across regions—which detracts from the believability of an otherwise rich world.

REVIEW SCORE: 9/10

And regardless of my gripes, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is an incredible achievement—a game that delivers on its promise of a rich, immersive Feudal Japan experience. Its respect for cultural authenticity, breathtaking visuals, and robust dual-character gameplay make it one of the best entries in the series. Though it has some UI and immersion-breaking issues, these are minor blemishes on an otherwise stellar title. For fans of both traditional stealth gameplay and action-packed samurai combat, Shadows is an easy recommendation. Ubisoft may have stumbled in its PR and initial representation, but they listened, learned, and delivered an Assassin’s Creed game that truly honors the setting.

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