Assassin's Creed Shadows review — The art of kintsugi

As the Japanese would say, “Tabi wa michizure, yo wa nasake” – A journey is best shared with others, so join me on a journey to ancient Japan.  The year is 1581 in Feudal Japan, and the country is experiencing a period of war and transition as powerful warlords clash over scraps of land. This time is known as the Sengoku period (戦国時代 or “Warring States”) sees the most notable warlords in history, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, working in concert to crush or convert hundreds of rival daimyo in a bid to unify the nation of Japan.  This effort, commonly known as Nobunaga’s Ambition, unleashed untold destruction on the country, but ultimately unified it, bringing about stability and the end of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.  It’s this real-world conflict that serves as the backdrop for what has, by a large margin, become what I believe is the best Assassin’s Creed game of all time.  Yes – it’s that good, but it’s the stories behind the stories that make it that way. 

In the real world, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has had a few delays.  The original release date was November 15, 2024, then it moved to February 14, 2025, and now finally March 20, 2025.  While that sounds like a disastrous situation, instead I hope the lesson Ubisoft and other publishers should learn is this – let em cook.  This is, by a very wide margin, my new favorite Assassin’s Creed game of the entire franchise, moving Black Flag to #2, and Odyssey to the third position.  There is a lot to cover, so let’s get to it. 

The Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1603) is a time of great upheaval and transition period of Japan. From the Sengoku period to the Edo period, the nation went from scattered fiefdoms held by hundreds of daimyo to one marked by the rise of powerful warlords like Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu.  These three cut a swath through the heart of Japan, unifying it, but also crushing communities under their boot. It’s the start of this campaign where we meet our first of the dual protagonists (a first for the series, and more than a gimmick but a narrative vehicle as we’ll discuss) – a man named Diego. 

As you’ll see in the video above, Diego is a captured slave that somehow escaped from his captors on his boat journey to some unspecified location. Found floating in the water like so much flotsam, he’s rescued by Portuguese priests – Father Frois and Father Valignano.  These priests are on a diplomatic mission to convince Lord Nobunaga to allow them to settle a group of Portuguese priests in Japan to help spread Christianity, and in exchange Nobunaga would receive favorable trade and items like spices that he can’t get anywhere else.  They’ve constructed a massive chair built by the best artisans Europe has to offer…which would be useful if Japan used chairs at this time.  Lord Nobunaga is more interested in the tall, well-built black man the priests are using as a bodyguard as they travel the country, ultimately taking both the chair and their retainer as his gifts.  Fast forward nearly a year and Diego has risen to the position of Samurai, becoming the right hand of Nobunaga as he executed his vision of a unified Japan, acting as his personal bodyguard and sword in his path of conquest.  

The game ultimately begins as Lord Nobunaga assaults Mibuno Castle. He unleashed Diego (now called Yasuke), who absolutely obliterated their defenses.  Fully clad in yoroi (lacquered samurai armor), and with kabuto (helmet), katana, wakizashi to match, he is a one-man wrecking machine, clearly having spent that last six months training relentlessly to obtain the martial discipline necessary to obtain the title of samurai.  It’s here that we see Naoe’s story intersect with his, but from the opposite side – her clan is the opposition that he just obliterated with so much ease.  

There are a great many famous figures like Momochi Sandayu (one of the three real historical leaders of the Iga clan) make an appearance, as doe

s Ukita Hideie, Kuroda Kanbei, Konishi Yukinaga, Ukita Naoie, and likely many more.  Assassin’s Creed has never shied from pulling in historical figures, but often for little more than cameos, but here they are integral to the story, being used as far more than a footnote, or someone you see at the beginning and the end of the story.  Instead, they are woven throughout with flashbacks and interludes.  Arguably, this is the Assassin’s Creed team at their bravest, telling impactful stories pulled straight from history, with the smallest dash of doing what they do best – filling in the pieces in between with compelling characters both real and fictional. 

Fujibayashi Naoe (that’s our female protagonist’s full name) and her father Nagato look over the valley and into the distance, seeing the castle in flames.  Nagato is more concerned with getting to Aekuni Shrine to recover an important artifact, knowing that they have no way to stop the invading army with their small numbers. These two are members of the infamous Iga ninja clan, focused on stealth, subterfuge, and assassinations, and Nagato believes that Nobunaga is coming to retrieve a special object, but refuses to disclose to Naoe the nature of that artifact.  

The earlier parts of Assassin’s Creed Shadows are very focused on Naoe.  Much of the setup for the world is laid squarely on her shoulders.  It’s not a bad thing, but it’s something you should be aware of going in since that means the first dozen hours of the game will only feature Yasuke briefly.  I came to appreciate this as it made me focus on combat less, emphasizing stealth and social interaction.  I wasn’t blending into crowds like the first few games in this series, but it did let the game breathe life into the spaces and the people that inhabited it instead.  Bandits lie in wait around the edges of cities, the poor fish while the rich sip tea in their well-constructed chashitsu (茶室 - tea houses).  When spring arrives you’ll see peasants wearing ratty rags while the more affluent areas have merchants with mino (蓑 - grass should capes) and various kasa (笠 - hats).  You see ningyō jōruri (人形浄瑠璃) in the streets - Japanese puppets being showcased in a small box as children gather and watch.  Sometimes they’re accompanied by a shamisen (三味線) player as they play traditional string music.  There are games where people “go about their day”, but here it feels very purposeful and more natural than placed.  This design choice, this careful placement of things, is a very Japanese way of thinking, and it’s pervasive in every element of the game. 

Eventually there is a story element that I absolutely will not spoil for you – it sends chills up my arms just thinking about it, that does cause Naoe and Yasuke to finally align their goals going forward.  You’d think that you’re now given a choice of “brutal frontal assault” or “carefully planned stealth” but it’s far more nuanced than that.  Naoe can go toe to toe with two or three foes, but she has to rely on skills and careful dodging to land her strikes.  Skills become more important, as does rapid movement.  Yasuke on the other hand can go toe-to-toe with enemies, taking on scores of foes, blade in hand.  That said, he can also be very stealthy.  Yes, uncorking the massive kanabo (the club with studs or spikes on it) is brutal and smashes everything in its path, and nothing does more damage than a teppō (an early Portuguese firearm), but both are extraordinarily loud.  Instead, you can rely on some techniques that break the tenants of bushidō (武士道, "the way of the warrior"), including poisoning your foes from extraordinary distances with your daikyū (大弓 - Japanese longbow).  Yasuke can be a sniper from a very long distance.  While he has limited climbing skills, it’s very possible to take out quite a few foes without making a sound with headshots from range.  In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, it’s not about choosing loud or quiet, but using both when they’ll be most effective.

Mechanically, there is a real choice between the two protagonists.  Naoe is a shinobi, able to climb things using a grappling hook or scrambling up to a climbable surface.  Wearing somewhere between 50 and 60 pounds (or more!) of armor and weapons, Yasuke can’t really jump.  That means his verticality is limited to what he can reach with a very small hop.  On the other hand, Naoe takes very few hits to kill if you end up in a fight.  

Thankfully, when you do get to the point where you can choose between them for nearly every mission, they level up together. In fact, Naoe and Yasuke share progression across the board, granting XP, Knowledge points, and Mastery Points equally to make sure that both characters are ready to go when you need them, and not under-leveled.  That said, you might want to spend some time in the forge to ensure your weapons and armor are up to scratch. The game levels areas with you, so if you aren’t spending time upgrading your gear, you’ll find yourself “desynched” very quickly. 

Leveling up in Shadows isn’t just about putting points into the progress tree – you’ll need to spend some time with special missions to earn the best skills in the game. Naoe can meditate on her upbringing and pick up her skills, and Yasuke does the same.  As you roam the world you’ll find additional opportunities or Masters for Yasuke to train with.  One example would be Yasuke practicing Yabusame (流鏑馬) – mounted horseback archery.  You’ll learn the skill by riding your horse and shooting targets on either side of you, with a passing grade for hitting the minimum, or a “Legendary” one for hitting every target. These practice and learning moments create a more meaningful connection with your skills, and certainly more than simply clicking a point to learn it.

There’s also a new mastery system that, for the first time, allows you to emphasize a specific weapon type. All of the weapons have a Mastery slot that unlocks additional bonuses.  If you intend to be the master of the katana, you’ll need to spend some time and effort to obtain that mastery.  That said, don’t neglect your secondary weapons – each has their own use, and that enemy that plagued you before might fall when he catches a 5 pound weight to the skull. 

Further nodes in these skill trees are locked off until you reach the appropriate Knowledge Rank. You can see what rank you currently are in the Mastery menu, as well as how many more points you need to rank up. These points aren’t acquired upon level up, however, and are instead granted from practicing or uncovering various things out in the world. Naoe can meditate using hand signs, occasionally leading to a flashback sequence. Yasuke can practice his sword skills and stances against other masters, or in another form of meditation - kata. Both characters can also pray at shrines or find religious scrolls to further their skills. It’s a great confluence of gameplay, the open world, and the discipline befitting of a true samurai or shinobi. 

The team has spent a great deal of time and effort to make this game the very best looking game they’ve ever made. The landscapes stretch to the horizon, with rolling hills, forests, meadows, and rivers running throughout.  As you walk through the grass, small motes of pollen float through the air as the grass waves in the wind.  During the spring, Sakura tree leaves add a gorgeous splash of color, and during the fall, they gently fall from the branches.  Snow begins to fall and you’ll even hear icicles crack and crash as they fall from overhangs. Small animals fight and play, and if this game is any indicator there are deer absolutely everywhere in Japan.  There are so many tiny details that are almost imperceptible, but it means you’ll almost always spot something new every time you play.  

One of the challenges of making Naoe a shinobi and making Yasuke a samurai is ensuring they move appropriately.  A ninja would be able to smoothly transition between complex attack patterns, leaping strikes, dodge rolls, and more.  Yasuke’s movements come from countless hours working the strict Kenjutsu (剣術).  Holding deep stances, smoothly moving his odachi (大太刀 - the extended length katana) through various attack patterns to simulate attacks and responses, and with a devotion to precision that makes them some of the most dangerous warriors ever known.  Both are very far from the movements of any assassins we’ve seen in any previous title, and the team understood the homework.  Naoe’s animation are smooth as a silk kosode (小袖 - a short-sleeved kimono variant), as you can see in the video below.  

On the opposite side of the mon (the money in Japan at the time) is Yasuke.  When he moves, people notice.  Walking down the street they either bow to him or gasp in shock and back away quickly.  When the weapons come out, all of his movements are huge.  Sword strikes are fast and precise, kanabō strikes are brutal and slow.  Kicking somebody in the chest and watching them fly through bamboo walls, crates, boxes, and more, sending fruit, splinters, and junk scattering everywhere. The team outdid themselves here.  It’s not perfect, and there are occasional goofy moments where climbing isn’t quite perfect, but it’s the best it’s ever been.  

The sound in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is as phenomenal as the artwork.  The music is a blend of traditional with a splash of hard-charging drums with modern flair during combat sequences. Composed by Joe Henson and Alexis Smith, more commonly known as “The Flight”, the team previously composed the music for both Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed Odyssey.  Joining them is the Montreal-based Japanese band TEKE::TEKE who contributed several original songs for overworld exploring.  Their work is very evocative of the likes of Hans Zimmer’s work – high praise indeed.  Finally, British-Tanzanian rapper Tiggs Da Author and the composer team Thunderdrum gives us some absolutely awesome music fusion that is the green tea on top of the kakigōri (かき氷 - shaved ice with a sweetener).  It feels like a blend of the modern and the past, with driving beats, pounding taiko, and sweet backing tracks.  It’s hard to describe, listen for yourself. 

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is at its best when it's celebrating the quiet moments.  Sumi-e paintings, learning about the culture of the world around you, practicing Kuji-kiri (九字切り(aka. nine symbolic cuts" or "nine hand seals"), visiting shrines to remember the past, practicing Kata (型), praying at a shrine, and uncovering mysteries in kofun (古墳 - ancient burial mounds).  Some of my favorite moments are sneaking up on animals to make water brush paintings (Sumi-e). There is so much more emphasis on these moments of pause, and with a game as gorgeous as this, I find myself stopping on mountaintops or in temples to capture a moment with the game’s included photo mode.  

Skills, weapons, and tools: 

Naoe has skills split between three verticals, tools, shinobi, and assassin, as well as her weapons.  Tools contain things like her kunai, smoke bombs, and shuriken, where shinobi skills are stealth tools like the grappling hook, shallow water breathing, and grabbing foes silently.  Assassin is all about the hidden blade, eagle vision, killing quietly through a shoji screen, or improving your attacks to stealth kill large foes. 

Yasuke’s skills are focused in similar verticals, building on his skills with the sword, his bow, other weapons, and samurai skills.  In both cases, they are tied to special attacks in a way similar to what we first saw in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. You can only assign a certain number of special attacks from each tree, though you can switch them any time you’re not in combat.  It’s far from the only way you can earn special attacks and powers though. 

Weapons, armor, and trinkets all have an RPG-style stat system, but the team has tweaked the formula since our last outing.  The weapons can be picked up from boxes, looted from foes, our purchased, and they are grey, green, blue, purple, or gold for rarity.  When you eventually get the ability to engrave your weapons and armor, you can take the stat or skill improvements you’ve learned and have them engraved onto another item.  It encourages you to visit other armorers around the country to find new engravings.  Some of them even break convention – I use a sword that can block unblockable attacks, for example.  Combining these powers in different ways can completely change combat.  The fact that you can continuously upgrade any item in the game to your current level (provided you have the resources), means you never have to “outgrow” your favorites, though you can’t improve their rarity.  It’s a more flexible system, and when combined with the ability to use the appearance of any other version you’ve found means you can look how you’d like and fight with what you want – the best of both worlds.  

Your foes are more prepared this time around.  Enemies can often show up to the fight with advanced weapons of their own, and with increasing frequency, armor.  You will have to either find ways to get around that armor, or break it.  You can utilize perfect counters or perfect dodge rolls to trigger powerful counterattacks or strong combinations to quickly sunder an enemy's protection, though this will require practice for the timing on each weapon. Yasuke has more of an advantage against armor as he can not only charge and bash down solid doors, but can employ this same technique against enemies, sending them careening backwards.  His attacks are also far stronger, breaking armor more quickly than Naoe's lighter but faster strikes.  Naoe on the other hand is better equipped for the faster foes that use paired daggers and kama, for example.  The further into the game you go the more specialty enemies you’ll find that can do things like summon reinforcements, call in explosives, or worse, but it’s their ability to work in groups more effectively that I enjoyed.  Yes, they do tend to attack like in a Batman movie, one at a time until they’re all dead, but it’s a step in the right direction as they encircle you, use ranged attacks, and every once in a while, unleash a special attack of their own.  

One of the best additions to the formula is the ability to go prone.  It sounds like such a mundane thing, but the use of shadow and crawling on your stomach to stay out of sight is a crucial stealth element.  Getting close to your target to quietly take them down has always been a central pillar in the Assassin’s Creed games, but now you’ve got new options with semi-short grass.  You’ll still need to be mindful as foes can see you if they get very close, but it provides another tool for the stealth toolchest.  

If the RPG-lite approach isn’t to your linking, and you’d like any successful stealth approach to result in an instant assassination, there’s a toggle for that.  In addition there are multiple difficulty levels, with an Expert level topping things.  While enemies aren’t as observant at normal levels, they remember that rooftops exist on the higher levels. With a nod to games like Ubisoft’s own Splinter Cell series, you now have to pay more attention to sightlines as well as how visible your shadow is when the light is behind you, projecting it where an enemy can see it.  Expert difficulty levels feels more dangerous as being caught can be almost immediately lethal.  

For example, Naoe can only take two to three hits before dying in combat on Expert. This makes you want to avoid direct confrontation when playing as her at all costs, especially since any encounters with more than one enemy are basically a death sentence. It’s a great way to reinforce the two characters’ different playstyles, but it does feel like the enemies are often far too aware. There are some flashback missions that’ll focus on specific parts of Naoe’s toolkit, such as her grappling hook. You can clearly see the intended routes through some clever design, but Expert mode actually punishes you for taking them as you’ll be spotted almost instantly. You might think to find another way, but those are usually even less stealthy, so you just have to keep attempting the intended route until you get lucky. The extra difficulty is fun most of the time, but there’s no shame in turning it down when it gets ridiculous. 

That said, they can still be pretty stupid on any difficulty. Sometimes you’ll turn a corner and enemies will immediately think you’ve disappeared. Other times, you’ll throw a shuriken to assassinate someone from a distance, and the biggest guy will instantly know where you are. When it works, it’s one of the best stealth systems Ubisoft has ever made. When it doesn’t, it feels a bit cartoonish. Thankfully, it works more often than not. 

The Marketplace: 

Assassin’s Creed Shadows has a marketplace with a similar implementation as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, allowing you to purchase Helix Credits with real-world money to buy packs of cosmetics and equipment.  Some of these are time-saving boxes that will mark areas on the map with treasures and activities, hideout resources like minerals, wood, and crops, or Mon – the round stamped coin currency of Japan from the Muromachi period in 1336 until the early Meiji period in 1870.  As before, there is a mix of cosmetic and functional gear, some of which will rotate out weekly or even daily.  For example, there is currently a Sekiryu Beast and a Steed of Lost Souls for mount options, with a small Eikyo statue decorative item, a Katuhime Hatou ally outfit, a Hatou tanto for Naoe, and a Hood of the Dragon for her as well, the latter two being Legendary items that require you be level 30 to use.  Beyond these is a huge list of cosmetic packs that are going to put a choke hold on my wallet. I don’t think any of these items are findable in the world, but you can pick up the occasional credits symbol called “Keys” to redeem via the in-game vendor.

Most of these cosmetic items are locked to Level 30 to ensure you aren’t just jumping to the end and ruining the balance of the game (mounts are not locked – use those at will), but I can’t overestimate just how awesome these are.  One pack is a Gashadokuro (literally translated as "rattling skeleton"), giving Naoe and Yasuke a skull mask, complete with fierce glowing red eyes, with equipment to match.  Another is the Kaen set (Kaen translates to English as “Fire”), giving both protagonists weapons that smoulder and burn at the edges, with a fiery Komainu mount.  The third pack is Hatou, or wave crest, and you guessed it – sea dragon adornments and weapons with a light blue glow, complete with a Hatou sea mount – a sort of hybrid horse / sea serpent.  The last is Sekiryu (or red dragon), and it’s easily my favorite.  Naoe’s armor is adorned with a dragon head at the shoulder, and Yasuke’s kabuto (helmet) is crested with three sets of flat horn plates.  The kashira (the butt cap) is a dragon head, and the blades swirl with a red glow. The mount is a Sekiryu – another horse / red dragon hybrid.  

Beyond your character’s visual upgrades, you can also apply similar cosmetics to your hideout, complete with a cute little pet to keep the place safe.  Who doesn’t want an ashen black smoldering death Akita puppy or a cherry blossom-shedding sakura fox?  You can also dress up your allies in Kaen, Sekiryu, and Hatuo outfits – sorry guys, no gashadokuro for you. The team has absolutely outdone themselves here.  Sure, you don’t need any of this in any way, but damn does it look awesome. So do the items you find in the game, but if otherworldly is your aim, this is your path.

Your New Launcher

In the main menu of the game you’ll be able to scroll up and down. Doing so shows the primary antagonists from Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla, Mirage, and of course, Shadows.  Not unlike the in-game launcher for games like Call of Duty, you can now launch all of your installed Assassin’s Creed games under one umbrella. I’m not sure who’s hopping between them like that, but it does suggest we might see a change in the future where a single launcher is where you find whatever comes after Shadows. As of right now, launching a game through Shadows will cause it to repeatedly launch after closing, so it’s not too useful.  Time will tell, but it does feel a little bit more like an Animus than ever before. 

Performance

It’s been a while since I’ve played a game on GeForce Now.  Apparently I’ve been missing out, because it looks indistinguishable from the full locally-installed version.  To be clear, I’m reviewing this on a bleeding edge PC, but to get started I jumped in with GeForce now.  As you’ll see in the benchmarking videos below, the data center is allocating an AMD Ryzen 16-Core CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, and Windows 11 64-bit VM to my instance.  If you unlock it in the GeForce Now menus you can tweak the individual settings to match your visual preferences, or you can just leave it on auto and let the system match the game with the visual quality and bandwidth use you can handle with a smooth outcome.  Turning off that auto setting I did a few benchmarks running in native AA at 4K, using DLSS without Frame Generation at 4K, and finally DLSS with Frame Generation on.  I was able to achieve 30, 60, and 103 for averages, respectively, as you’ll see below.

Even if you’re not on the cutting edge of PC technology, the game will look and run great on an RTX 4070. Running around the open world averages around 100 fps at 1440p, while settlements go down to the high 90s, both with DLSS on. Oddly, menus seem to be locked at 60 fps no matter what. Generally, the game seems to be less CPU intensive than other Assassin’s Creed games, while looking even better. While the game will be verified on Steam Deck at launch, currently it is very far from that with framerates in the low teens on the lowest settings. Ubisoft must be working some shinobi magic to get it to work on Deck, and we’re interested to see how they get it up to par. 

Blood for Blood:

Naoe and Yasuke find themselves at odds with a shadow organization called The Onryo. Much like the Cult of Kosmos in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, The Onryo represent the 12 targets you must track down and ultimately kill as part of the central story.  It’s also very far from the only targets you’ll pursue.  The map where you see the 12 targets slowly expands as you meet more nefarious members of various criminal organizations.  One kidnaps children, leaving a calling card you have to trace to find them all.  Another leads a war machine, churning through peasants with his twisted calls for justice.    The moment you think “yep, that’s all of them” it expands again – it turns out there are some folks that need killing out there, but it’s not your only choice.

Roughly halfway through the game I discovered that I had the ability to spare my targets.  Certainly not everyone is reasonable, and most want to separate your head from your body, but staying your blade for a moment to determine which is which might yield you an opportunity to make a choice in the matter.  There isn’t a strict morality system in the game, but some can affect your relationships directly.  Some of these outcomes are rather significant, so you might exercise some patience before you strike – we never know what part someone might play in our story.

On the opposite side of the coin from The Onryo is The League – the friends and allies you make along the way that will ultimately help you in your journey.  These people will also give you quests, offer advice, and even come to your aid in some cases.  These are the significant moments that bring your homestead to life, making it feel like more than just a place to upgrade your gear.  

Making a home:

Building your kakurega (隠れ家 - hideout) isn’t just cosmetic, but also unlocks various advantages and bonuses.  It’s also where you’ll find your allies, pets, display your art, train your recruits, as well as where you can upgrade your equipment for war.  Building your first Kakurega unlocks a scout, enables fast travel, contracts, and begins to generate supplies.  Stables allows you to transport animals and materials, stockpiles for your scouts to smuggle, and provides resources at the end of the season.  A Forge, as you’d expect, will provide a place to dismantle and upgrade your gear, as well as visual customizations and eventually engravings (more on that later).  The Dojo is your place of training, giving your allies a place to raise their skills and grow in rank.  The Study is the league’s information center, where secrets are gathered and analyzed.  When you are needing to track down a target in Assassin’s Creed, they’re not shown with a pin at their feet, instead offering a general area you should search. (though the traditional direct route is available as a toggle if you aren’t into the scout method) This building narrows down that search zone, shrinking it further with each upgrade.  Stables are self explanatory – it’s where you house your horses.  Upgrades to all of these buildings make them more effective, allows them to collect even more resources, and houses an ever-expanding roster of recruits.  For all of this, however, you’ll need three things – crops, wood, and stone.

Throughout the world you’ll find caches of all three primary resources, though contracts are the best way to earn them. Contracts can be as simple as stealing supplies from the enemy, assassinating important leaders, thinning the ranks of enemy troops, or finding legendary chests.  You can also be sent on missions to find cosmetic merchants, musicians and new music for them, or even to recover important artifacts.  Even in war, you should take time to appreciate the quiet things in life. These contracts renew every season, so visit your Kakurega often to seize new opportunities.  

As you grow your buildings, your unused scouts (that is to say, scouts you’ve not sent to do recon) can also gather resources, returning them to the hideout at the end of the season.  When you’ve collected enough resources to build a building or upgrade it you’ll head to a table within the Kakurega where you’ll be presented with a top down view.  Here you can place your buildings and decorations as you see fit, making this place your own.  Customizing buildings allows you to place equipment, change the building materials, add shoji, and much more.  You’ll find more things to improve your home throughout your journey, so don’t be discouraged by the thatched roof hideout to start.  Over time your little village will grow, and you’ll need more rooms to house your wayward refugees.  That will give way to other pursuits like a Zashiki for your guests to unwind, a Tea Room for ceremonies, and a Gallery to showcase things found on your travels.  Better still, you don’t have to guess when those upgrades are ready – they are listed as an objective on your target screen with requirements therein.  

Cultural Discovery:

There is a section in the menus marked with a Torii gate called Cultural Discovery.  In it you’ll find all of the real-world elements of Japan at the time you’ve encountered. From concepts to music to real-world locations and landmarks, this area of game is similar to what we’ve seen for the Discovery Tour programs we’ve seen in previous titles.  The depth of these is enormous, as is the breadth, offering literally hundreds of things to discover.  It’s wonderful to see these real-world locations as they exist today, as well as the ukiyo-e art (Japanese wood block art) from the time. It’s a window into time that the Ubisoft team has brought to life, and it really does showcase an incredible attention to detail. 

One of my favorite things about Assassin’s Creed Shadow’s world is that I’m always seeing some new bit of tiny detail that I’d missed before.  Seeing somebody walking down the road stop, see the violence unfolding nearby, and then do a startled run to get out of sight is a tiny background color element that makes it all feel more alive.  Similarly, seeing people stop and talk to each other about mundane topics makes them feel more like people than window dressing.  During one sequence I ended up attending a formal tea ceremony.  It was explained in exquisite detail, with every aspect rendered in perfect detail.  It’d be very easy to miss or just skip entirely, but the team spent the time to make sure it was done exactly to tradition.  It’s not crazy combat action, it’s not uncovering the great mysteries that deep in a kofun, but it’s a memory that sticks in my mind, even dozens of hours later.  

The other fantastic element of the game is surprisingly how bosses are treated.  Yes, they have extra armor and bigger health bars, but they’re just people, not damage sponges.  They’re subject to the same attacks as everyone else, though they hit much harder.  More importantly, they also have motivations and more often than not, you can find some element that you can almost sympathize with.  One of the main Onryo targets presents a very compelling case.  It leans into the more involved and brave storytelling on display here, making otherwise two dimensional enemies to something more. 

There’s really only one area that David Flynn and I both agreed were uneven compared to the rest of an otherwise-magnificent presentation – the voice work.  The Japanese language track is superb, minus Yasuke.  It feels a bit like a Japanese speaker attempting an African accent and it sticks out among a magnificent cast. Conversely, the English language track has an uneven Naoe, but an absolutely perfectly-cast Yasuke. The rest of the voices are a mix of fantastic and fine.  Truthfully, it’s a reach to even call it a con as both protagonists grow into their role as they move through the story.  In both Japanese and English, both characters sound more confident by the midpoint than they do at the start, and it’s great to hear the growth.

This is the best Creed has ever been, so learn the lesson Ubisoft – let them cook.  When we give the team time, they seem to come up with far more memorable and compelling antagonists, stories, and worlds for us all to enjoy.