Assassin's Creed Shadows review: The Ubisoft saviour?

There has been so much noise around Assassin's Creed Shadows and the pressure on Ubisoft to get the series back to its very best.

It's been a tough year or so for the studio and publisher - the game itself has been delayed twice, Star Wars Outlaws performed well below expectations resulting in its share prices dipping to a 10-year low and the company has been forced to make a number of layoffs.

There have been question marks from some fans around Ubisoft games in general, with some thinking they're too similar in style with the same gameplay loop found across different locations.

Ubisoft knows it needs its stock to rise with Assassin's Creed Shadows.

To be clear, throughout this review, as with all indy100 game reviews, it's based on if the game is actually any good or not through its story, presentation and gameplay. Forget the stupid anti-woke culture from some corners of the internet and the all too frequent Ubisoft pileons. This is purely about if Assassin's Creed Shadows is a good game.

So, let's get stuck into it.

Assassin's Creed Shadows tells a terrific tale / Screenshot from Ubisoft

Assassin's Creed Shadows story (spoiler free)

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set in Feudal Japan, specifically 1579, when the country is being driven by Oda Nobunaga on a path towards unification.

There is a lot of unrest and after the invasion of the province of Iga, the lives of young shinobi Naoe and legendary samurai Yasuke intertwine.

Both characters have introductory missions that act as tutorials and the differences between the two characters are very quickly established, both in terms of the story and gameplay.

In a similar way to a number of open world games, there is a prologue before a province opens up as players get to grips with the controls and story but the full world can be explored.

The game starts off with the player primarily controlling Naoe before Yasuke is then introduced and then each character can be switched between at pretty well any time.

No story spoilers but it's a decent one. The premise of it is largely what a player would expect from an Assassin's Creed game and while it isn't groundbreaking, it has some good twists and turns with some interesting characters.

The side quests really stand out for players that are interested in finding out more about the stories of Naoe, Yasuke, the game's setting and some of the game's supporting cast.

Player choices are available but don't feel hugely meaningful except in the way that isolated parts of a quest play out and even then they feel quite few and far between.

There is a canon mode where these choices are taken out of the hands of the player and give a reference story but can only be toggled at the start of a new game.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is absolutely stunning visually / Screenshot from Ubisoft

Assassin's Creed Shadows presentation

Let's cut right to the chase here - Assassin's Creed Shadows is one of the best looking games out there in terms of its setting and environment.

The 1500s Japan setting is perfectly picturesque and Ubisoft has captured that here with aplomb. The map is split into nine provinces, the game starts in Settsu which features Osaka before then opening up.

Each district is so incredibly varied and as well as the quiet farmlands and isolated mountain ranges, there are areas brimming with life and each one is really fun to explore.

Seasons play a key role in terms of gameplay and seeing them change visually is simply astounding. Each area looks so different in each season and it looks immaculate every time.

The iconic cherry blossom plays a huge part in making the game pop with colour and the palette for each setting is so vibrant and well realised.

This is one of the huge attractions of what makes Assassin's Creed Shadows so satisfying to explore.

Photo mode isn't usually something indy100 plays around with that much but good chunks of time were sank into capturing the perfect picture because it takes the breath away of just how good this game looks.

The character models aren't the best players will see though - they generally look good but some do not convey that much emotion and can come across a little lifeless.

This is a shame when the setting of Assassin's Creed Shadows is so beautiful.

As with previous Assassin's Creed games, there is a compass instead of a minimap meaning this isn't being stared at for long periods and the world can be enjoyed. It's a small thing but when the world is this spectacular, this really matters.

Gore can be toggled on and off and with it on, it really leads to some gnarly moments and leaves little to the imagination.

The sound is superb and the Japanese inspired soundtrack that runs throughout is nothing short of spectacular.

The HUD is good and while the accessibility options aren't best in class, there are enough decent options here.

Although her character focuses more on stealth as she's a ninja, Naoe's gameplay is still fast, fluid and fun / Screenshot from Ubisoft

Assassin's Creed Shadows gameplay

Naoe is a stealthy ninja and Yasuke is an iconic samurai. Two very different characters with two very different styles.

And these differences are realised very well without feeling too jarring or difficult to grasp.

Yasuke may feel slower than Naoe but with Naoe being the most nimble protagonist ever in an Assassin's Creed title, Yasuke is still no slouch and can deliver devastating blows while still being fairly light on his feet.

He is much more of an option for direct and front foot combat.

Naoe is more focused on stealth; while still being able to tackle enemies head on, she is not as strong with parrying and dodging attacks becoming much more important otherwise big damage will be taken.

However Naoe's eagle vision means plotting a route to take out groups of enemies undetected can be brilliantly planned and executed. There's a focus option too revealing key details about the immediate surroundings, such as tagging enemies and revealing where loot is.

She's got a grappling hook to make vertical traversal speedy. Unlocking further abilities to do so becomes incredibly rewarding too.

Although stealth is typically slower paced, because of Naoe's agility, it never feels like a chore choosing this route which is incredibly important.

As a player that enjoys a faster pace that usually runs into things headfirst, this is a big tick in terms of stealth gameplay.

There are sections that can only be progressed through playing as Yasuke and switching between the characters at will later on was fun, although Naoe was stuck with most of the time except for bigger battles.

Yasuke's power really shines through in these encounters and delivering those huge, devastating blows at key moments always felt rewarding.

General combat feels fast but fun and it's incredibly satisfying pulling off the perfect combos while parrying and dodging to take down enemies. There is a flash on screen when an incoming attack can be parried and a red flash when it needs to be dodged.

When a cluster of enemies has been completed and as the final one is being taken down, there's a pretty badass finisher to be found each time.

As with the more recent Assassin's Creed games, there are role-playing game elements, such as levelling up, upgrading skills, weapons, outfits, all that kind of thing.

There's even a hideout that players build up as a base of operations that can be customised to a very granular level in a grid system, so for players that enjoy that kind of thing, there's a lot to dig into here.

While it doesn't have the most in-depth RPG mechanics, it doesn't really need to be any more in-depth than it is as it still offers meaningful progression without detracting too much from the focus on action and exploration.

In terms of exploration and navigation, as well as travelling on foot and without characters ever getting tired of sprinting which helps to keep the game fluid, the world can be navigated on horseback and there's also a pathfinder if players get lost or just want to get from A to B quickly.

Each province has a different recommended level based on what level the player should be before entering it but there isn't a restriction on the player entering these at any point which can lead to some memorable unscripted moments.

There was an instance early on where indy100 ended up in an area 30 levels below what was advised because it had stumbled across a nearby synchronisation tower.

After finding this out the hard way, and then getting spotted again on the second attempt with the fear of being taken out in one hit, it was a thrill to evade those strong foes, capture the tower and then dive into the ever well positioned hay bale below before quickly retreating to where indy100 should really have been.

These levelled areas also give the feeling the whole map doesn't have to be explored all at once and the game encourages the player to do it gradually alongside the story and not instead of it.

That's especially key as this is a big game - while the story itself can be completed in 30-40 hours, there's upwards of 100 hours of fresh content here to fully complete it.

As someone that likes to be guided into this approach (otherwise the whole map would be filled out first with the story taking a back seat), being actively encouraged to do this and progressing the story and exploration in tandem was welcome.

Side quests revealing key back stories of Naoe and Yasuke throughout helped to keep an element of focus to what's going on during periods of exploration too.

Yasuke's movements aren't as quick as Naoe but he's still no slouch / Screenshot from Ubisoft

Going back to the climbable synchronisation towers, instead of them filling in the map with points of interest, they reveal highlighted locations to go and explore and because of how fun exploration is, this is a brilliant switch up to something that's been synonymous with Assassin's Creed.

It's as though Ubisoft knows how fun it is to explore its setting and this gives the perfect encouragement to do that. The world is dense and the option to find things as you go along is stellar.

Exploration is always usually pretty good in an Assassin's Creed game but Shadows takes it to new heights.

The Ubisoft formula is in effect here to a certain extent though - go to a tower and find out what's been revealed; it's usually an area where enemies have to be taken out for rewards, shrines that can be explored and prayed at for information or areas where players have to navigate fairly straightforward platforming puzzles to obtain high level loot.

But that should not be off-putting because the world is so appealing, varied and fun to navigate, exploring it to its fullest never grows tiresome as the hours go on, especially as the game does not reveal what players will find exactly until they arrive.

Hours and hours can be sunk into each district with individual subplots emerging along the way. It's hard not to be swept up and immersed in this world.

Most of the game can be played through at the pace of the player's choosing and once it opens up more, it allows for the freedom to complete main quests in any order.

Scouts, characters recruited as the game goes on, play a huge role as they reveal what the player needs to do to progress quests and find out what exactly they need to do or who they need to speak to.

Upgrading the hideout is key for things such as a base for more scouts, the opportunity to upgrade loot and store items among the benefits.

Everything has felt like it has been done in a meaningful way and because of this, as a player that's growing increasingly weary of open worlds and the reasons to explore them, Assassin's Creed Shadows restores faith in how fun and engaging these type of games can be.

There's a new Animus Hub which basically acts like Call of Duty’s landing page in that games are integrated in one place, with a handful of recent titles already in there among Origins, as well as new ones going forward.

At present, there are four core features with more to come.

There's Memories, where players can see the history of Assassin's Creed, Projects to access regularly released missions and in-game currency, Exchange to exchange keys from completing projects for premium rewards and Vault so players can access data files, videos and pieces of the franchise's story.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is a great game / Screenshot from Ubisoft

Assassin's Creed Shadows verdict

Assassin's Creed Shadows has had intense pressure on it for a number of different reasons but the game itself has stood up to it all.

The setting of feudal Japan is the true standout, leading to one of the best looking locations in gaming, with lots of fun things to do and find, which Ubisoft manages to encourage players to do well.

The gameplay is great and never grows tiresome, especially with the ability to switch between Naoe and Yasuke at will later on, even if the story isn't as strong as it could be and character models could have a bit more life in them.

Ubisoft needed Assassin's Creed Shadows to be good. And it very much is.

8.5/10

This review of Assassin's Creed Shadows is based on the PS5 version of the game but it's also available on Xbox Series X/S and PC from March 20.

For more from indy100, check out our best 100 video games of all time and our recent review of Monster Hunter Wilds.

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