After months and months of delay, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is finally going to release on March 20, 2025 — that’s hoping Ubisoft will not push the launch date back further. Fans have been asking for an Assassin’s Creed game based in Japan. Either we get a tale of an assassin through the eyes of a samurai, or the most befitting outfit of a shinobi that evokes every inch of what an assassin is in the franchise.
A few days ago, I was lucky enough to get invited to go to Ubisoft’s Singapore office to play Assassin’s Creed: Shadows for about three hours of gameplay content. I got to play the game’s prologue and one of the first main questlines where I could switch between the protagonists — Yasuke and Naoe.
Honestly, it will be tough for Ubisoft Quebec and Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, I tell you. Why? Because a game like Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima exists, not to mention we also have Nioh and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which are both incredible samurai games. Sony’s exclusive is the benchmark for the best samurai experience. At the same time, the latter games are beloved titles, each of them having clear distinct gameplay that makes them unique and overall enjoyable.
Will Shadows live up to expectations? Well, it’s too early to tell for only having played just three hours of content. But based on my time with the game, I actually didn’t expect Shadows to be that darn good. Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is looking to be a game that fans may probably enjoy. I had a great time overall.
Let’s dive directly into the experiences I got from both of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows protagonists. Yasuke, as I already expected, is a brute. He can withstand heavy attacks and inflict significant damage on his enemies. He’s huge and can take on multiple enemies, and his movements are more grounded. His impactful attacks stagger enemies. Yasuke may look like a big killing machine, but he isn’t unkillable.
Adversaries in Shadows are formidable, and they’ll pose a real challenge. They deal a ton of damage, with most of them attacking simultaneously, and can overwhelm you in bigger numbers. I had to time my parries perfectly to push back some of the enemies, but I wasn’t always lucky. Enemies attack at different speeds, despite having clear patterns. The unexpected continuous attacks left me unguarded, it felt like the AI adjusted according to my attack patterns, knowing when to strike to take me down. The combat felt so refined and enjoyable as it tested my reflexes.
Yasuke also has different sets of weapons to use: the Long Katana, Naginata (polearm), Kanabo (club), a Bow, and the Teppo (gun). With the variety of weapons you can use in combat, the game offers different combat styles players prefer. Ever decide to just go full-on samurai mode? Use the long katana and slice your way through enemies. Do you want distance as an advantage and inflict damage on more than just one enemy? The Naginata is your best friend. The variety of weapons gives you the flexibility to approach combat the way you want.
Our shinobi protagonist, Naoe, however, is different. Unlike Yasuke, her physique is small. Lacking armor, she is vulnerable when outnumbered, making her ideally suited for stealth. Direct combat, while exciting for the most part, is still dangerous for Naoe. But that’s not to say she doesn’t have any interesting abilities and weapons because she does. Naoe’s arsenal includes a katana, a chain sickle traditionally known in Japanese as kusarigama, and the tanto (a short blade).
In fact, I prefer playing as Naoe over Yasuke. She has complete tools to infiltrate enemy compounds without getting seen and is the only person to have a Hidden Blade. She’s also fast, nimble, and quite formidable. I love her movements, acrobatics, and the ability to be more mobile compared to Yasuke. She’s the perfect representation of the Hidden Ones.
Switching characters can be done right before a quest starts, where you’re given the option to choose which character you want to play as. Alternatively, you can open your map, fast travel to a location, and choose which character you want to load in afterward.
However, I haven’t witnessed any sequences where both protagonists fight together. When you choose Naoe, Yasuke stays behind for some arbitrary reason. It’s still early in the game, though, so there’s a good chance we’ll see both characters fight side-by-side later on.
Progression is now entirely weapon-based. However, gear rarities are back, and this is probably the only thing I have a problem with. They went away with gear rarities in Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, but it seems like Ubisoft Quebec decided to bring them back in Shadows. From what I’ve experienced, it felt like Shadows may be driving towards Odyssey‘s loot system. Enemies drop gear loot alongside currencies and other crafting materials, aside from obtaining them from compounds and chests. This poses a problem where players may yet again have to spend more time grinding for better loot. Valhalla had a better, more streamlined approach to the loot system. Gear was more unique and could be obtained from chests found in exploring regions or through quest completions.
It’s still early to tell as I only had roughly around three hours and I didn’t get to do much in terms of side quests to know if the loot system leans more on Odyssey; but I do pray that Ubisoft Quebec did something to improve on Odyssey‘s loot system, because if they didn’t, then it could be a concern.
I spent my time exploring the region of Harima, going to iconic places such as the Himeji Castle and the Itatehyozu Shrine. The expansive map of Shadows, stretching from the Wakasa region to Osaka, offers a vast world to explore. In the western region you’ll get to explore Harima and towards the east is the region of Iga. It’s a sizeable map, giving us a whole lot to explore feudal Japan. It’s clear that Ubisoft Quebec did their research well, using what they’ve learned from the historical building designs down to the beautiful sceneries and the entire atmosphere of feudal Japan.
It’s also worth noting that stealth has been drastically improved, and each experience differs between Yasuke and Naoe. Yasuke’s large physique makes him easily detectable, particularly when hiding behind objects as his kabuto (samurai helmet) often sticks out. Naoe, on the other hand, is smaller, and can easily whip her grappling hook to a wood in the ceiling to hide from enemies. In a first for the franchise, both characters can now go prone. This has proven useful for hiding under low-lying bushes that would not conceal them, especially Yasuke. I haven’t been using the newest feature yet, but it does add value to the quality of life improvement.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows proved to be an impressive feat during my time at the Ubisoft Singapore closed media hands-on session. Despite the return of the loot system and gear rarities, Shadows didn’t disappoint. The combat felt fluid and fun, the entire atmosphere of feudal Japan was spot on, and the improvements in stealth and quality of life. I can’t wait to play more of Shadows when it launches on March 20, 2025, for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
