Assassin's Creed Shadows: First Impressions and Gameplay
Analysis
We are now just two months away from the launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows, and we are thrilled to reveal that two of our team members, Col and Taylor were selected by Ubisoft to participate in a remote early-access play session event along with other content creators and media outlets around the world.
Below you will find the initial thoughts and feelings written by Assassin's Creed Community Ambassador @Col_96 after a four hour play session, brand new screenshots, and exclusive gameplay captured during the session. Keep an eye on the page as we will continue adding content throughout the week!
Enjoy!
Possible spoilers for Assassin's Creed Shadows
First Impressions
Hello Assassins. I'm Col, Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, and I was lucky enough to participate in an early access event for Assassin's Creed Shadows thanks to the AC Community Development team at Ubisoft.
I'll start off by saying that I had a really positive experience, as the world of Assassin's Creed Shadows is incredibly beautiful, intertwining two stories in a way that creates an experience that is both shared and standalone, as Naoe and Yasuke, two outsiders in the world, find comfort in each other's pain, and try to make a difference to heal Japan.
I think what the development team at Ubisoft has done is incredibly clever, weaving history into the main characters for the first time, selecting Yasuke, a historical character, and Naoe, the fictional daughter of real life ninja Fujibayashi Nagato. For me, both characters make perfect sense, and show a different perspective on the brutal history of the time period.
AC Shadows takes a stab at bringing back a sense of mystery that long-time fans of the series will love. The game encourages you to uncover the next secret in a land of danger, something which is incredibly rewarding for players.
The passage of time is interesting too with a fixed day/night cycle that provides atmosphere as every storm is different. You can feel the effects of the wind as your riding through an open field. Lightning can flash across the sky and light up the whole scene.
Naoe
''The life of an assassin is pain, You suffer it, you inflict it, you watch it happen in the hope that you can make it disappear in time.'' Ezio Auditore
I feel that this quote perfectly describes Naoe. Although not strictly an Assassin during my playthrough, or at least, that word was never said, her quest for revenge after the attack on her village is fuelled by a hunger for vengeance. Rather than blind rage, she is incredibly focussed, seeking those who are harming Japan and its citizens. You can feel her pain, and she takes no joy in inflicting it upon others. It is a necessary evil.
Throwing knives are lethal when timed correctly, but can also be used to extinguish candles from a distance, creating darkness and the perfect environment for a stealth attack. I particularly liked the dialogue options, as they can make a difference to the outcome of a mission. This is why the team added a canon mode, so that the Animus makes the decision for the player.
I like how Naoe is the sum of her history, learning from the past, but also taking onboard the teachings around her. She is thoughtful, reflective, and resourceful. She will no doubt be a fan favourite.
Yasuke
An outsider in a foreign land, Yasuke has to learn the true meaning of honor and respect when he is stripped of his name, all authority and ownership of his own decisions. He shows a willingness to survive in a hostile environment, learning the language, customs and more, and is rewarded with his life.
Often shown as a 'one man army' Yasuke is all that and more. There is a kind side to Yasuke that makes him relatable and more human in side quests. He is not the brute he has been portrayed to be. I was really surprised by this as I suspected it would be the case that he was the brawn and Naoe the brain, but that's not the case. He shows intelligence and understanding, opting for a more physical approach to quests due his size, but I also found stealth with Yasuke to be incredibly satisfying considering his limited capabilities.
Combat is great, as Yasuke can take a lot of damage, giving you the chance to recover, reset, change strategy and break down enemy armour before delivering a brutal finishing move. I can see players being very happy with the weapon choices, enemy types, finishing moves and overall effort that is gone into crafting a brutal combat system that is all about breaking the opponent down and destroying their armour.
Things I liked
The Scout System: You can recruit scouts and send them to attack enemies. It's extremely satisfying, and you can customise everything from their weapons to outfits. Building the network of spies has its benefits as they can also be sent out to collect information across the map!
Eagle Vision can be used indefinitely: I didn't notice Eagle Vision timing out, which means it can be used without the worry of it disappearing. You can use it to highlight points of interest or observe and tag enemies.
Voice Acting: I was really impressed with the voice acting, from all age ranges.
Music: Absolutely incredible score! This will be a soundtrack that players will adore for sure, as it captures a mix of emotions. Sadness, anger, and hype! I was really motivated by an incredible fast paced track at a key moment early on in the game.
Facial Expressions: Game looked absolutely incredible on my PC (Nvidia RTX 3070 TI), and the facial expressions, especially in cutscenes were so lifelike!
Parkour: Feels quick, rebuilt from the ground up. Naoe is easily the fastest character in an AC game. It feels like a mix of balance and precise manoeuvres. She is lightweight and nimble, moving silently
Grappling Hook: Like the rope launcher but more useful. You can swing from trees to perform air assassinations. Extremely satisfying.
Tall grass, low grass and prone: The introduction of prone is perfect for an Assassins' Creed game, and I particularly like that AC Shadows has heights of grass.
Brutality during combat: Decapitations, impaling, you name it, AC Shadows will shock and surprise with it's brutal combat system.
The World has so many opportunities: Uncovering secrets, side quests and moments of tranquillity create a game of many tones, dark and light, and I feel like it encourages the player to get lost in the world. You have to unfog the map yourself, as viewpoints only uncover so much. This is great news for completionists.
Enemy Types: Guardians are my current favourites. You'll see why when the game launches! Very similar to the mercenaries in AC Odyssey that hunt the player!
Visuals: I didn't get to use photo mode but I know that players are going to have a great time with this game. It's incredibly beautiful.
Stealth: It will take some practice, but with more time, I can definitely see players perfecting stealth and using all the tools at their disposal to their advantage.
Things I Didn't Like
The night is incredibly dark: I had to turn the light off in my office to see the screen as when the game takes place at night, it is incredibly dark.
Hills and thick trees: Without the pathfinder, my horse would still be stuck up a mountain somewhere trying to find a way past the incredibly thick trees.
Hunting isn't in the game, or at least, I didn't find any way to kill a deer. I thought it would be similar to AC III where pelts could be used for crafting, but I didn't see this in my playthrough.
Health potions don't fully heal, or at least, with my current skill level and abilities during the playthrough, I needed to use two to fully reset the health bar.
Yasuke doesn't have Eagle Vision: I understand that this could be for a lore reason, but it would have been a useful addition.
I didn't see any Modern Day Gameplay. Animus Hub has huge potential though.
Enemies can literally walk away from smoke bombs and be unaffected.
I died so many times when playing as Naoe in combat situations. Some of the enemies have huge health bars compared to Naoe, and thick armour so it's a real challenge to defeat them in combat. I will say that it is incredibly satisfying when you do though, but similar to Basim in AC Mirage, the game encourages a stealth approach. Not a bad thing, just worth mentioning for those looking for a fight.
I genuinely think that fans will be surprised when they pick up Assassin's Creed Shadows in March. There's a lot to love about the game, as you'll see in our exclusive gameplay below!
Enjoy!
Dev Comments
We reached out to the development team at Ubisoft Quebec regarding our experience and received a response from Game Director Charles Benoit!
''I think once settled, you could play with contrast setting for the night. We wanted to have a black night, not a blue one.
About Hunting, we saw the hunting wasn't a big thing compare to the respect of nature, so we wanted to turn hunting in something more positive, it's why we introduce the Sumi-e activity instead.
For healing potions, it's with some Hideout upgrade that you can boost it. You can boost efficiency and quantity.
And about the smoke bombs, it's Only Samurai that deny it by running away, we wanted to avoid cookie cutter strategy and have some enemy "smarter" than other.
And yes, Naoe and fight can be challenging, Preview is not the ideal learning curve. But Naoe can be very lethal if you build your gear in some was, using the fight system in the best way too.''
We would like to say a big thank you to Charles for reading our first impressions article and for providing insight into the creative decisions!
Animus Hub
Welcome to the Assassin's Creed Animus Hub:
An Explanatory video by Ubisoft showcasing the Animus Hub, a new platform and gateway to Assassin's Creed content which launches alongside Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Analysis by UbiCypher
Exclusive Gameplay
About the Author
Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program.
As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website.
He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level.
Colum Blackett (Col_96)