Ubisoft Forward 2024 Breakdown: Assassin's Creed Shadows Gameplay Reveal

Ubisoft released the first ever glimpse at Assassin's Creed Shadows gameplay on the 9th June 2024 in a brand new 'First Look Gameplay Trailer' which was shown at the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase event, with the promise of more to follow at Ubisoft Forward the next day!

Watch the teaser here:

Ubisoft Forward has become a highly anticipated event since the collapse of E3, with players eagerly awaiting trailers, reveals and gameplay for their favourite franchises, and Assassin's Creed is no exception.

As fans awaited the 19:30 BST launch time for the pre-show, screenshots, short clips and images of the game started to appear on Twitter, as just before Ubisoft's own event, Apple's WWDC event was going on.

In a short section featuring Assassin's Creed's Vice President Executive Producer Marc-Alexis Côté, it was announced that the game would be available on both MAC and iPad!

The main focus of the short teaser was the environment, which looks stunning in each and every scenario!

Assassin's Creed was mentioned a couple of times in the build up to the show during the pre-show, with my favourite reference being a pigeon passing the camera along with the iconic eagle screech. We also see a few community photo mode shots on the walls of Ubisoft Montreal which were taken in Assassin's Creed games.

The pre-show section dedicated to Assassin's Creed highlighted the fact that Mirage is available now on Apple devices.

The Main Show

As the biggest Ubisoft franchise of all, Assassin's Creed was naturally shown last at the event to end things on a high, with the tone set early on in the event by a series of excellent reveals, focusing on the passion of the developers, rather than pre-written jokes, audience participation and celebrity endorsement, as was often the case with E3.

Coverage of #AssassinsCreedShadows‍ at Ubisoft Forward kicked off following a stunning musical performance!

Twelve minutes of gameplay was shown during the main show, focussing oin Yasuke.

Features we noticed in the gameplay, written by Yazen (MidnightMarauder)

• Full year seasonal weather (depending on the season, the terrain changes).

• Can pet stray Shiba Inu.

• Yasuke is respected which can be seen by NPC bowing to him.

• Armour types on enemies affect their health, armour can be broken.

• Can easily switch between weapons with Yasuke.

• Unique kill screen for big targets.

• Noae has eagle vision.

• Many tools to assassinate not just the hidden blade.

• Grappling hook can be used to reverse vertical obstacles.

• You can choose to grab rather than assassinate for a non-lethal takedown.

• Can assassinate through Japanese doors.

• Kuni knife replaces the regular throwing knife.

• Can swim underwater to remain hidden for assassinations, breathe using a stick.

• Yasuke and Naoe now have different abilities which can be recharged through assassinations or kill like AC Mirage.

Post-Show

Features we noticed in the developer interview / gameplay, written by Yazen (MidnightMarauder)

• Monkeys are a visual clues for loot and interesting places

• The look of the map and animals even changed through the seasons

• Environment is highly interactive which can lead to breakable things during combat

• The ability bar is called the meter adrenaline meter

• Unlike Valhalla posture and parrying is paramount playing as Yasuke

• Different enemies of different types of combat encounters some enemies are more patient than others

• You can switch between characters, however, during missions or infiltrations that is not possible

• You can use a spy network to scout ahead for where your target is

• Grappling hook is highly dependent on speed and positioning

• Can peek around corners

• enemies are highly affected by light and shadows

• Weapons have different assassination animations like the hidden blade and the long blade

• The grappling hook can be used to grab at enemies quickly that are far away

• Thunder and different weather condition can affect assassination ways can change based on the weather condition where a pond can be frozen during winter but can be swam in in other seasons

Media Coverage

After the show, the floodgates opened on Assassin's Creed Shadows as the embargo lifted and media coverage and reactions of an early access gameplay demo hit the web.