I’ve played every Assassin’s Creed game since the start — here’s my verdict on Assassin’s Creed: Shadows after 60 hours

Assassin’s Creed: Shadows may be the 14th mainline installment in the franchise, but it also marks a glorious comeback for the long-running series. Shadows successfully blends the best elements of the classic AC games with the strengths of the more modern RPG entries. Plus, it tells one of the best stories in this Assassin’s Creed universe since the days of Ezio.

I’ve played every Assassin’s Creed game to date (yes, even the bad ones like Assassin’s Creed: Rogue), and Shadows offers everything I’d hoped for: fleshed-out characters with compelling backstories, fantastic stealth mechanisms, smooth parkour, gory combat, and meditative moments of clarity. The game’s dual protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke, offer unique, but intertwined, stories and each brings a different playstyle to the table.

Set in feudal Japan, Shadows’ map doesn’t feel nearly as overwhelming as that of AC: Valhalla or AC: Odyssey, and stunning graphics bring the historical setting to life. Along your journey to bring down warlords, Templars and cultists, you’ll encounter several NPCs that make the open world feel rich, each with a story worth exploring.

Unfortunately, one character takes the spotlight more than the other, and the narrative choices feel largely inconsequential. However, these are minor blemishes compared to everything this new AC gets so right. Read on for my full Assassin’s Creed Shadows review where I’ll take you through why this is one of the series’ best games…

Assassin’s Creed Shadows: The Basics

• What is it? Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is the 14th installment in the historical action-adventure series that combines the best of the RPG genre and the series’ old-school stealth mechanics. Set in feudal Japan, you switch between Naoe, a shinobi, and Yasuke, a samurai, to bring down Templars, warlords and other foes.
• Who is it for? The game is perfect for die-hard fans of the franchise as it brings back old and new stealth mechanics, but it’s also suitable for players looking for their first Assassin’s Creed experience.
• What’s the price? The standard edition of Assassin’s Creed Shadows costs $69, while the Digital Deluxe edition costs $89 and includes outfits for Naoe and Yasuke, and mastery points to spend on the in-game skill tree.
• What other games has the developer made? Ubisoft is credited with the inception of the Assassin’s Creed franchise with the first game launching in 2007, but the team has also made the Far Cry, Prince of Persia and Tom Clancy franchises. Other titles include Rayman and Watch Dogs, and Just Dance too.
• What games is this similar to? It’s an action role-playing game that will not only please fans of the series, but its open-world and mechanics will attract fans of The Witcher 3, Horizon Forbidden West and Ghost of Tsushima — especially GoT because many activities in Shadows feel near-identical.

Two blades are better than one

Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, one of my favorite games, introduced player-swapping, allowing you to choose between siblings Evie and Jacob. While the Frye twins had different personalities, their fighting styles didn’t feel vastly different — but Naoe’s and Yasuke’s feel wholly unique.

Naoe is a shinobi that dawns classic assassin outfits you can loot from chests or earn as rewards for completing quests, and she wields the OG hidden blade — not like the ones we saw in Odyssey (the spear) or Valhalla (where the blade unsheaths from the top instead of bottom).

In our preview, we noted that the iconic blade felt integral to the story, and it does, which you find out as you make your way through the game. Low-profile assassinations are executed better than in Mirage as they feel more fluid. While Valhalla featured these, they felt slower. Naoe can take down enemies quicker than Eivor, while walking or hidden in objects around the world.

Then there’s Yasuke, an Afro-Portuguese man who’s taken under the wing by historical figure Oda Nobunaga and trained in the ways of the samurai, becoming what Nobunaga himself calls “one man army.”

You explore the racism he experiences, often being called “the outsider,” and his link to the Assassin’s brotherhood. Both characters wield different weapons and each comes with its own ability attacks and gruesome finishers. They cross paths a few hours into the main story, and the way Shadows interweaves their backstories is remarkable.

But Shadows still struggles with balancing the two characters. Yasuke doesn’t feel as necessary to the plot as Naoe. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed playing as an overpowered samurai with abilities that enemies can’t defend against. But halfway through the main story, Naoe herself becomes powerful enough to wipe out an army so you no longer need to switch to Yasuke to complete a melee-oriented mission. I felt more inclined to stick with Naoe when exploring the open world and doing side quests. Of course, there are character-specific side quests that must be completed as either Naoe or Yasuke.

Naoe carries a sense of nostalgia. AC fans, like myself, yearn for the days of Ezio because of his emotional backstory. To me, Naoe’s story feels nearly as sentimental. You piece it together by completing Kuji-kiri (timing and memory challenges) around the world. This is a character who has suffered great personal loss and is on a mission to bring the perpetrators to justice, and it’s clear she is the main character. I found myself often thinking that it wouldn’t have made a major difference if Naoe was the only playable character.

We work in the dark…

Stealth is crucial in Assassin's Creed: Shadows, especially at the beginning where most enemies can one-shot you. As the name suggests, you must use shadows to your advantage when you’re playing as Naoe — another indication that she is, in fact, the main character. This is an aspect I love. I thoroughly enjoyed hiding in long grass and surveying the area using the classic version of Eagle Vision (walking slowly while the world turns monochrome instead of an actual eagle) for enemies and lamps. I could then plan which fires to extinguish to stay hidden.

You’ll also embark on Naoe’s quest to complete parkour-specific side quests to uncover the secrets behind the assassin brotherhood. One of my gripes with Valhalla was that I didn’t feel like doing side quests because Eivor wasn’t a compelling character, and was never really an assassin. Naoe is. Not only did I find myself seeking out her character-specific side quests but I also took time to do additional optional activities, like drawing animals, because they gave her more personality — something missing with Basim in Mirage too.

The old and the new

Assassin’s Creed: Unity may have been riddled with game-breaking bugs but its parkour is revered as the smoothest in the franchise, and Shadows brings it back.

Naoe’s movements are smooth and nowhere near as clunky as Eivor’s in Valhalla, with ninja-style flips and runs across rooftops. Leaps of faith are executed just as well and play out differently depending on the character. While Naoe is quick, Yasuke is clumsy, as you’d expect of a samurai. He’ll even quip along the lines of, “I meant to do that, of course” as he gets up after falling out of a haystack.

I also like that unlike the other RPG entries, Shadows doesn’t have an overly massive map that feels empty for the most part. It’s similar in size to Origins’ map with diverse geographical elements and changing seasons. Seasons change automatically or they can be manually triggered after some time, and this refreshes your scout availability.

Scouts are a new mechanic. You can use them to pinpoint quest objectives on the world map. While the map isn’t as big as Valhalla’s, there are still a lot of towns and areas so I found myself using the scouts quite often, and refilling them at hideouts around the world (with 200 of the local currency) meant I didn’t need to wait for the season to change.

Earning money is fairly easy as is earning mastery and knowledge points to unlock perks in the skill tree. The tree itself is smaller and feels more refined like it actually makes a difference to your play style. I was able to unlock 90% of both characters’ skills by the time credits rolled, and all I did was primarily stick to the main quest while picking up a few side quests along the way. I’m glad Ubisoft has made grinding a thing of the past, and completionists will be able to quickly reach the max level of 60.

The illusion of choice

Similar to other Assassin’s Creed RPGs, Shadows allows you to choose between multiple dialogues when speaking with NPCs — and just like previous games, your decision feels inconsequential. For instance, there are a couple of instances where you’re given the choice to spare or kill an enemy. Regardless of what I chose, the game played out the same way.

Choices mostly affect romance which has no real impact on the story. RPG elements like this feel impactful in games such as Baldur’s Gate 3, but in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows they’re of minor importance. Your choices lack enough consequences to feel anything meaningful.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Verdict

Assassin’s Creed Shadows has done what some fans deemed unthinkable: it’s brought back the use of classic Eagle Vision and hidden blade mechanisms similar to older titles and has effortlessly combined them with the RPG elements of the modern AC games post Origins.

Feudal Japan looks gorgeous and is brimming with activity and idle chatter, while the story itself is compelling. Naoe and Yasuke offer different fighting and stealth styles, and the vast range of enemies will have you actually thinking about your move — something I haven’t done since Syndicate.

Where Shadows falls short is the same area the franchise has struggled with since it branched out into the RPG genre. Player choices are redundant as they have no substantial consequence on the story. And while the game successfully capitalizes on the feeling of nostalgia with Naoe’s emotional backstory, Yasuke feels like he’s been left in the shadows.

Despite these shortcomings, Shadows feels like a comeback, one that incites hope for future titles. It’s even better than I’d hoped and I was fully invested after just a few hours of play. Assassin’s Creed Shadows has become my frontrunner for Game of the Year.