Assassin's Creed: Shadows

You cannot know anything. Only suspect.

This article contains content from pre-release sources that may or may not be reflective of canon upon release. This article therefore likely contains spoilers.

Assassin's Creed: Shadows^[1] is the upcoming fourteenth installment in the Assassin's Creed series, being a part of the Animus Hub platform. The game, helmed by Ubisoft Quebec,^[2] will take place in feudal Japan and allow players to experience a "very powerful shinobi fantasy".^[3]

Gameplay

RPG game mechanics

According to the series' Vice President Executive Producer Marc-Alexis Côté, Assassin's Creed: Shadows will return to the newer Action-RPG style games,^[4] preferring to involve the player's choice in its story elements and several of its game mechanics rather than in a linear narrative experience as seen in the previous title, the 2023 game Assassin's Creed Mirage.

Players will be able to switch at will between Shadows' two protagonists, similar to what was demonstrated in the 2016 game Assassin's Creed: Syndicate with Jacob and Evie Frye. Shadows' first protagonist is the Japanese shinobi Fujibayashi Naoe, who is set on a path to avenge her father Fujibayashi Nagato. The second is the African samurai Yasuke, who survived an attack on the slave ship he was on and ended up in Oda Nobunaga's service.^[5] Naoe and Yasuke will feature their own unique abilities and will begin the game as enemies and eventually will become allies.^[6]^[5]

Ubisoft revealed in a blog post that romance will be a feature for both protagonists, a feature first introduced in the 2018 game Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, and will explore their differing personalities and unique interactions with NPCs, which will include a variety of relationships. Yasuke and Naoe will attract and be attracted to different types of people, allowing players to experience diverse romantic relationships which will evolve over the course of the game's seasons.^[7]

Stealth and assassinations

Shadows introduces significant changes to its stealth mechanics that will help the protagonists to reduce their visibility and noise. For the first time in the franchise, players will be able to hide themselves in the shadows. These dynamic hiding spots enable the protagonists to stealthily navigate enemy-guarded areas under the cover of night, advancing their mission undetected.^[8]

Enemies can now hear the protagonists' steps, especially when walking on nightingale floors; to minimize the noise and avoid detection, players can crouch or go prone and perform different moves to approach their targets, like rolling in all directions, crawling under buildings and closed spaces, or submerging in ponds.^[8]

Players can perform non-lethal knockouts after grabbing an enemy and execute assassinations whether their characters are standing, crouching, or prone. As Naoe, they can squeeze through tiny wall cracks, hide inside small storage spaces, and perform double-assassinations once the requirements are met. However, to successfully eliminate higher-level enemies, players must ensure their equipment is adequately upgraded. Without the necessary upgrades, enemies can quickly turn the tables by denying the assassination attempt.^[8]

Enemy behavior and archetypes

Enemies will react to mistakes players might commit as infiltrating heavily guarded areas like castles and fortresses involves navigating different districts as individual sectors, allowing players to recover and re-engage if caught. Nevertheless, once detected, enemies will search the area in pairs and remain more suspicious, making tactics like whistling less effective. This increased suspicion impacts the ability to assassinate from hiding spots. Servants, a new non-lethal enemy archetype, alert guards and raise alarms despite being unable to fight. They have their own patrol routes and appear in orange when using Eagle Vision.^[8]

Samurai present unique challenges, as they have four different "classes"^[9] and are more likely to deny assassinations.^[8] First are the masterless samurai, or rōnin, who are regularly employed by Naoe and Yasuke's enemies. Though they appear disheveled, they will attack on sight if they believe the protagonists' deaths will let them cease their constant roaming the roads in search of contracts to gain a lord's favor.^[9]

Regular samurai can slice bushes when searching, removing hiding options. Samurai are difficult to trick once alerted, being even able to remove hiding spots requiring players to adapt their strategies,^[8] and can deliver devastating counter-attacks against those caught unprepared.^[9] Smoke bombs can be used to disperse samurai for a quick escape. An option in the menu allows for players to instantly kill all enemies once struck.^[8]

The samurai daisho are top-tier enemies found only in strongholds like castles. They make use of techniques not seen in other NPC soldiers and the presence of even a single one will present a challenge to players, especially as they often defend areas that contain valuable rewards for the victor. Last are the samurai Guardians, elite troops with men-yoroi facemasks and white-maned helmets who are only called as reinforcements if the castle alarm is raised.^[9]

Other enemy classes will include outlaws, who make up for their poor fighting skills with numbers and unconventional tactics,^[9] and gun-wielding ashigaru,^[6] conscripted or volunteering foot-soldiers with only basic training who are aggressive towards Naoe and fearful of Yasuke.^[9]

Open-world exploration

Although the eagle companion is absent in this title, its abilities are still present. Naoe and Yasuke both have an ability called "Observe", which allows them to identify targets, tag enemies, and highlight collectables to loot and quest objectives, just like players can do in previous installments with the protagonists' eagle familiar. Additionally, Naoe has exclusive access to the classic Eagle Vision, which she can combine with the Observe ability for enhanced target identification and environmental awareness.^[8] Creative Director Jonathan Dumont has compared the size of the map to that of the 2017 game Assassin's Creed: Origins.^[10]

The updated and rebranded Ubisoft Anvil introduces a dynamic season system where the world transitions through the four seasons, driven by the player's campaign progress for historical accuracy. Each season affects gameplay uniquely: spring and summer feature blooming plants providing hiding spots, which disappear in autumn and winter. Winter also brings frozen water, blocking access to pools and ponds, while icicles can fall and attract enemies or reveal the player's position.^[8] NPC behavior changes with the seasons, with enemies searching bushes in summer and staying near fires in winter, creating new pathways.^[11] A dynamic weather system^[12] brings climate conditions like fog, wind, and snow, affecting enemy perception and masking player movements. Additionally, the game's ecology is detailed, with features like pollen gusts in spring simulating a real ecosystem.^[11]

Gear and combat

Gadgets and tools set to be present in the game are a grappling hook,^[13] kunai, shuriken, smoke bombs, and bells.^[11] Weapons range from katana, kusarigama, and the tantō for Naoe, to ōdachi, naginata, kanabō war clubs, yari, and yumi bows for Yasuke.^[9] Some weapons and gadgets are limited to each character; for instance, Yasuke can use tanegashima^[9] arquebus rifles, while Naoe cannot. Each weapon has its own skill tree, allowing players to enhance their proficiency with specific weapons over time.^[11]^[9] Enemy commanders can be defeated, spared, or recruited as spies, similar to Odyssey's mercenaries system.^[6] According to Insider Gaming, the settlement system will be re-implemented, with customizable buildings, dojos, shrines, armory, and more.^[14] Another feature reported to be in the game is the ability to extinguish torches for hiding spots.^[15]

The combat system has been reworked to focus on timing different attack styles against opponents. Both Naoe and Yasuke can employ quick, low-damage light attacks and slower high-damage heavy attacks, or can charge either of them for unique posture attacks. When timed correctly, posture attacks will deliver significantly stronger blows that can break an enemy's block stance and leave them vulnerable. However, enemies will attempt to prevent players from utilizing this with a flurry of counterattacks and can even use it themselves, forcing players to adapt their attack patterns to survive.^[9]

Because medieval Japanese warfare did not rely heavily on shields like those seen in Origins, Odyssey, or Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (2020),^[11] players must defend themselves through positioning or direct weapon blocks. Naoe and Yasuke can dodge, each with their own style. Naoe's lack of plate armor means she can perform directional rolls while Yasuke can sidestep with a cool-down time but still remain ready to fight. If there is insufficient room to dodge, players can try to parry or deflect attacks. Naoe will pivot away from enemies, diverting their lines of attack to expose their flanks, but this constant movement can end with her surrounded if players are not careful.^[9]

In contrast, Yasuke parries in a straight line, slightly knocking back stunned opponents and leaving them open to counterattacks. Unique to Yasuke is the block function, where he can duck behind his equipped weapon to temporarily withstand even kunai and arrows but is still susceptible to enemies' charged "unstoppable" attacks. While both Yasule and Naoe can dual-wield, he is the only one who can weapon swap while performing attack combinations and can prepare a posture attack even when his katana is sheathed.^[9]

Synopsis

A new creed rises
Live the intertwined stories of Naoe, an adept shinobi Assassin from Iga Province, and Yasuke, the powerful African samurai of historical legend. Against the backdrop of the turbulent late Sengoku period, this remarkable duo will discover their common destiny as they usher in a new era for Japan.

Explore feudal Japan
Discover the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and pastoral landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments.

Become a shinobi assassin
As the quick-witted and agile Naoe, use noise, light, and shadows to evade detection as enemies respond to their changing surroundings. Distract guards using kunai, shuriken, and smoke bombs, infiltrate enemy bases with your grappling hook and parkour skills, and assassinate your targets with the hidden blade.

Become a legendary samurai
As the charismatic samurai Yasuke, strike your foes with brutal precision and power. Use his combat-oriented skills to attack, block, parry, and defeat your enemies. Master the vast arsenal of weapons at your disposal—featuring katana, kanabo, bows, naginata, and more—to free Japan from its oppressors.

Information is your weapon
Travel the world, explore, and scout your surroundings to gather vital intel. Build your network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to unveil new areas and hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit several allies with highly specialized skills and abilities to help accomplish your missions.^[16]

Development

The game's conceptual title, known as Assassin's Creed: Codename Red during development, was first leaked on 6 September 2022 and reported by Bloomberg, who also noted that this game, as well as Assassin's Creed: Codename Hexe, would likely not release until 2024 at the earliest.^[2] It was later confirmed at the Ubisoft Forward livestream during its Assassin's Creed showcase, alongside a short teaser.^[4] On 21 October 2023, a little over a year after the working title leaked, script writer Pierre Boudreau changed his LinkedIn profile's banner image to a picture of a hooded woman on a red background with Animus coding on the edges and a white Assassin insignia stylized as if it were painted by inkbrush.^[17]

On 13 May 2024, Ubisoft officially revealed the entry's title as Assassin's Creed: Shadows^[18] after a leak revealed it three weeks prior.^[19] On 25 September, almost two months before Shadows' expected debut on 15 November, developers released a statement on the Assassin's Creed Twitter account announcing that they would be delaying its release until 14 February 2025.^[20] Although the statement did not elaborate on why the team felt they needed to postpone the game, an official press release for investors cited "the softer than expected launch" of their Swedish studio Massive Entertainment's project Star Wars Outlaws.^[21]^[22] Reportedly, the developers of Shadows had been pushing for a delay for a few months before Ubisoft's announcement.^[23] On 9 January, with little more than a month to the 14 February release date, Ubisoft announced another delay, this time to 20 March 2025.^[24]

Controversies

Sexual misconduct allegations

When Jonathan Dumont was announced to be working on the game in September 2022, many Ubisoft employees refused to work with him and quit due to past allegations regarding abuse and sexual misconduct. Ubisoft responded by stating that it takes allegations seriously and that Dumont has been disciplined and cleared to continue working.^[25]

Yasuke

After Shadows was officially revealed in mid-May 2024, disgruntled fans took to Yasuke's Wikipedia page and vandalized it several times, angry over Ubisoft's perceived disregard for Asian representation in a Japanese setting.^[26] On social media, many criticized Ubisoft for having a Black samurai protagonist, mistaking his title of "retainer" to mean that he was not a proper samurai, while others also levied accusations against the company for seemingly over-correcting for Black representation due to systemic racism in North America having resulted in anti-Black media bias.^[27] By late-June, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot issued a statement condemning the backlash directed at both protagonists, calling it "malicious" and "hateful."^[28]

Release

Assassin's Creed: Shadows will release worldwide on 20 March 2025, on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. The game was originally supposed to release on 15 November 2024 but got delayed on 25 September 2024.^[20] The game would later get delayed for a second time on 9 January 2025.^[24]

Marketing

On 11 September 2022, the reveal trailer aired during a Ubisoft Forward event.^[4] After the official world premiere trailer released on 15 May 2024,^[18] the actors Masumi Tsunoda and Tongayi Chirisa both posted on their Instagram accounts that they would be voicing Naoe^[29] and Yasuke,^[30] respectively. At the same time, the "Who Are Naoe and Yasuke?" trailer debuted, featuring an analysis of the premiere trailer with commentary from Game Director Charles Benoit and Associate Narrative Director Brooke Davies.^[31] Following this, Ubisoft posted a cipher across its social media channels and on its website that, when put together and solved,^[32] revealed a rough outline of the Kansai region when plotted onto a Cartesian coordinate system.^[33] On 3 June, an interactive bot was activated on the official Assassin's Creed Discord called "Assassin's Creed Shadows – The First Mission". A mystery puzzle box was also sent to several notable content creators that, when solved using the Discord bot, revealed concept art and details on the game's map.^[34] The first gameplay trailer was unveiled at the 2024 Xbox Showcase held on 9 June.^[35]

Editions

Ubisoft announced several alternate editions to the standard retail version. However, because of the game's release being delayed from the intended November 2024, the development team decided to cancel the Season Pass.