After many months of speculation and guesswork, we finally got a look at the new Assassin’s Creed, once codenamed Assassin’s Creed Red, and now revealed to be Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Set in Japan in the 16th century, we’ll be following two protagonists Naoe and Yasuke as they fight side by side.
The trailer featured many exciting points such as the grappling hook that will lead to some amazing memorable moments and an all-out civil war which we’re sure we’ll become embroiled in. There are many things we’re looking forward to, and we can’t wait to see more on 10 June at the next Ubisoft Forward event. Let’s explore that trailer in some more detail.
Grappling hook
Advert
It’s hard not to be excited by a grappling hook in any game, but the freedom it will likely give in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is huge. This will make movement around enemies a lot more tactical and allow you to reach out-of-the-way areas swiftly. According to Ubisoft, the grappling hook will be physics-based and could take some getting used to. Could this mean you’ll be affected by the weather? And is its accuracy going to be improved by upgrading skills? Honestly, it doesn’t matter either way because grappling hooks make every game better.
Dual protagonists
We haven’t seen dual protagonists fighting side-by-side since Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, but now the feature is back. We now know that we’ll get to control Naoe, a female Japanese Shinobi, and Yasuke, a Samurai who hails from Africa. We’re still not entirely sure how this will be structured; can we switch freely between the characters, or will we be given the right character for each mission? Given that we know the game is open-world, we would think that you’ll be able to switch freely between them for the majority of the game, outside of story-based missions.
Japan
Advert
Finally, the long-running series has gone to Japan. It is something fans have been asking for for over a decade due to the idea that stealth and ninjas go hand-in-hand. However, given the past few iterations of the franchise, and Ubisoft’s dedication to historical accuracy, this gets us even more excited as we know that the team will create a brilliant version of Japan for us to explore. Knowing the effort that went into creating Baghdad for Assassin’s Creed Mirage, we can trust Ubisoft to create an accurate picture of 16th-century Japan.
A mix of action and stealth
Given we have two protagonists, and we know their backgrounds, it’s likely Assassin’s Creed Shadows will feature a mix of play styles. Naoe is raised as a Shinobi and relies on stealth. She also has a much smaller health pool, making her more fragile, and she needs to stick to the shadows, which emulates the roots of the franchise. Yasuke, however, was known to be a big guy at 6’2” and he’s seen in the trailer wielding several melee weapons including a spiked club. This means he’ll likely step in when things need to get messy.
Potential new wristblade techniques
Advert
Towards the end of the trailer, we finally get to see the series’ most famous weapon - the wristblade, but this time it looks a bit different. As Naoe reaches out to make her kill, the blade pivots on a mid-point in the metal and turns sideways allowing her to stab the enemy in the side of the neck. Will this mean we can wield different techniques? Or will there be multiple versions of the wristblade available? Surely Yasuke gets one too, right?
Another open-world
Ubisoft has made it very clear that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be another open-world title like so many of the games before it. And it’s going to be huge. Thankfully, not as big as the seemingly never-ending Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, but the developer has gone on record to say (in an exclusive conversation with IGN) that it’s a similar size to Assassin’s Creed Origins, which many believe was about the right size. Ubisoft has also spoken about wanting each district to feel unique and more believable, which means mountain ranges will be larger and the different districts should look discernable to each other.
Huge castles
Advert
As part of their research trips to Japan, Ubisoft noted that the castles that still dot the landscape are already perfect for video game progression. This is due to their tiered construction which acts like vertical dungeons in many video games. This is a big focus for the team and castles will likely feature at predominant moments in the story, perhaps even freeing up portions of the map where enemies won’t be as active, when the heads of factions are toppled.
Based on real history
This is the first Assassin’s Creed title that will allow players to control a real-life person. The series has been known to use notable figures from history as cameos, such as Da-Vinci in Assassin’s Creed 2, but this time we get to play Yasuke, an African Samurai well-known in Japanese history. Yasuke was recently the central character in a Netflix show of the same name and Ubisoft has used the man as part of their multi-cultural cast. The real Yasuke was believed to have been stolen from his native lands by the Portuguese and brought to Japan where he went on to become a Samurai.
Seasonal Cycles
Advert
Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ story will likely play out over a long time in-game as Ubisoft has commented on the game featuring passing seasons. They highlighted that in summer, Naoe will be able to hide in tall grass that will slowly die out as the world passes into winter. She will also no longer be hidden in trees past the autumn as the leaves will thin out and drop off. This points to a very dynamic weather and seasonal system but also hints that events could play out over several years as the story moves forward.
Reactionary AI
Ubisoft has noted that the AI NPCs and enemies will react in a more lifelike way. One example was mentioned as part of the seasonal changes in the game; during the summer, enemies will walk more freely throughout areas they patrol, while in winter they’re more likely to gather around fires, making them harder to take out. It’s also been hinted at that weather could also affect how they patrol as they’re more likely to take cover from rain. Dynamic AI has always been at the forefront of Assassin’s Creed games given the patterns players must learn for assassinations, so it’ll be interesting to see how this has developed.
Spy networks
Lastly, a point that was brought up in conversation by Ubisoft but hasn’t been fully explained is a spy network, much like we saw in Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. This could see Naoe and Yasuke develop a network of spies or helpers that will aid them on missions or provide more information for things like infiltrating a castle. Here’s hoping we find out more on 10 June at the Ubisoft Forward event.
Topics: Assassins Creed, Ubisoft, Assassin's Creed Shadows, Xbox, PlayStation, PC