The last seven years of Assassin's Creed games have turned me into the sort of fan I never wanted to become: a withered old grump who wishes things were the way they used to be. Nobody likes that guy—especially not the millions of people who became Assassin's Creed fans through the immaculate worlds of Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla.
I've gotten used to the idea that modern Assassin's Creed is about stepping into the shoes of historical warrior archetypes like a playable episode of Deadliest Warrior and not, well, being an assassin. But Assassin's Creed Shadows, the next mainline game set in feudal Japan, seemingly wants to do both.
Ubisoft is splitting Assassin's Creed's two disciplines into two protagonists: Naoe, an agile shinobi armed with a hidden blade, and Yasuke, the historical Black samurai who faces his enemies head-on. In an interview with IGN, Ubisoft said most missions can be tackled as either character (some are character-specific), leaving it up to the player to decide if they want to approach Shadows like an Odyssey-style action RPG or a traditional stealth game.
I'm resisting the urge to call 'bull' on Ubi's suggestion that stealth and open combat will have an equal focus after how untrue that proved to be in Odyssey and Valhalla. Ubi has made a habit of assuring AC's oldest fans that you can still play the new games like the old ones, just to disappoint in the follow-through. But there's reason to believe Ubi is turning a new leaf. Assassin's Creed Mirage made good on its promise as a stabby game first, which was personally encouraging, and Ubi also shared some specific details about stealth in Shadows that have me leaning in. A few highlights from the same IGN interview:
If I only judge by what aspects of Shadows Ubisoft chose to focus on for its grand reveal, stealth even sounds like the star of the show. The studio talked about how passing seasons will affect guard patrols and sneaking options.
«As the months go by, the approaching winter kills
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Morgan Park