There’s something poetic about the moment the rain starts falling as you creep across a temple rooftop in feudal Japan. The wind rattles through paper lanterns, the faint echo of a shamisen drifts from a nearby inn, and down below, guards shuffle about completely unaware of the blade waiting in the darkness above.
For those first few hours, Assassin’s Creed Shadows feels like everything we’ve been waiting for. That long-hoped-for Japanese setting, rich with atmosphere and potential. It’s immersive, beautiful, and occasionally even brilliant. And then it asks you to collect ten fox pelts and track someone through a rice field for the fifth time.
It’s frustrating—not because the game is bad (it really isn’t), but because it so clearly could have been great.
Set during the Sengoku period, Shadows introduces two protagonists: Naoe, a nimble shinobi trained in the ways of stealth, and Yasuke, a towering samurai with a brutal combat style. On paper, it’s a dream pairing. One gives you classic Assassin’s Creed-style infiltration, the other brings sheer force to the battlefield. And truthfully, the contrast between them works… in theory.
Controlling Naoe is slick. She’s everything long-time fans have wanted from a stealth-focused assassin. You can glide across rooftops, swing through trees with a grappling hook, and take down enemies in quick, clean silence. Her missions are easily the most engaging, and her toolset feels both authentic and satisfying. Playing as her just feels right.
Yasuke, though, is a bit more complicated. In combat, he’s great. There’s something undeniably fun about smashing through a crowd of enemies with a massive kanabo, sending bodies flying. The fights feel heavy and deliberate, with satisfying clunks and slices. But outside of combat, he’s far less enjoyable. Movement is sluggish, exploration is a chore, and stealth just isn’t viable. The game claims you can play either character throughout without losing out on anything, but that’s simply not true. Traversing the world as Yasuke is so tedious compared to Naoe that it quickly becomes obvious who the preferred option is.
And that’s the issue. When the game clearly favours one protagonist over the other, the whole point of duality starts to unravel. You’re meant to be switching between two equally compelling perspectives, but instead it feels like Naoe’s the one doing all the heavy lifting while Yasuke shows up when it’s time to hit things really hard.
What makes all this even more frustrating is just how good the world is. This version of Japan is drop-dead gorgeous. From quiet forest shrines to bustling marketplaces, it’s an absolute visual treat. The lighting is stunning, the weather effects are immersive, and the attention to detail in everything from architecture to costumes is remarkable. There are moments—riding your horse beneath falling sakura, or standing on a cliff at sunset—where the game just stuns you into silence.
Sound design backs it all up beautifully. The creak of floorboards in a silent temple, the clang of blades in a courtyard duel, the distant rumble of thunder—all of it adds to the authenticity of the world. It’s easy to lose yourself in it.
At least, until the AI reminds you it’s still a game.
To be blunt: the AI isn’t very good. Guards are hilariously inconsistent—sometimes spotting you through foliage at night from 30 feet away, sometimes failing to notice you assassinate their mate right next to them. There’s no real sense of danger or intelligence in how they operate. You end up feeling like you’re playing around them rather than against them, and it chips away at the otherwise impressive stealth experience.
And then there’s the story, which is—oddly enough—actually pretty good. When you’re on the main path, there’s solid character work, plenty of political intrigue, and some big emotional swings that land surprisingly well. The performances are strong, and there are missions that feel properly cinematic in the best way. But the pacing? That’s another story.
Ubisoft can’t seem to resist the urge to bloat things. The game constantly pulls you away from meaningful story progression to complete side tasks that feel like busywork. It’s not that these missions are terrible—they’re just excessive. Fetch quests, repeated enemy camps, errands that could have been notes on a board. It all adds up. Just when you start to feel invested in what’s happening, the game throws another chore in your path.
It’s this sense of distraction that holds Shadows back more than anything else. The core story is good. The characters are good. The moment-to-moment gameplay is actually very good. But everything is stretched too thin, spread out over a world packed with unnecessary filler that’s clearly designed to keep you playing, rather than reward your curiosity or engagement.
That said, credit where it’s due: combat feels better than it has in years. Whether you’re parrying with Yasuke or darting through shadows as Naoe, the mechanics are tight and responsive. There’s a satisfying rhythm to encounters, especially when you get your tools and timing just right. Stealth kills are stylish. Brawls are brutal. It’s not revolutionary, but it’s refined—and that counts for a lot in a series that has, at times, felt bloated with systems that didn’t quite gel.
Customisation is also a highlight. Whether it’s upgrading weapons, tailoring your outfit to match your playstyle, or decorating your home base, there’s loads to tweak. It’s all pretty cosmetic in the end, but it adds flavour to the experience, and it gives players a reason to poke around the world looking for materials and secrets.
On a technical level, performance is mostly solid—on current-gen consoles and a decent PC, anyway. The visuals are consistent, the load times are minimal, and the framerate holds up in most scenarios. There are occasional hiccups—especially during more chaotic fights—but nothing game-breaking. Though, one small gripe: the forced use of ray tracing can be a bit punishing on less powerful hardware, and there’s no real way to fully turn it off. It looks amazing, sure, but not everyone has a machine that can keep up with those demands.
By the time the credits roll, you’re left with a bit of a muddled feeling. There’s no doubt Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a step forward in many respects—visually, thematically, mechanically. But it’s also weighed down by familiar flaws: bloated content, questionable AI, and a game structure that undercuts its own best ideas. The dual protagonist system, while exciting at first, ends up feeling lopsided. The world is vast and beautiful, but filled with fluff. And the story is compelling—when it’s not being smothered by side errands.
In the end, this is a good game that just misses greatness. It’s one of the most immersive Assassin’s Creed titles in years, and when it clicks, it really clicks. But the brilliance is scattered in between long stretches of repetition and unnecessary grind.
I enjoyed my time with Shadows, but I can’t help thinking how much tighter, more focused, and more impactful it could’ve been. A beautiful blade dulled by too much fat on the cut.
7/10
