Assassin’s Creed Shadows is Ubisoft’s boldest step with the series in years, transporting players to late 16th-century Japan during the tumultuous Azuchi-Momoyama period. You take on the roles of two protagonists: Naoe, a skilled shinobi fighting to protect her people, and (later on in the game) Yasuke, a historical African samurai who brings a grounded, heavy-hitting approach to combat. This dual-protagonist system isn’t just a marketing hook; it shapes how you play and experience the world.
The setting is beautifully realised, from bustling castle towns and serene countryside to tense, rain-soaked battlefields. Ubisoft’s attention to historical detail remains a standout feature, with architecture, clothing, and cultural touches feeling both authentic and lived-in. The seasonal system changes not only the visuals but also how you approach missions, with snow muffling footsteps in winter or dense summer foliage offering more concealment. This is Assassin’s Creed after all, stealth is still very much in play.
Gameplay leans into the strengths of its two leads. Naoe thrives in the aforementioned stealth, scaling rooftops, using a grappling hook to dart between vantage points, and dispatching enemies with swift, silent efficiency. Her toolset offers multiple ways to approach infiltration, making her sections feel like a refined mix of classic Assassin’s Creed and modern stealth design. Yasuke, by contrast, is a force of nature in combat, wielding heavy weapons with precision and tearing through armoured foes. Switching between them keeps the experience fresh, and missions often play out differently depending on who you choose and how you go about tackling the challenges ahead.
Combat feels weighty and deliberate. Finishing moves are flashy without being over the top, and the weapons range from nimble katanas to crushing kanabo, each with a distinct rhythm. Enemy AI is more reactive than in past entries, coordinating attacks and forcing you to stay alert rather than button-mashing through encounters, so even when diving in for some violent chaos you’ll need to be slightly more considered in your approach.
The world design blends open-world freedom with purposeful structure. There are still side activities, collectibles, and faction missions, but they’re more tied into the narrative and worldbuilding than in some recent entries. Side quests often reveal local stories or perspectives on the wider conflict, making them worth seeking out rather than feeling like filler, and as you might expect the gains from completing these tasks are going to be beneficial enough later down the line mean you really shouldn’t be flatly ignoring them. You will, while seeking these out, find that some of the traversal methods that you’ve come to know from previous AC games aren’t quite as flexible as usual, so you might approach a building, tree or other climbable and find it’s not quite as climbable as you’d hoped, but it takes no time to get to grips with what you can scale and what you’ll bounce straight off.
Visuals are stunning, with lighting and weather effects creating some genuinely breath-taking moments, whether it’s sunlight cutting through morning mist or lanterns glowing against a stormy night. On current-gen hardware or a well-specced PC (which was how we’ve been playing it), performance is solid, maintaining detail even in busy environments. For those of you without the relevant hardware, you can also play this through GeForce Now, which is a bit of a win. The soundtrack complements the setting perfectly too, mixing traditional Japanese instruments with dramatic orchestral swells during major set pieces. Voice acting, especially for the main duo, adds depth to their personalities, making them feel more than just vessels for the gameplay.
There are still some familiar Ubisoft habits present, such as occasional map clutter or formulaic mission styles, but Shadows feels more focused and confident than some of its predecessors. The dual-protagonist approach, the richly realised setting, and the seasonal gameplay twists make it stand out in a long-running series. It doesn’t just reskin the formula we’ve come to know, it rethinks it in meaningful ways. By blending stealth, action, and historical storytelling with a fresh setting and two very different heroes, it delivers one of the most engaging Assassin’s Creed experiences in years. I’ve had a blast.
Reviewed on PC
