It has been a long time coming, but with the Assassin’s Creed franchise finally headed to feudal Japan, the teams at Ubisoft know very well just how tough of a task they have on their hands with Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
As one of the most highly anticipated settings, it was key for the development team to get things feeling just right. That means making sure the moment you step into the shoes of either Naoe or Yasuke; you are instantly immersed in a dynamic environment that changes with time and season, that looks gorgeous and fits within that timeframe, as well as being fun to mess around with.
“We all look at each of the regions in terms of a theme, to make sure that when you enter a place, we have a different vibe, different tone,” shared Luc Plante, art director at Ubisoft Quebec.
“So it’s always bringing something fresh into the experience, but at the same time allowing us to make sure that we balance every location, every side activity, to give the player the time to look at their map, what they can do, what they want to do, create their own agency.”
Indeed, that feels true, after we spent about four hours in the region of Harima in our gameplay preview of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, exploring and experiencing what was on offer as the dual protagonists at the heart of the story.
Naturally, the setup is pleasantly familiar if you have played the more recent entries in the franchise. A sprawling map with various provinces, each with all sorts of activities that you can get up to, with the main story being the highlight. While it is hard to say if the issues of content bloat are still present within the upcoming game, at least from our experience, there is a nice balance between what you need to do and can do as you check out the world.
In fact, there is an emphasis on discovering the world and picking up the knowledge required to progress, with less direction provided by the game. Akin to the Exploration Mode in another Ubisoft title, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, certain quests will require players to hunt down clues and uncover vital information about where to head next or who the target is, ensuring that you are invested in your adventure throughout. Along the way, you can count on allies and your scouts to be of use, which feeds into the base-building system that, unfortunately, wasn’t on display at this time.
The most significant difference for Assassin’s Creed Shadows is that you can pick who to be when partaking in everything the game can offer. As the developers put it, the dual protagonist structure exists to fulfil both stealth and combat fantasies for players, with the gameplay designed to spotlight each of their unique quirks and strengths.
“With those two archetypes, we push the boundaries further for each with the new tools and AI reactions. So when we look at a specific setup, we always start from historical footprints and then build upon them with a 360 approach to make sure that the player either wants to enter the location from a stealth manner or a more brash, combat manner,” explained Plante.
“They will have different entry points, and the player can, as Naoe, enter via the rooftop with my grappling hook. I’m looking at all my other options, which lights I can extinguish, where I can throw a bell to distract the enemy to make my way more easily. So it’s going back to what the player will do and making sure that we satisfy it by making all the setups work for both protagonists.”
The storytelling will also be impacted by your choices for either character, essentially roleplaying choices that can have both short-term and long-term impact, but the fun part is not knowing just what will happen. Perhaps you can skip a fight entirely with a silver tongue, or talk yourself into trouble with the wrong message. There is even a Canon Mode option that can be toggled, letting the Assassin’s Creed Shadows story play out as the developers intended.
“So this is someone looking into a space of conflict, and then there is Naoe, who is someone inside the conflict all the time. So how do they view the same occurrences, the same history, the same background with their own eyes? I think that sets a very good premise about how we can angle their conversations with each other,” explained Cassandra Poon, associate producer at Ubisoft Singapore.
“Both of them have very different characters. One who is very straight to the point and very passionate about protecting her space. And then there’s someone out there trying to understand, assimilate, and make sense of everything. And so the conversations create so much material for the team to keep pushing the characters for that nice dynamics that eventually, through two different paths, they congregate towards one single goal.”
We got to experience the system in action as we went after the Noble, a mysterious individual who is threatening the peace in Harima by pulling strings from the dark. Part of the overarching quest required us to find a guard captain who was in a gambling den, and obviously, this place is crawling with guards.
Going it first as Naoe, it became instinctive to look high and low, seeking opportunities to smuggle ourselves into the compound without being seen in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The new prone and crawling mechanics worked extremely well with the tall grasses in the area, and enabled us to get up close and assassinate an unsuspecting guard. Taking to the roof using the grappling hook made it possible to survey the surroundings and determine our way forward. After sabotaging the alarm bell, using our allies to stealthily remove other guards, and putting throwing knives to good use, we leapt from the rooftops and took out the last enemy before continuing the quest.
“I really enjoy, personally, the light and shadows gameplay. I literally just go in and extinguish all the candles whenever I’m in the room. When you step back, you look over, it allows us to experiment,” shared Poon.
“And on top of everything else, with the dynamism of the environment, the reactions of the NPCs towards all the different characters, that really adds to it, once you go into the seasons and the time of day to support you with the immersion, I think for me, that’s the one thing that really draws me into the next one, the next one, and then the next one.”
Switch over to Yasuke, and this is the samurai power trip you have been looking for. The hulking man mountain wields a choice of the long katana, a naginata, or the kanabo to bring his enemies to heel, and each of them feels so good to unleash. Rather than beat around the bush, we kicked things off with a brutal assassination of the guard at the entrance, watching as his head rolled off, and we began dismantling the rest of his friends in an increasingly gruesome manner. Facing a locked door? Sprint and power dash through it to give your foes an unpleasant surprise. With more capacity to withstand attacks and return the favour with fervour, Yasuke is perfectly made for those who love combat in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
That is not to say Naoe can’t do so; she relies more on her speed and agility to come out on top. Similarly, Yasuke can attempt the stealth approach, but don’t think he can climb high or use those hanging ropes; there are still some limitations to consider when you choose who to play with. And watching Yasuke attempt a leap of faith is pure comedy; that’s something everyone should try at least once.
A robust mastery system supports all of the stealth and combat, where competency is augmented by active and passive skills that can further enhance how you want to play. Enemies also come in a wide variety, keeping players on their toes, whether up close or at range, with armour and posture being mechanics you must learn to overcome to succeed.
Another intriguing aspect of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the origins of Naoe and Yasuke, and the roles they will play in the overarching story. For the former, her family’s history and fight against the dark forces are perfect for her heroic journey, but for the former, more work was involved in integrating Yasuke into the proceedings.
” I think that, in itself, allows the team to be very creative with the fact that you have this historical character that people know about him, but yet not a lot has been written fully about him. And that unknown creates that space within a well-defined constraint to work with,” Poon said.
“It’s super interesting for the team. We find so many different points to talk about. How it’s being perceived in every facade of the culture, the country. And with these interactions with the famous historical characters, the respect that he has gained, the way he grew, there are all those fascinating elements for us to write.”
Throw in the Immersive Mode option, where the game delivers dialogue in original languages like Japanese and Portuguese, and the time you will spend in Assassin’s Creed Shadows already feels like a perfect storm with more going for it than worries. Ahead of its March 20 release, the multiple delays for the game seem to have worked in further refining what the developers have in mind for the game, and for fans of the franchise, your excitement should definitely be on the high side.
