Don’t be fooled by the blossom in the air; there will be blood. In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you’ll face down ranks of ghoul-faced samurai, hellbent on skewering the most heroic of mentors on their katanas like wisdom-spouting shish kebabs. You’ll also roar into battles of shinobi clansmen, gruesomely stomping and beheading enemies like Mortal Kombat gone rogue and, in the style of a murderous mosquito, scale pagoda towers to launch death strikes from above on unsuspecting Templar kingpins.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the 14th major instalment in the 200 million-selling, history-hopping stealth adventure franchise and this time out, the action is set in 16th century feudal Japan. It’s an era long requested by fans of a series which has previously visited historical periods including Ancient Egypt, the Vikings, Renaissance Italy and the Golden Age Of Piracy.
And, judging by our recent four-hour hands-on session with a pre-release build of the game, the faithful won’t be disappointed. Here is an Assassin’s Creed escapade of great beauty, colour and depth. Stepping over the relatively throwaway throwback of 2023’s stop-gap title Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Shadows expands on the vast and immersive open-world role-playing of recent instalments Origins (2017), Odyssey (2018) and Valhalla (2020). With its very different dual protagonists, the game offers players the chance to tackle the end of the Sengoku period armed with either secretive shuriken (concealed weapons) or whacking great war clubs. Here’s what we learned.
Shadows is utterly stunning
Assassin’s Creed is rightly renowned for its spectacular, historically accurate scenery but Shadows’ seems particularly breath-taking. The game is intended as the start of the franchise’s third era, entitled Assassin’s Creed Infinity. Putting older consoles behind them, developer Ubisoft has utilised the power of the PS5 and latest Xbox consoles to craft truly cinematic cutscenes and vistas so delicious, they’ll have you checking Skyscanner for cheap flights to 1579.
The odd background NPC still seems to have a slightly unfinished face and the dialogue smacks heavily of a western programmer making like a ‘wise old eastern soothsayer’. But in all, Shadows is a gorgeous world to inhabit, from the glistening rice fields to its frond-laden shrines and huge, terraced pagodas towering over enemy-filled forts. And all those mountains and cliffs aren’t just eye-candy – you have to navigate your way around them rather than just galloping through like previously flat Assassin’s Creed maps.
Two is more than enough company
As with 2015’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Shadows allows us to switch between two dual protagonists. Unlike Syndicate though, your choice drastically affects gameplay. Naoe – the agile young ninja and Brotherhood assassin whose Iga ikki home is invaded by feudal lord Oda Nobunaga in the prologue – prioritises stealth and assassination from shadows she can create by extinguishing lights and candles as she goes. Able to parkour freely in the traditional franchise style, with the help of a grappling hook to access more out-of-reach vertical areas, she’ll be the classic (and, frankly, more fun) Assassin’s Creed fan option.
Players wanting a more full-frontal fighting game, however, have the option of playing as Nobunaga’s hulk of a samurai Yasuke, who’s built like a tank and handles just the same. His climbing abilities are severely limited – Johnny Vegas parkours better than this guy – but he can charge through doors, slash his way through small armies and eventually make his way to the same elevated vantage points as Naoe can, albeit by taking the stairs through swarms of kamikaze enemies. The system isn’t as flexible as it sounds: it’s often not possible to switch from Naoe to Yasuke when you’re spotted by a lookout mid-mission and the whole world descends to turn you into diced wagyu, for instance. But if brute force is your game and you felt Ghost Of Tsushima needed way more crushed skulls, it’s nice to have the option.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows isn’t here to hold your hand
Yellow paint? Shadows has got it. But as befits its setting, Shadows is a game that Ubisoft would generally like you to sense on the air. Where previous Assassin’s Creed titles involved following a bright blue diamond to the next objective, here you’re expected to put more thought and effort into tracking down your next move. Clues are gathered as to the location you need to head to – a district of a city, for instance, and no more. Scouts and spies can be dispatched to pinpoint your objectives for you, while bribing officials for intel might narrow down your search area.
Scouring the landscape from the series’ trademark fast-travel vantage points no longer gives you full info on the locations and objectives below, but illuminates mystery points to check out for yourself. There’s a new “Observe” function which allows you to gather information on the enemies, loot and key items in your direct vision, but there’s no eagle scout to help you do it all from a safe distance.
It wants you to git gud
It’s not just the grappling hook and Shinto vibe that Shadows borrows from Sekiro; it also encourages combat mastery. The parry and unstoppable attacks have long been features of Assassin’s Creed titles, but here they get more focus, making boss combat significantly simpler when mastered and punishing the player with monstrous staggers when ignored.
Yasuke can still mash his way through most encounters and our special abilities crushed most foes we came across, but, as you’ll find, a smidgen of sensei goes a long way.
‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ is out March 20, 2025 for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC