Assassin’s Creed Shadows to Bring Back Beloved Gameplay Feature From Assassin’s Creed 2

Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is going to bring back a hugely popular feature that was introduced in Assassin’s Creed 2. By most accounts, many of the most iconic elements that went on to to become integral to the Assassin’s Creed series were first seen in Assassin’s Creed 2. In recent years, Ubisoft has started to stray a bit from this formula as it did a soft reboot of the franchise with Assassin’s Creed Origins. Now, with this year’s release of AC Shadows, it sounds as though Ubisoft is looking to mix the new with the old. 

In a new blog from Ubisoft, the developer confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will bring back double assassinations. Introduced in Assassin’s Creed 2, double assassinations allow players to stealthily take down two enemies at the same time. While AC2’s Ezio was the first assassin to use dual assassinations with his own Hidden Blades, the gameplay mechanic was seen in every ensuing entry up until Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Since the release of that installment in 2015, though, the feature has never returned. 

Although Assassin’s Creed Shadows will implement double assassinations, its appearance does come with a pretty major caveat. Specifically, this mechanic can only be used by Naoe, who is the female shinobi set to be featured in AC Shadows. The game’s second playable protagonist, Yasuke, is more of a samurai warrior and doesn’t have many of the same stealth abilities that Naoe does in her kit. 

“A master of her environment, Naoe can hide underwater (while breathing through a bamboo shoot), take advantage of thick fog and rain to stay undetected, and use Eagle Vision to spot enemies through walls before driving her katana home through the thin barrier of a shoji screen,” says Ubisoft’s description of the character. “Her shinobi bells can be used to attract guards, and her thrown kunai can silence them from a distance. She also has acrobatic climbing and parkour skills that Yasuke doesn’t, as well as a physics-based grappling hook she can use to climb, swing, launch herself at unsuspecting targets, grab and pull enemies out of sight for quiet takedowns, and quickly hide in the rafters of buildings. Depending on her weapons, she can assassinate enemies in unique ways, and perform double assassinations with her Hidden Blade and tanto.”

Whether or not the return of double assassinations will prove to be a major selling point for Assassin’s Creed Shadows remains to be seen, but fortunately, we don’t have much longer left to find out. The latest Assassin’s Creed game is set to launch on November 12th and will come to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. 

[H/T IGN]