Assassin’s Creed Shadows Review: Naoe We’re Talking!

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is finally here after a very, very long wait. On top of a series of delays, this is the Assassin’s Creed game fans have been wanting since the franchise began jumping to different eras of history. Samurai and ninjas are a natural fit for the Assassin’s Creed formula and Ubisoft finally decided to listen to fans and make it happen after Ghost of Tsushima beat them to the punch. 

With all of that said, Ubisoft has largely created a solid game in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. It’s not perfect and I admittedly had a lot of frustrations with it, particularly early on, but I can’t deny the fun I had with it the longer I played it. I believe Shadows will satisfy a lot of Assassin’s Creed fans. The gameplay is captivating, there’s a lush world begging to be explored, and the story packs some pleasant surprises, despite being a bit lackluster overall.

I personally haven’t been too wrapped up in an Assassin’s Creed story since Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag as they kind of drone on and on, hitting a lot of the same beats. The draw for this series has almost always been the setting and the gameplay. That seems to remain the case for half of Shadows’ story, as there are two protagonists,  one of whom is far more interesting than the other. The game largely revolves around Naoe, a young female Shinobi who is on a quest for revenge. It’s the kind of story we’ve seen thousands of times, and while that’s not necessarily grounds to be negative, it’s led by a character who has the depth of a bird bath. It’s hurt even more by a stiff performance that makes it hard to feel engaged by Naoe on any level.

She’s pretty fun to play as, but there aren’t any layers to her or her story that keep you wanting to move forward to the next main quest. Naoe is definitely one of the weaker characters in the franchise, and it’s a shame that Assassin’s Creed failed to make its first ninja interesting. On the other hand, Yasuke is compelling and, honestly, would make for a great protagonist in his own solo story. The one downside is that he isn’t properly introduced until 12 to 15 hours into the main story and is, therefore, unplayable for about a third of the game. His early exclusion – outside of being in the game’s prologue – is confounding. It somewhat feels like Yauske’s role was cut or reduced from the beginning of the game due to controversies with his character. While this is purely speculative, it would explain why the pacing throughout the first act is abysmal, something that isn’t the case in the rest of the game.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows opens with three back-to-back tutorials, one of which feels especially redundant. It takes hours for Shadows to really get going and it will likely push a lot of people away due to how much of a slog it is. The first 10 hours caused genuine concern, but thankfully, things really picked up once Yauske was introduced. Not only does he provide welcomed gameplay variety, but he has a lot of layers. He’s a slave turned samurai, largely out of necessity. He knows he must rise to the challenge of being this noble, distinguished warrior if he wants to break free from his tragic past, creating a really emotionally-charged motive for him. 

It’s disappointing that Yauske has been a subject of controversy for a number of reasons, but particularly because he’s such a strong character and makes a case for himself in this particular story. One might expect Yauske to be nothing more than a brute given his combat style, but he’s actually very kind-hearted. He’s frequently seen smiling and being generous with others rather than stone-cold. He does flip a switch to a hardened warrior when it comes time to action, ensuring that his kindness is not mistaken for weakness. You’re constantly learning new things about him as you experience his story as well, allowing you to unravel him and his layers as you progress through the game. Yasuke’s not a one-note killing machine and it makes him one of the standout Assassin’s Creed protagonists.

Although Naoe and Yauske are from warring factions, they are unified by a common goal. The two team up to build an army tasked with taking down a shadowy syndicate of warlords and powerful Japanese figures that have wronged them. As a result, you are given a list of targets and objectives that can be completed non-linearly. Some targets won’t be unlocked without taking another one down, but generally speaking, you can move through the story of Shadows however you want. 

It’s pretty freeing to be able to pick and choose who you want to kill and how you want to do it. Do you want to charge in through their front gate and mow everyone down, creating a violent spectacle of the assassination? Yauske is your guy. Do you want to parkour across the rooftops under the cover of darkness, slitting throats and making it seem like you were never even there? Naoe is your girl.

This core idea of two characters who are polar opposites is Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ biggest strength. Obviously, this is a franchise known for its stealth, but the more recent RPG-heavy entries like Odyssey and Valhalla leaned away from that in some regards. Shadows is able to combine the two different styles into one game and largely do them better than any other entry in the series. Valhalla’s combat felt a bit too floaty and lacked the weight one would really want from Viking combat. It also had the ugly and intrusive damage numbers you’d find in a game like Destiny, which was a huge turn-off.

Shadows does the brutal, almost barbaric combat much better than past entries. Yauske is a commanding behemoth that lays waste to anyone who comes near him thanks to not only his weapons, but his own personal strength and size. He can launch people with a mighty kick, pick them up and slide them across his blade, and even make use of a bow and arrow that allows for a different side to Yauske beyond smashing and slashing. He’s a pretty straightforward character in terms of combat, but simplicity doesn’t mean boring. 

On the flip side, Naoe is a woman with many tools. She’s equipped with the legendary hidden blade, a grappling hook, a katana, and a handful of throwables that make her a resourceful threat. With Yauske, he tanks a lot of hits and can brute force his way through most fights. Naoe, however, is nimble and not as armored. I actually got beaten to a pulp many times early on in the game because I would try to just hack and slash my way through fights.

In reality, Naoe is a character you have to have some patience with. You have to anticipate attacks and know when to parry or outright dodge. Similar to the Batman Arkham series, each enemy attack is telegraphed with a corresponding color. It makes combat feel rhythmic and engaging, encouraging you not to button spam. If you try to unload on an enemy, it likely won’t be effective as they will throw up a block and eventually push you back, making you vulnerable to a counterattack. The windows for responding to an attack are narrow and any hit you take can be near fatal, so you really have to be on your toes and cognizant of your situation. 

While her attacks are equally deadly, Naoe is forced to be thoughtful about her combat and utilize whatever tactics she can to gain the upper hand. One of my favorite weapons in the game is the Kusarigama, a scythe and a chain with a spiked ball on the end of it. The scythe allows you to get up close and personal, quickly delivering a series of rapid light attacks that slash up your foe’s body. Meanwhile, the chain can be twirled around you 360 degrees, hitting any enemy that’s in your general proximity. You can even use it to pull enemies toward you and cut them up with the scythe.

Outside of head-on combat, it’s deeply satisfying to swing between rooftops with Naoe’s grappling hook, crawl through tall grass and stalk your prey, and hit all the familiar Assassin’s Creed gameplay beats as you pick off enemies one by one with the hidden blade.

Despite Assassin’s Creed Shadows having solid combat, the series is still struggling with things like parkour. Despite this being a core tenet of the property for nearly 20 years, it’s as clunky as ever. This is really only relevant to Naoe as Yauske can’t do any significant parkour due to his size, but I grew infuriated during some key stealth sections of the game. At multiple points, I would be sneaking through a base via rooftops or climbing on something and Naoe would just leap off or struggle to latch on to the surface I wanted her to cling to. It’s a janky issue I have always been frustrated by with this franchise and it’s one that led to me being caught on multiple occasions. 

While you can still fight your way out as Naoe, these awkward moments ruined carefully coordinated plans that otherwise would have gone off without a hitch if the game didn’t feel like it had a mind of its own. This isn’t limited to parkour, either. Shadows has one of the most over the top and aggressive forms of aim assist I have ever seen in my life. Naoe can throw things like knives and shurikens at both enemies and objects like explosive barrels and torches. When it came to enemies, even if I aimed at their head with a throwing knife, the aim assist would correct it back to their center mass, ensuring they didn’t die.

The most aggravating examples of this, however, were when I wasn’t trying to attack anyone at all. Naoe can extinguish torches and fires with her throwing weapons, allowing her to create darkness to sneak around in. However, there were multiple times where I was trying to throw a knife at a torch or an explosive barrel, and instead, the game would just throw it at someone far away who wasn’t even on my screen. It’s like these weapons were magnetized to humans. Of course, this would also prompt enemies to be alerted to my position and, once again, ruin the moment. It was frustrating and discouraged me from throwing things at enemies unless I wanted them to be on alert.

Given the amount of time, money, and manpower that is poured into Assassin’s Creed, I would really like to see Ubisoft refine these things in future entries. The parkour needs to improve, especially since Ubisoft has another franchise that utilizes similar movement mechanics with Watch Dogs. Although there are innovations with things like the grappling hook, refining the core experience of jumping around and climbing needs to be a priority for this series if it doesn’t want to get overshadowed by future competitors like Ghost of Yotei.

Although Assassin’s Creed Shadows has some cumbersome flaws that can’t be overlooked, including ones that have been present in the series since its inception, it is a strong action-adventure game that I will likely keep investing in for weeks to come. Ubisoft has managed to create an impressively large and captivating world without it feeling overwhelming, introduced at least one new compelling protagonist, and fostered a rich combat system that is dynamic and varied. The fact that I was initially not vibing with Shadows, but was ultimately won over speaks volumes about the experience Ubisoft has created and may allow lapsed Assassin’s Creed fans to enjoy it along with the diehards.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Assassin’s Creed Shadows releases on March 20th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. A review copy for Xbox was provided by Ubisoft for the purpose of this review.