Ubisoft’s long-running Assassin’s Creed series has taken players through the annals of history, from Syria and Italy in the early games, to ancient Egypt, Greece, and most recently, Baghdad in last year’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage – among others. But feudal Japan remains a popular crowd request, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows is finally ready to deliver some long-awaited samurai and shinobi action.
Formerly referred to as Codename Red, the upcoming title led by Ubisoft Québec (Assassin’s Creed Odyssey) turns the clock back to 16th century Japan, where unrest grows amid the formation of new coalitions and corruptive foreign influences towards the path to unification. Naoe, an adept shinobi assassin from the Iga Province, and Yasuke, the powerful samurai of historical legend, will serve as dual protagonists, each with their own progression paths, skills, weapons, and stats.
Both characters are seen crossing paths in a new cinematic trailer for the game, which teases different play styles. According to Ubisoft, Naoe utilises stealth and infiltration/deception mechanics, while Yasuke’s strength lies primarily in combat, as described below:
“Whether they embrace Naoe’s stealth skills or Yasuke’s combat prowess, players will have plenty of ways to approach objectives. With Naoe, they will experience refined infiltration mechanics using light, noise, shadows, and changing surroundings to avoid detection from enemies. With Yasuke, they will be able to take on larger groups of enemies with brutal precision.”
In true franchise fashion, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set to include real-world historical figures as part of the gameplay experience. Apart from a vast open world featuring various landscapes, including castle towns, bustling ports, and peaceful shrines, players can also look forward to building their own spies’ network to unveil new areas and hunt down targets. Allies with highly specialised skills and abilities can be recruited for extra aid during missions, and the hideout brings customisation options for base building and layout, such as decoration, accessories, and more.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows slices its way to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna, PC, and Macs with Apple silicon on 15 November . Ubisoft+ subscribers will be able to access the game on 12 November, alongside individuals who purchase the Ultimate Edition. Every pre-order unlocks an additional quest, no matter the edition – of which there are three:
- The Gold Edition will include the base game, the Season Pass (including a bonus quest with additional unlockable content as well as two upcoming expansions) and 3 days early access to the game.
- The Ultimate Edition will include the base game, the Season Pass, the Ultimate Pack and 3 days early access to the game. The Ultimate Pack will contain the Sekiryu Character Pack (Naoe and Yasuke outfit and weapon, trinket and mount), the Sekiryu Hideout Pack, 5 Skill points and a Red and black photo mode filter.
- The Collector’s Edition will include the base game, the Season Pass, the Ultimate Pack, physical content and 3 days early access to the game. The physical content will be a Steelbook, the World map, Naoe & Yasuke Figurine, life-size Naoe’s Katana Tsuba, a Wall Creed Scroll, an 84-page collector’s artbook and 2 sumi-e lithographs.
Having an underrepresented pair of a Black samurai and female shinobi front the assassin business makes for a pleasant surprise, even if the Japan-set title has been a long time coming. More blade action, silent sneaking, and agile maneuvers will be unveiled in June when the first gameplay trailer drops.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Natalie
