Decision-making has always been a staple of role-playing games (RPG), presenting choices during pivotal story moments that can skew the plot down a certain direction. However, constantly having to pick a side may not be everyone’s cup of tea, a fact that Ubisoft certainly understands, as it is introducing a new “canon mode” for its upcoming action RPG Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which completely removes the element of choice and makes the game’s narrative play out linearly.
During a recent Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, game developers Brooke Davies, Charles Benoit, Jonathan Dumont, and Thierry Dansereau revealed more details on the upcoming title while responding to fan questions, which brought up the reveal of canon mode and why it was implemented to begin with.
“Choices come more into play when recruiting allies and romancing some of the characters,” Dumont said. “Since the fan base is divided on branching dialogues, we have incorporated an option called Canon Mode which allows you to play the game with choices already made for you, to give you a choice-free experience. Hope this makes it fun for everyone.”
Fan response has been positive so far, with most agreeing that the addition of this new mode is welcome, which isn’t surprising considering the franchise’s roots, with all its games leading up to 2015’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate being stealth-action-focused titles with linear storylines. It was only after the series pivoted to the action RPG genre with 2017’s Assassin’s Creed Origins that choice-based systems were incorporated, and the introduction of canon mode seems to be a good first step for Ubisoft in finding that balance between the classic and newer RPG experiences.
Besides touching on canon mode, the developers also revealed more about the game’s non-linear campaign structure, stating that “Most of the main targets’ questlines can be tackled through exploration and are not in a predetermined order”, although the game does suggest an optimal path for players to follow.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be released on 14 February 2025, a delay from its initial November planned launch, something that the developers also commented on during the AMA, stating that it has been “great to be able to tweak the game and push the overall quality.”
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
