This isn't a bad game, but it's probably the worst executed AC game that I've ever played. Bad controller integration, audio drop outs requiring PC restart. Many, many areas where half of the enemies can be found inexplicably asleep face-down on the ground outside in the middle of the day. 'Recommended' gameplay settings with no obvious purpose other than to increase play time by padding out your experience wandering around looking for something stupid for no good reason. Don't bother replaying an entire castle twice because one of the two PCs isn't strong enough to push a single box three feet and find a hand fan. Historical nitpick - the main plot covers a historical period of two weeks but the game stretches it out into years and years for no reason other than to cram in bloat. Very apt, actually. I changed my mind, it is bad.
I’ve put 55 hours into Assassin’s Creed: Shadows at the time of writing this review. I was originally planning to go for a 100% completion run as I do with most AC titles, but I couldn’t bring myself to finish the story or side quests... I simply got too bored. Which is saying a LOT since I've completed every AC game and have 100% almost all of them. At first, the game shows promise. The dual-character campaign is an interesting idea, and I enjoyed switching between Naoe’s stealth-focused style and Yasuke’s brute-force approach. Early missions and gear upgrades kept me engaged, and the Japan setting is visually stunning. Ubisoft clearly poured effort into the world design and atmosphere, and for a while, it’s easy to be drawn in. Truly, the visuals and soundtrack for AC: Shadows are gorgeous. But the problems become impossible to ignore. The biggest issue is the level scaling system. No matter how much time you spend grinding, collecting legendary gear, or over-preparing for upcoming bosses, it doesn’t matter. Enemies and bosses automatically scale to your level, so the satisfaction of becoming stronger or mastering an area is stripped away. Progress feels pointless, and after 20 hours, the loop of grinding, gearing, and moving to the next region completely loses meaning, especially since a lot of the side quests and missions feel the same. COMBAT ------------------ Combat is another letdown. On paper, the contrast between Yasuke’s heavy combat and Naoe’s nimble assassinations should feel dynamic. In practice, both grow repetitive fast. Enemies all share predictable patterns, bosses are nothing more than giant health bars, and increasing difficulty doesn’t make encounters more strategic or challenging, it just turns fights into tedious slogs by inflating enemy HP and slightly increasing their damage. Additionally, while I get what they were trying to go for by creating this contract of Yasuke being an unstoppable force in combat but bad at stealth and Naoe being great at stealth but bad in combat, I found it super frustrating to do any sort of combat with Naoe. At a certain point, no matter what gear, weapons or level you are with Naoe, combat with her just feels like it takes forever because you do no damage and he abilities don't feel like they do anything. While all of Naoe's attacks are flashy and look cool, I found myself just spamming her heavy attack at a certain point just to end combat quickly because of how un-fun it is to do combat with her and how little damage her attacks do. (I ended my playthrough at Lvl. 55 btw, and I STILL felt like she was doing no damage even with fully upgraded gear.) STORY ------------------ The story suffers from pacing issues as well. The opening drags on and on with tutorials and flashbacks, the dual narratives never mesh as smoothly as promised, and the ending (from what I've seen) lacks payoff. I never felt any sense of mystery or satisfaction tracking down the main story bad guys, and since the story is so long (not in content, it just takes a long time to level up enough to be able to progress), I found myself completely forgetting what I was supposed to be doing or who I was supposed to be mad at in the story. Additionally, the side quests, which should add flavor and be enjoyable, are formulaic and repetitive. Even travel becomes a chore because horse riding is slow, sometimes it's confusing what you are and aren't allowed to climb on, and the world, while beautiful, loses it's mystery and thrill to travel through after the 5th shinobi or ronin encounter. CONCLUSION ------------------ There are glimpses of what Shadows could have been: gorgeous visuals, a strong setting, and occasional chemistry between the protagonists. But all of that gets buried under bloated systems, repetitive combat, meaningless progression, and narrative drag. In the end, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows feels like busywork disguised as an epic, and I found myself realizing that playing the game was almost like a chore at times. If you’re an AC completionist, you may find a few hours of enjoyment in the stealth mechanics or exploration, but for most players, this is one you should skip. Ubisoft’s ambition is there, but the execution makes it hard to recommend.
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