Assassin’s Creed Shadows hands-on: A peek into ninja battles and samurai brawls

After years of fan outcry, the beloved Assassin’s Creed series will finally be available in feudal Japan with this year’s release, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. I’ve seen the hands-off preview Last fall at Gamescom in GermanyBut then it was game It has been delayed from its original November release date to February 14 (And then It has been postponed again to March 20) for this year. I got my first hands-on experience with the game alongside other journalists, marking a big moment for a game filled with anticipation and hype.

The hands-on preview was split into two parts: an hour-long session exploring the introduction of the game with about another three hours in the later game. Although I’m not sure how deep I’ve gotten into the game, my characters are now level 25 with some legendary armor, and more abilities have been unlocked.

The game is set in the year 1579 and takes on a dual hero style, which is new to the series. Unlike 2018 Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey And 2020 Valhallagames in which you choose a main character from one of two character options, Shadows has you play as a team of characters throughout the game. Ubisoft refers to this dynamic as the game’s “stealth and combat” style where different characters’ abilities determine how you progress through areas.

Each character plays differently but can be used in any mission and switch between them at various points. The first character is Yasuke, a powerful black samurai who was brought to Japan as a Portuguese slave. His large build and heavy armor make him a great choice for any mission where you plan to charge straight through the front door and fight your way to the end. If you prefer to kill silently from rooftops and the shadows, Naoe is your favorite protagonist: a Japanese ninja who prioritizes stealth and maneuverability.

Many quests will give you a choice of who to start with, and with a few exceptions, you’ll have to stick with that choice until completion. This means you won’t be able to start a mission playing as Naoe and sneak around and attempt to assassinate enemies, but then immediately switch to Yasuke when you’re spotted and surrounded by enemies. (When in free-roam areas outside of missions, you can switch by simply pausing the game and pressing X.)

However, both characters can maintain their opposite playstyle, and it will be much more difficult. Typically, Assassin’s Creed characters of the past would be able to do both playstyles well, so it’s an interesting option to split playstyle strengths between two heroes and force the player to evaluate their odds against the playstyle they prefer.

This contradiction was strongly demonstrated in the last mission we played where our heroes had to storm a castle and fight a corrupt lord inside. I initially started this mission as Yasuke but found that fighting through the front gate was too difficult. After a failed attempt, she transformed into Naoe and quickly climbed the wall (something Yasuke couldn’t do) and avoided the fight all together. What would have probably taken me 20 minutes of valiant fighting and exhausting all my health regeneration items was now surreptitiously bypassed in 2 minutes with no hassle.

However, as the quest continued, I now had to make my way through the halls inside to the boss above. Instead of trying to sneak my way through these narrow corridors full of enemies, I moved to Yasuke and fought them head-on. It was a fun change of pace.

At this point in the game, two of Yasuke’s abilities have been unlocked for me, which are used by holding down RT and pressing one of the face buttons on the controller (similar to previous character action games, like Spider-Man). The first ability was a very cool, lightning-fast slash that caused the screen to go black and white for a second while I made contact with the enemy, while the second ability was a massive powerful kick that would comically send my opponent flying out of the air. I loved using both and used them often to take down groups of enemies.

Both characters can also call upon support allies to assist during missions, which acts like a fighting game to help out in difficult situations. These allies can be managed, equipped and upgraded back at your base, used as distractions while trying to infiltrate or even help when you’re facing multiple enemies at once. There were two available to use: a strong woman who specialized in shoving and knocking down her opponents, as well as a stealthier man who would attempt to shoot the target once and then use a smoke grenade to retreat.

Another form of support is scouting, which comes into play when you’re trying to find out more information about your mission. Ubisoft says it has taken a “guide, don’t tell” approach to quests in Shadows; Consequently, many of my missions did not come with a marker on my map to head to. Instead, it will give me hints about which area or building I should explore to learn more. During the preview, I had access to five scouts (it wasn’t clear how I could get more) that I could place anywhere on the map, and they would reveal points of interest. Pairing the hints and scouts together should reveal the waypoint for me to move forward on my quest.

From there you can head to your target or press left on the directional pad to launch the pathfinder, a transparent line that guides you like a GPS. However, the game will not hold your hand for every goal. There’s a heavy focus on observation: pressing the left trigger will focus your character and the camera will zoom in slightly. This will allow you to highlight enemies (which reveals their health and makes them visible through walls), and also indicates loot to collect or objectives to look for. It’s clear early on that rushing through these missions will make things more difficult than if you found a lookout point and cleared the area first (another reason I often prefer starting a mission with Naoe).

While previewing, I didn’t get a good idea of ​​the overarching story these characters are making their way through. The introduction suggested some motivation for their team, but the large mysterious box was left hidden. However, long-time Assassin’s Creed fans will wonder if the Animus, a narrative device that allows modern humans to revisit and play as their heroic ancestors from the past in these strange times, will return. In short, yes it is — in something called the Animus Ego. Unfortunately, we’ve only had a little time with this meta-story component, but I can tell you again that there are hackers, glitches, and something sinister going on behind the scenes of the seemingly awesome Animus project.

I’m very excited to play more Assassin’s Creed Shadows. As a person who loves Ghost of TsushimaThe environment of feudal Japan excites me easily. The wait won’t be long as the game will be released on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC on March 30.