Ghost of Tsushimasomehow managed to doAssassin’s Creedin Japan beforeAssassin’s Creed Shadowscame out. It offered a robust, expansive, almost Ubisoft-esque open world full of interesting things to see, characters to meet, and a plethora of quests to complete. On top of all of that, it offered a phenomenal combat model that still trumps most AAA third-person action games and a smattering of stealth mechanics that proved helpful in a pinch, especially for taking down Jin’s many foes.
It was so good that few believed it could be beaten by Ubisoft’s long-awaited attempt at bringing theAssassin’s Creedformula to feudal Japan, myself included. However,AC Shadowsis now one of thehighest-reviewedAssassin’s Creedgamesin a long while, proving that Ubisoft is capable of innovating on its own gameplay philosophies and delivering a genuinely game-changing experience that is satisfying from start to finish.Shadowsis so good, in my opinion, that it beatsGhost of Tsushimain almost every way, save for one key feature that no one can get quite right.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Is Better Than Ghost Of Tsushima
It Has A Stronger Open-World & Stealth
Assassin’s Creed Shadows’unexpected level of quality is not lost on me at all. I am not quite the Ubisoft detractor that many others are - after all it has developed many of my favorite games - but I am very aware of its bad run of games, especially with its once belovedAssassin’s Creedseries. That’s largely whyI was worried that it wouldn’t be able to live up to the level of quality thatGhost of Tsushimaoffers. Fortunately, as aforementioned, this is absolutely not the case, as, in many ways,AC ShadowsbeatsGhost, especially where it counts.
Perhapsthe biggest wayAssassin’s Creed ShadowsbeatsGhost of Tsushimais in its stealth mechanics. I wasn’t particularly fond ofGhost of Tsushima’ssurprisingly and rather ironically limited stealth sandbox. It certainly added a tad more variety to the open-world gameplay, but it never felt as robust as it should have done, especially given Jin’s status as the legendaryGhost.Shadowsis a completely different story, with its stealth not only being a core foundational element of its gameplay loop, but also endlessly fun.
Of course, it comes with a slight caveat. The stealth is fun only when played onAC Shadows’best difficulty setting, as it can otherwise feel a little too easy. On the hardest difficulty,Shadows’stealth gameplay feels suitably tense and forces players to devise a strategy to tackle each heavily guarded castle. However, even then,Shadows’more varied stealth options, such as additional tools, Naoe’s more versatile movement abilities, and myriad of dynamic world elements, such as changing seasons and lighting, hugely trumpsGhost of Tsushima’sstealth.
It isn’t just stealth whereShadowssucceeds. Its open-world is more varied, with the aforementioned changing seasons and greater diversity of NPCs helping to make it feel far more alive.Shadows’immersive realismhelps to make its rendition of Feudal Japan feel significantly more detailed and lifelike, unlike the more stylized world inGhost of Tsushima. Furthermore,the world events have a more tangible benefit and feel more varied, with some requiring detailed knowledge of the period in order to earn their reward.
Ghost of Tsushima’s Combat Beats Shadows'
It Is Vastly Superior
However,as great asAssassin’s Creed Shadowsis,Ghost of Tsushimabeats it completely in one department. My favorite aspect ofGhost of Tsushimawas its combat, not just because it was a true spectacle to behold, but also consistently fun throughout the entire runtime.Ghost of Tsushimaisn’t a short game either - at least it wasn’t for me - and yet its combat never grew stale. The fluid animations coupled with its almostArkham-esque back-and-forth balletic movement makes it feel like the most realistic third-person melee combat I’ve ever experienced.
It is so good, that it’s the main reason why I’mexcited forGhost of Yotei. By contrast,Assassin’s Creed Shadows’competent combat model feels significantly inferior. That isn’t to say thatAC Shadows’combat is bad, as that is far from the truth. I rather enjoy barreling through ashigaru as Yasuke or desperately attempting to hold my own as Naoe. However,it often feels far too clunky, with the lock-on struggling to pick a target, and animations never feeling quite as fluid.
WhereAssassin’s Creed Shadowsreally struggles with combat is its difficulty.
However,whereAssassin’s Creed Shadowsreally struggles with combat is its difficulty. Once players unlockShadows’best Legendary gear, combat becomes unbelievably trivial, with even Naoe able to take on the toughest foes. This really shouldn’t be the case, and absolutely isn’t inGhost of Tsushima. Sucker Punch Productions managed to maintain a level of difficulty across all three ofGhost’sregions that is as satisfying as it is challenging. Even by the final boss, Jin feels suitably powerful, but never overpowered, and that’s why it shines.
Shadows Still Has Pretty Great Combat
It Has A Lot Of Variety
That being said,Assassin’s Creed Shadowscombat is still extremely fun. Yes, I find it to be too easy at times, butat least with Yasuke that power fantasy makes sense. Even the game’s Expert difficulty implies that Yasuke shouldn’t have too much trouble with combat. Ubisoft has clearly designed him to fight like a powerful Oni to better contrast with Naoe’s more nimble and fragile fighting style, and I can completely understand why.
The modern RPG style ofAssassin’s Creedgames has been moving closer and closer to being a more melee-focused experience, and as a result,delivering that power fantasy is an important choice.Shadowsattempts to balance this with thetraditionalAssassin’s Creedcombat, and that’s great for those who miss it, but it doesn’t fit well with this new model, especially when integrated with Ubisoft’s deep desire to level gate everything.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: All Enemy Types Ranked By Difficulty
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has seven main enemy types for its protagonists to face, each with its own difficulty level and unique characteristics.
I’m really glad thatAssassin’s Creed Shadowsis as brutal and easy as it is, and this is largely where I enjoy it more thanGhost of Tsushima. After all, fighting as Jin could, very occasionally, feel frustrating, as I just wanted to engage in a cinematic tense 1 v 100 fight and come out the victor. At leastShadowslets you do that. However, combat aside,Assassin’s Creed Shadowsis the superior game, and I’m really thankful it is, as, were it to be worse than a five-year-old game, it would have been extremely disappointing.
