I truly believe thatAssassin’s Creed Shadowsis not just Ubisoft’s best game in a long time, but also one of the best games in the series. While my affection for its setting and time period may color my perception a tad,Shadowshas earned such praise thanks to its vastly improved approach to exploration, narrative, and stealth. It is hard to deny thatShadowsimproves upon its predecessors - at least the modernAssassin’s Creedgames - in almost every way, rarely falling short of the high expectations placed upon it.
I feel this preface is necessary as I dislike being negative aboutShadows. I spend most of my life and job feeling like I need to be negative, so when I get the chance to praise something, I’ll take it.ShadowsfixedAssassin’s Creedfor me, something I never thought possible, and it absolutely deserves to be commended for that. However,there is one element in whichShadowsfalters, and it’s a genuine shame. As much as I’d rather gush overShadows, I strongly believe that constructively criticizing a weak point could help rectify it for future entries.
Some Assassin’s Creed Shadows Stealth Mechanics Feel Underbaked
Creaking Floor Boards & Servants Don’t Matter
During the run-up toAssassin’s Creed Shadows’launch, Ubisoft began promoting the variousnew stealth features, the coolest of which were Nightingale Floors and servants. The former, a real-life trap used during Feudal Japan, are floorboards designed to creak whenever someone walks across them, thus alerting nearby guards to their location. Servants, as they sound, are non-violent NPCs that will similarly alert nearby guards to your location if they spot you skulking about castles or generally off-limits areas.
Both features serve to make the world ofAssassin’s Creed Shadowsfeel more alive while making stealth significantly harder. At least, that’s the intention, but, unfortunately,neither mechanic is pulled off particularly effectively and thus doesn’t leave a meaningful impression. The aforementioned Nightingale Floors barely appear, typically being reserved for castles that don’t really need to be explored, as the top floor always has the main chest, and it can be accessed from the outside. While very cool in concept, Ubisoft underused them to such a baffling degree that I forgot they were in the game at all.
Servants do help to populate castles and make them feel more believable, especially with their frankly rather adorable humming and varied animations. However, even onAC Shadows’best difficultysetting, they’re just as easy to kill as any regular enemy. There’s no punishment for killing them, soassassinating them, as you would literally every other guard, is a valid option. It makes them feel homogenous, yet another enemy to keep an eye out for, but not really fear, as they won’t fight back outside of rare circumstances.
Instead,Shadowsshould have made it so these servants can only be temporarily knocked out, and killing them comes with some form of penalty. That way, players would have to strategize how best to navigate around them and avoid them altogether. Regardless, they’re another disappointing stealth mechanic, which is a shame, especially asShadows’sstealth is so impressiveotherwise that it is vastly superior to its direct competitors likeGhost of Tsushima.
I Wish Light Played A Bigger Role In Assassin’s Creed Shadows
It Doesn’t Affect Gameplay As Much As I’d Hoped
However, as frustrating as the somewhat lackluster implementation of Nightingale Floors and servants are inShadows,its most criminally underused stealth mechanic is light. Throughout all ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows’marketing, Ubisoft heavily emphasized how light plays a big role in the way players approach stealth. Sticking to the shadows would prevent enemies from spotting you, so snuffing out flames or hitting lanterns with your kunai is meant to be a necessary step while exploringShadows’many challenging castles.
Unfortunately, I never found this to be the case. Exploring during the day is slightly harder inShadows,as enemies can spot you climbing across rooftops, but never so much so that I actively avoided it. Occasionally,day would turn to night during one of my many infiltration attempts, and the experience wouldn’t feel any different. Furthermore, I often see the prompt to extinguish lights but never feel it is wholly necessary, as there’s rarely a particular building I need to gain access to, and even if there were, there’s never enough guards within them to make it a problem.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Director Teases What’s Coming To The Game With New Updates
The director of Assassin’s Creed Shadows touched on what is coming next to the game, with new updates, big fixes, and more enhancements planned.
Outside theextremely dark Kofun locations,Shadows’implementation of light is poorly mishandled. It should be pitch-black the moment night hits, making exploring difficult without a light source. That way, players would rely on external lights to navigate but would also have to fear them if guards were nearby. Ubisoft didn’t go hard enough with its lighting inAssassin’s Creed Shadows, and as a result, it feels severely underbaked. It’s a shame considering the potential this mechanic had and the effort Ubisoft went through to implement its barebones foundations.
AC Shadows' Stealth Should Be The Foundation For Future Assassin’s Creed Games
It Has Many Amazing Qualities
There are some otherminor problems withShadow’sstealth, but, frankly, they never really detract from the overall experience. I would absolutely have preferred for Nightingale Floors and the game’s lighting to have had a bigger impact on gameplay, but even without them,stealth still feels phenomenally tense and is endlessly engaging. I never grow tired of sneaking around castles inAssassin’s Creed Shadowsas Naoe, and that’s because what’s on offer here is nearly flawless.Shadowsnails the basics and adds plenty of new ideas to the formula to make it truly enjoyable.
That’s whyI firmly believe thatShadows’stealth should be used as the foundation for futureAssassin’s Creedgames. In fact, much ofShadows’gameplay should be carried forward, including its more linear approach to open-world exploration and greater focus on cinematic storytelling. However, when it comes to stealth specifically,AC Shadows’fluid parkour and varied stealth sandbox are the gold standard from which Ubisoft should iterate slightly.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Was Originally Planned Without A Major Character
In a new interview, developer Ubisoft reveals that a major character was originally not planned for Assassin’s Creed Shadows during development.
Introducing more unique stealth mechanics in futureACgames, such as a period-appropriate equivalent to the Nightingale Floors, would help spice things up, but otherwise, whatShadowshas on offer is excellent. Ubisoft clearly took its time with developingAssassin’s Creed Shadows, and it shows in pretty much every regard. There’s also room for Ubisoft to updateAssassin’s Creed Shadowsand refine the somewhat underutilized stealth features, thus making it the perfect example for the next generation ofACtitles.
