16th century Japan is rife with fascinating historical context for an Assassin’s Creed game to thrive, which is one of the aspects that makes the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows so appealing. The way the series turns history into fiction made me want to see its version of feudal Japan, but it’s also a setting that lends itself well to the type of combat options that have been encompassed throughout the franchise .
In a demo of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, I got to see about 30 minutes of gameplay featuring Naoe and Yasuke – the two protagonists – and their fighting styles in action. They represent the two fighting worlds of the series: Naoe, a stealthy shinobi wielding the iconic Hidden Blade, and Yasuke, a force of nature blessed with pure power and masterful swordsmanship.
At the start of the demo, I saw Yasuke stop in a town where ordinary people are trying to survive under the thumb of a corrupt shogunate that enforces a caste system. It’s a common dynamic in stories set in this era of Japan, but it’s also ripe for Yasuke to do right by the people who revere him. He has an imposing and respected presence, and the first fight was against a group of samurai who were harassing a villager who was showing off Yasuke’s swordsmanship. The challenge is to dodge or counter enemy attacks (indicated by blue and red highlights on their blade) in traditional melee combat.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t hold back in the brutality of its combat. Yasuke has finishing moves where he cuts off enemies’ heads or stabs them in the gut before lifting them up just to have them fall back down. These finishes are also highlighted with black and white frame cuts with blood splatters, giving it a bit of cinematic samurai flair. What’s just as brutal is Yasuke’s spiked club, which is a heavy, blunt weapon that hits armored enemies. Seeing them swing directly towards the dome elicited a little “Oooooh!” loose my control. The thing is, Yasuke only focuses on melee, so while he won’t be doing a lot of climbing on rooftops and jumping between buildings, he’ll keep it up by taking all his enemies head-on.
After this introductory combat encounter, a cutscene shows Naoe bursting onto the scene to aid Yasuke by jumping on an enemy and executing them with his hidden blade. Naoe and Yasuke have this kind of friendly dynamic as they decide how to take on their next mission: assassinating the daimyo at Fukuchiyama Castle. From here, you must choose to control Naoe or Yasuke, and this will determine your playstyle and how you navigate the mission to kill your target.
Playing as Naoe, you then gain access to climbing walls, hiding in foliage, and sneak attacks. She doesn’t just work with a hidden blade; she has a throwable kunai for ranged attacks and a set of short swords to get her hands dirty up close and personal, if things get rowdy. But my favorite weapon is the chained blade that she can swing in a circle to take down crowds of enemies, which even cuts environmental objects. So even though she focuses more on agility and staying out of sight, she still has viable options as a backup.
But of course, getting past the guards to catch those satisfying sneak attacks seems worth it. Being able to move around the environment with tools like a grappling hook to pull yourself up to higher ground in a jiffy and assassinate unsuspecting guards almost reminded me of Tenchu, as it’s more about clever use of tools than just hiding in the grass and waiting for patrols to arrive. play. Naoe channels traditional Assassin’s Creed energy, and his options definitely lean into the Splinter Cell fantasy that hasn’t really come to fruition in the years since we last saw Sam Fisher in action.
If you play the same mission as Yasuke, you literally break down the front door and provoke all enemies into combat. Watching him tear apart guards almost reminded me of For Honor, another Ubisoft game, for how methodical it all seemed, even if it’s not as deep as a sword fight. Since this is the era in Japanese history that first introduced firearms imported from the West, Yasuke also uses a single-shot rifle, and it’s pretty crazy to see a imposing samurai shoot in the head just before drawing his katana to slash the rest of the world. enemies before him.
Whether you play as Naoe or Yasuke, the end result seems to be the same: you kill the daimyo and move him forward. I’m not sure what the story implications will be based on your choice, if any. But it’s nice to see two characters with fully realized playstyles with a number of weapons and tools to not get stuck in monotonous combat. Granted, this will be determined by how the quests are designed. Infiltration of Fukuchiyama Castle showed promise in this regard, but I’d like to see if, or how, Shadows can mix and match the two protagonists in a more natural way.
I’m more curious now to get my hands on Assassin’s Creed Shadows because I always appreciate how different weapons and gear create a distinct flow, especially for a series that has recently been bouncing between different identities. For me, the most interesting aspects of this game will come from the creative freedom Ubisoft demonstrates when playing with its historical fiction. Yasuke is a fascinating figure in Japanese history and having a secret shinobi in Naoe contrasting with the highly regarded samurai ideals sets my expectations quite high. At least now I know I’ll get more interesting gameplay dynamics than I’ve seen in Assassin’s Creed’s recent past.
We’ll get to see it all come together when Assassin’s Creed Shadows launches on November 12 this year for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.