Assassin’s Creed Shadows Review: A Dance of Blood and Beauty

The Assassin’s Creed franchise is often considered one of the most inconsistent series when talking about AAA titles. While the enduring conflict between Templars and Assassins remains captivating, mediocre storylines and repetitive gameplay have prevented recent AC games from reaching the heights of the beloved Ezio trilogy. Thankfully, when I first saw and heard about Assassin’s Creed Shadows, though marred with controversy, my gut feeling was this could be different. With an AC game finally set in Japan, this could be the one Assassin’s Creed title that restores faith in this oh-so-beloved franchise.

Thanks to a copy provided by Ubisoft, I took my sweet time leaping into Japan as Yasuke and Naoe. Safe to say, after investing close to 26 hours in this game, I am as hooked as Naoe’s grappling rope. So, without further ado, here is my detailed and spoiler-free Assassin’s Creed Shadows review that should help you decide if it’s worth buying.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Story: Two Heads Are Better Than One

The journey begins in 1579 Japan, a feudal collision between mighty warriors. The story captivates the unrest era of Oda Nobunaga and the foreign invaders. Playing both as the Shinobi from Iga, Naoe, and the legendary Samurai, Yasuke, you will uncover the truth behind Japan’s chaos. The main story revolves around the uprising against the Shinbakufu.

Unlike other linear AC stories in the past, AC Shadows requires more effort to unravel. Everything you do on the map is connected to the main story or both the characters. You get the option to play ‘Canon’ mode if you want to experience the original story, or play naturally and weave your own tale.

Heads up, there will be plenty of betrayals and deaths of many close ones in this tale. But luckily, you get to take revenge either as Yasuke or Naoe. As you journey through the story, you get to decide the fate of the land of the rising sun.

A Little Level Gating Never Killed Nobody

However, you will need help from allies to reach the endgame. You will also require better tools and higher-level upgrades to fight the enemies in specific regions. I count this both as a merit and demerit of Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ story. While you would want to run through the main storyline to know the end, the level gating will make things complicated.

I personally think it is essential for an action-adventure game to have free exploration. That is why Shadows allows players to take on any unlocked mission as they progress. However, if you are on a lower level, completing the missions can take quite a bit of effort. But trust me, the side stories are important to the game’s context.

This reminds me of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. While Ezio’s end goal was slaying the Borgia family to liberate Rome, a key element of the game was recollecting his memories and recruiting new assassins. By continuing that nostalgic element in the story, Shadows builds both characters through side quests. As such, Naoe and Yasuke become a big part of the game’s story.

Naoe: The Stealthy Shinobi

Before the open-world exploration begins, a majority of the story within the main quest follows Naoe. Given she plays the Assassin with a hidden blade, we have a lot to expect from her. Naoe reminds you of a young Ezio, fueled by vengeance to keep Iga and her people safe.

Her style is sneaky, and you must employ that playstyle for the whole game. While you can use a fighting style build for Naoe, trust me, she gets one-shotted by most enemies due to low health.

But, like I said, she shines in stealth. As Naoe gets the grapple hook right away, she can reach any height without hesitation. Furthermore, having a smaller build helps her be more agile and stay out of enemy sight. Those looking to play Shadows as a stealth campaign, she is your pick.

Yasuke: The Legendary Samurai

While Naoe is the assassin lurking in the shadows, Yasuke is the shield that can face enemies head-on. Even Jin from Ghost of Tsushima would fear the size and brutality of this foreigner-turned-Samurai in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

The story takes Diogo on a journey where he becomes Yasuke for Oda Nobunaga and the rest of Japan. His size makes stealth gameplay impossible for him, but you barely need it because you can easily force your way through hordes of enemies.

Both characters’ involvement matters in the main story, especially in how you select and play them for specific missions. While some missions are scripted for characters, most are based on who you pick.

Compelling Voice Acting Pulls You In

The best part of unraveling the story of AC Shadows happens through the brilliant voice acting and musical setting. Of course, you get a good set of lines in English, but the fun is playing the game in Immersive Mode. This will enable auto language, meaning the characters will speak their native language, giving you the whole experience.

There is a subtitle option to help you understand what is happening on the screen. Of course, I used English, but there are other options too. The Portuguese and Japanese voice acting chokes you in the environment with its grit and rawness. You will feel like you are inside an anime, or sometimes even better. This is especially evident during the big fights and major cutscenes. The rage in Naoe’s voice or the charm in Yasuke’s sent goosebumps through me.

Remember, your selection in the game’s story can spare some of the important character’s lives. So, instead of killing them, you can create your own path. Well, if vengeance is not always your end goal. But to get to that goal, a game needs solid gameplay that doesn’t bore you, right?

AC Shadows Gameplay: Explore, Slice, and Progress

In terms of gameplay, Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t lurk in the dark and shines bright. You are thrown into the world of feudal Japan right away. Your weapons and means of combat? Well, you get plenty of brutality as Yasuke and immense stealth as Naoe. However, it’s this combination that requires strategizing.

Pick wisely before a mission begins because that’s how you will have the advantage. If it’s about finding a letter in a house swarmed with enemies, Yasuke will not do the trick. Similarly, fighting higher-level enemies head-on as Naoe will send you to the morgue almost instantly.

This combination of showing off your might and stealthily completing missions is crucial as it ensures survival in Shadows’ Japan setting. Thankfully, the character switch is flawless, so you won’t be deterred from doing it often.

Everything Around You Is Valuable

Exploration is another key part of the gameplay. First thing first, you can pet cats and dogs in AC Shadows (important, right?). However, let’s get serious, as the challenge also lies in the loot.

As the player, you must loot items from the challenges or locations strewn across the map. As they are everywhere, using the Pathfinder to track locations helps navigate the map easily. There is also an observer mechanic that you can use to scout enemies, objectives, and valuable loot. Smuggle them using scouts, and they will come in handy.

Loot does not end at money or upgrades. It also increases your level, mastery level, or knowledge points. The levels increase your chances of survival against difficult region enemies. On the other hand, you can build your character in several ways to progress by assigning the mastery level. However, they are locked at a certain level unless you increase the ceiling of mastery by acquiring more knowledge points.

That is why exploration is a major part of the gameplay in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. And just like traditional Assassin’s Creed games, you get merchants to buy or sell valuables. However, unlike the other editions, you must use these loots in Shadows to upgrade your buildings.

The buildings include the Stable, Study, Forge, and Kakurega. Kakurega is basically the safe house where you can teleport at any given time. That is why it is one of the important buildings to level up first. Forge is like a blacksmith; upgrading gives you various weapon upgrade options. And when discussing weapons, let’s start with the combat.

AC Shadows Combat: Choose Your Style and Stay Alert

The combat in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is beyond what I expected. If you are a fan of Japanese weapons, expect everything in this game. But before you want to jump into action, it is Assasin’s Creed so stealth is the default option. Only for Naoe, though. For Yasuke, you must level up certain perks to get assassination or stealth options.

Now, light is also a big part of stealth, and for that reason, you must extinguish them to have more survivability. The more you hide in the shadows, the higher your chance of avoiding enemy contact. You also get some solid abilities to assign to your characters to deal with enemies without dealing with them.

Naoe can use Eagle Vision to keep track of enemies and find hiding spots. She also gets access to four Japanese Shinobi tools: Kunai, Shuriken, Smoke Bomb, and Bell, each providing specific help in stealth combat. But the issue begins when the alarm bell rings.

Each restricted area comes with one or more bells. Well, I suggest you cut them off early. As I failed to do it and had to wait a whole season for that ‘Wanted‘ mark to disappear. You can switch to the other character if you want to avoid the effects of being notorious. In case the stealth fails you, there is always Plan B: Slash and Thrash.

A Satisfying Dance of Slashing and Thrashing

Thanks to its japanese setting, the combat in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is as satisfying as some of the best Assassin’s Creed games I’ve ever played. I know, I know, that is a bold claim, but trust me, when you start cooking your combinations with the abilities and sprinkling the perfect passives, it’s bound to turn out delicious. Naoe’s combat style is quick and agile. However, she is squishy for a lot of enemies.

Although you can go with the AOE kusarigama with Naoe, it is ineffective against larger samurai or beasts. That is why Shadows gives you a fluent character swap feature. Before you start a quest, switch your character to the one required for the combat. Naoe cuts and pokes enemies down, but she is weak against higher-ranking enemies.

Yasuke, on the other hand, is a bull. You can build his mastery towards a Samurai and assign points to either the Naginata or the Kanabo. While slashing enemies and watching them get sliced like a fish is satisfying, you will love the head pop when Yasuke plunges his Kanabo through the enemy’s head. The visuals, animations, and details of each combat sequence, mixed with the sound design, make the fight more eye candy than a bland sword fight.

Most boss fights happen in open areas, so you can run around and regain health to fight them again. It’s not something Souls fans would like to hear. If your normal attacks are not enough, you can use your adrenaline to unleash powerful abilities and destroy the enemy, even a higher-level boss, as I did below!

With all the fights and combat, one thing that constantly bothered me was the weapon equip option. The game just decided to lock in certain situations. Switching requires specific perk points if you are spotted or have started combat.

While I don’t mind it in certain situations, I found myself stuck in some levels especially when I was spotted and could not use throwables on my objective. I had to choke myself in water to restart.

Like Ghost of Tsushima?

I know plenty of players worldwide want to compare AC Shadows’ combat to Ghost of Tsushima, and I must say, there are similarities. The slashing part of both games feels especially similar. Well, you do expect that from a Japanese game. However, if you expect a literal copy, you will be disappointed in Shadows.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows gives you flexibility within characters to change styles or take different mastery routes. And that too for two extremely opposite genres of protagonists. While Yasuke is more about power, Naoe can jump between targets. These differences are far different from what we’ve already witnessed in Tsushima. The essence is there but the full experience is definitely far away from what you expect.

Seasons Are More than Visual Changes

Despite being sold as a visual change in the trailers, the Seasons feature is beyond that. In Shadows, you are affected by the change of season at every step of the game. Each season helps or costs you with several conditions. The season change happens after a cycle through the Change Season button on the map. This is a perfect way to do it manually.

However, being a quest-focused player, I did not open the map that much. But whenever a cycle is done, a quest completion or fast traveling automatically triggers a visual that shows which season is coming. This not only upgrades and changes the game’s vibe to give you fresh visuals but also gives you a new opportunity to strategize.

For example, in summer, you can use the ponds more. With Naoe, you can get a specific perk and maximize it to infiltrate enemy territory. However, the Winter makes your movement slow, and stepping on the right path is necessary.

With season change, you also get the seasonal resource loot that helps you gain a passive upgrade income. While the change of scenery is standard in games, you get plenty of things in Shadows from the Seasons. What about the aesthetics, you ask?

AC Shadows Visuals: An Accurate and Mystical Japan

When it comes to landscape accuracy, nobody, I mean nobody, does it better than Ubisoft (even if the company finds itself in hot waters more often than not). Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes you to Feudal Japan right from the game’s first frame. As soon as we see Yasuke interacting with Oda Nobunaga, you know the visuals are about to deliver. And they indeed do.

In AC Shadows, we get the full Japanese map from the Nobunaga ruling era. And Ubisoft creates magic by painting identical monuments or scenery. This reminds me of the landscape accuracy of Assassin’s Creed Ezio Trilogy. You get the iconic Iga, Settsu, Yamato, and many more areas.

Within the regions, the beautiful cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Asuka Rocks are among many others. Each place reflects its unique identity, as the seasons also affect how it looks at different times. The sakura trees in Ominesan-Ji and the peak of Azuchi Castle on a 1080p ray tracing look exceptional.

For the majority of the game, you will be in awe of these visuals because of the minimal UI system. Although customizable, this minimal UI style is growing on me, and with Shadows, Ubisoft has perfected it. Especially when you just can’t stop looking at the green fields and iconic sunsets by the waterfall. But does the game perform well with all this load?

AC Shadows Performance: Feather Smooth Frames

In 2025, expecting a game with great performance combined with next-gen visuals from Ubisoft was not on my wishlist. But Shadows delivered. On top of Japan’s iconic visuals, Ubisoft ensures you do not miss a single frame. Well, that was not the case when I started the game.

When I started playing Assassin’s Creed Shadows, I accidentally installed the game on my HDD, and the game was a choppy loading simulator. Then, I switched to SSD (thanks to a quick reminder from my Editor), and voila, the performance went in the opposite direction. The game was now perfectly playable on high settings.

My Setup: CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070
RAM: 16 GB (2×8) DDR5 @ 5200MHz
SSD: 1TB XPG Gammix S11 Pro
Monitor: 1080p @ 165Hz

But that’s not all. There is a software Ray Tracing system that automatically makes your game look good, even on non-RTX cards such as GTX 1650 Super that we tried at the Beebom office. This does not take much away from the card’s performance while fine-tuning the visuals. I know, my friends will love this feature as a GTX card user, especially when the upgrade did not lower the FPS.

That said, I did not face any major hiccups or visual glitches during my gameplay. So, I have to give props to Ubisoft for optimizing Shadows to the point even an average PC ran it well.

Enter The Shadows and Witness the Revolution

For the last few games, Ubisoft has not reached the expectations we have always had from the AC franchise. With Revelations being my last favorite Assassin’s Creed game and Black Flag being my last favorite pirate game, it was time for a game to bring change. And the revolution comes at the hands of Naoe and Yasuke.

The visuals of Assassin’s Creed Shadows captivate Japan in the right light, especially during the feudal era. From monuments to the environment, everything takes you on a journey to the lands of the rising sun. And combining it with exceptional performance for even decent devices, Ubisoft is finally back for the market.

The gameplay loop can feel a little repetitive after a point if you are about the main story. However, if you are spending the price for a full game, play for the full game. And given the side quests mean something, you would not mind going through them when you visit a specific province.

The exploration will ensure you do not get bored with the little-level gated system. Especially when you can bypass the gate if you have skilled hands. You can chop, slice, burst heads, or just spare lives. The combat and choices are dynamic in AC Shadows, making your progression selection count.

With the proper usage of mystical Japanese music and environmental sounds, Ubisoft always keeps your expectations and experience high. So, the new Japanese theme with the iconic Assassin’s Creed storytelling, Shadows will not disappoint.