Postponed twice, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is finally ready to make his debut on PS5, Xbox Series X | S and PC on March 20. A title that has the pressure to raise Ubisoft after some important commercial flops. Hence a game that improves and renews the shot compared to the previous chapters, despite some important smudges related to the Open World structure.
It has been since Ezio Auditore that the Assassin’s Creed community wants a chapter set in feudal Japan. Finally this moment has arrived: Assassin’s Creed Shadows welcomes the atavistic request of the Fandom through an adventure set in Country of the Rising Sun in 1579during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, corresponding to the thirty years between the Ashikaga Shogunate and the Tokugawa. By shogunate, we mean a military government to which the Shogun is the head, a general who commands through a system based on vassalage and military control. The setting of Shadows’ setting is therefore the one characterized by samurai, shinobi, war wars, as well as a first meeting with the Europeans, in particular with the Portugueseat the time defined by the Japanese “South Barbarians” (Nanbanjin).
The two protagonists are looking for revenge: Naoe, a Shinobi of Iga, and Yasuke, an African passed from being a slave to the Portuguese to a samurai in the service of Oda Nobunagaa historical person known for starting the unification process of Japan during the wars between rival fiefdoms. The Ubisoft franchise therefore leaves the interchangeable protagonists seen in Odyssey (Kassandra – Alexios) and in Valhalla (Eivor Donna – Eivor Men) to offer two characters characterized both in the characterization and in the fight against combat.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows | Naoe and Yasuke are the two protagonists. The first is skilled in stealth and exploration, the second in direct combat.
Choice harshly criticized since the announcement by a part of the community that has considered the Protests of the protagonists too much “Wake”. A debate that now accompanies many titles, we have also heard for the protagonists of Split Fiction. In any case, what interests us here is to understand the actual quality of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, a title that has the enormous pressure of Riurle the fate of Ubisoft: After the Star Wars Outlaws flop, the French origin study needs to break through the market with important collections.
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Japan and the protagonists of Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Naoe, as Shinobi, acts in the shadows. Use tools such as smoke bombs, Shuriken and Rampini to operate undisturbed. Also because in direct combat it risks being overwhelmed. Sometimes it must also resort to disguises. For example, in a game mission, a merchant must pretend to participate in a prestigious Tea ceremony in Osaka and get information. In order not to be discovered, he must respect all the passages of the rite, which is slow and solemn. Yasuke is instead a samurai, so its main dowry is the brutal force. It is difficult to climb and operate in silence in his shoes, but when he is surrounded by enemies – whether they are banished, Ronin or opposing fighters – it is devastating. The result is a different playability based on the protagonist. It is no coincidence that Naoe and Yasuke have equipment and trees of very different skills. You can choose with whom to play during quick trips or in specific moments of the plot, which is well narrated and full of twists and turns from the beginning.
But now Assassin’s Creed is no longer a franchise focused only on killings. Shadows opens the way to a series of activities, strictly linked to the customs of the sixteenth century Japan. Between prayers in temples, collection of lost pages, drawings on the peculiar Japanese fauna, meditations, the title is full of things to do. This does not translate into a frantic research of collectibles, an element typical of the previous chapters, but in a more relaxed and contemplative exploration. This is possible thanks to a perfectly recreated Japan. His campaigns, which are changing over the seasons, hide sanctuaries, city-castello and glimpses to be constantly immortalized with photographic mode.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows | Yasuke on horseback, both finely armed.
The day-night passage is also particularly suggestive, as well as impacting in terms of gameplay: Acting with the favor of darkness, perhaps turning off the flames of lanterns, allows to obtain a total invisibility that favors the stealth action, especially when we play with Naoe. Then there is a further element that is central to Assassin’s Creed Shadows: the refuge.
To implement their revenge, Naoe and Yasuke have a territory available to expand with buildings, forge, stables and so on. Animals can also be added, between adorable kittens and Akita puppies. A real operational base, immersed in nature, in which to welcome looks and keys useful to our cause. An addition already tested in Valhalla, but which in Shadows becomes even more incisive.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows | There is no shortage of animals to be pampered, which can also be welcomed in our refuge.
To all this is added the Miriade of secondary missionsas it is typical of the series, especially since it became Open World with Origin in 2017. In Shadows, the Quest design appears more accurate and less tedious than the previous chapters, however it remains a slight sense of overpowering for the amount of unlockable objectives. Also because, despite the breadth of the game world and the beauty with which it was recreated, the feeling is to operate within a Open World at times “hardcover”. Once the secondary characters are removed who can find space in the many and pleasant cutscene, the rest of the NPC appears fake. In 2025, this aspect begins to become impatient, especially when titles such as Red Dead Redemption 2, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring or Death Stranding (some of the titles mentioned have been on the market for almost 10 years) have already shown, each in its own way, that it is possible to make open -open worlds, with inhabitants and places that emanate energy.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows | In the sanctuaries present it is possible to pray or find lost pages that allow you to obtain knowledge points, essential to progress in skills.
In Shadows, the beauty and variety welcomed by the gaze are not always reflected in terms of interaction and immersion. And it’s a real shame. And this despite the excellent sound design, which plays arm in arm with visual beauty. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the dynamic dubbingwhich changes according to the talking character: in the phases related to the Animus the guiding item will then speak Italian, but when we are in Japan of Naoe and Yasuke we will hear Japanese and Portuguese.
Summarizing a title that can even reach 100 hours of play is truly complex, however during our test we have been able to ascertain that Shadows is a good Assassin’s Creed, faithful to the essence of the franchise, but which at the same time is not afraid to experiment with additions and news strictly linked to the place of setting, already full of charm. In this sense, it is interesting to note that the title is part of a period in which the wave Japanese is particularly captivating. Starting from Ghost of Tsushima passing through Rise of the Ronin, Japan is acquiring more and more space in the collective imagination, thanks also to the enormous push that overwhelmed the country with the end of the pandemic, both in terms of tourism and social trend.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows | There are truly splendid views, especially when you reach the observation points that dot the map.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows manages to exploit western charm towards Japan by proposing a rich and suggestive experience. Certainly the step forward compared to Origin, Odyssey and Valhalla is clear, but There remains that feeling of “filler actions” to ensure that the wonderfully recreated gigantic world does not appear empty. The result is therefore a title characterized in cutscene, aesthetics and combat mechanics, but not too much in essence. And this sorry, especially knowing that behind there is Ubisoft, a study once an advocate of videogame revolutions and avant -garde, still behind the standards achieved by the Grand Open World.
