Assassin's Creed Shadows Reviews

If there was a game we all thought it would be a massive flop and disappointment this year, that game was Assassin’s Creed Shadows. A clear case of Ubisoft taking too long to deliver what people had been clamoring for more than a literal freaking decade, the long-awaited “Assassin’s Creed in Japan” was announced long after the release of the widely acclaimed Ghost of Tsushima (the game that was also, basically, Assassin’s Creed in Japan), had its release date delayed a couple of tim...

Assassin’s Creed Shadows on Switch 2 is an impressive port, and a very smooth handheld experience. It's a great way to play the game whether you're a first-timer or just looking for a portable replay.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is an impressive synthesis of Assassin's Creed game design principles from across the series' history, ably blending the sprawling scope of later entries with the focus of the game's earlier eras.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is a small, yet flawed, step in the right direction for the series. While the story, characters, visuals, music, and main gameplay mechanics shine, the lack of development for the protagonists, the boring side quests, the continued emphasis on combat instead of stealth, and the frustrating action RPG mechanics severely hinder the experience. Unfortunately, it's not the evolution of the series that many fans were hoping for, and it pales in comparison to other games th...

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Assassin's Creed Shadows is one of the best games in the series in a long time, though it doesn't do a lot to push forward. However, it's actually quite playable on the Steam Deck.

Booting up Assassin's Creed Shadows for the first time felt surreal. I was looking at a samurai and a shinobi on the start screen of an Assassin's Creed game. The series had finally made it to feudal Japan. As a longtime fan, though, I was nervous the actual game wouldn't match the heights of the Japan-set Assassin's Creed my imagination had cultivated over the past decade. After more than 55 hours in the feudal Azuchi-Momoyama era, I'm left somewhat conflicted about this long-awaited adventu...

Assassin’s Creed Shadows delivers feudal Japan to the masses in style. Sure, Ghost of Tsushima beat it to the punch a few years back, but Ubisoft Quebec’s effort is wildly different in so many ways and an absolute pleasure to play. Whether you like stealth or action, Shadows is a light in the darkness.

Assassin's Creed Shadows delivers a stunning return to form, blending stealth, parkour, and a breathtaking feudal Japan setting. Despite narrative flaws, its dual protagonists, dynamic world, and refined gameplay make it one of the better editions.

For as long as Assassin’s Creed established its custom of setting each new title in a new country and era, fans have begged Ubisoft to bring the series to Japan. It’s surprising it took them so long, but now we finally have it: Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Personally, I’ve skipped the last couple of AC games owing to their focus on action RPG mechanics, which has been a smash hit with the majority of people but has left fans of the first few ACs a bit wanting. Assassin’s Creed Shadows ...

Assassin’s Creed Shadows returns to the series’ expansive open-world RPG formula but buries the bloat to deliver a more structured experience without cutting content. This style of Assassin’s Creed launched the new hardware over 4 years ago with Valhalla. Since then, we’ve had a welcome return to the smaller scale assassin-focus of the Ezio era with Mirage. While this is quite different, it’s clearly been influenced by that desire for Assassin’s Creed to reclaim its identity.

Ubisoft's big, bold swing with Assassin's Creed Shadows mostly connects, proving that it was right to hold off on the Hail Mary Feudal Japan setting until it had honed the series’ RPG trappings. Shadows’ attempts at new ideas don't all land the same, but it excels in the areas that matter most in these games with a gorgeous, rich and well-researched world to explore, compelling stealth gameplay and a story full of intrigue and fresh takes on historical figures.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows brings feudal Japan to life with stunning visuals, and evolving gameplay, but uneven storytelling and lackluster open world rewards hold it back from greatness.

Assassin’s Creed has been fighting to find its identity for over a decade, and thanks to Shadows it’s finally rediscovered it. Sure, its combat can be clunky and some story beats felt oddly placed (particularly Yasuke’s backstory), but Shadows is exactly what Assassin’s Creed needed to prove it still has a beating heart.

Whether as a deadly shinobi or a formidable samurai, Assassin's Creed Shadows is a joy to play.

It’s a well-crafted game within its own scale with a great story and emotionally resonant characters, but in the grand scheme of what a big open-world RPG could provide, Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t maximize its potential.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is the perfect combination of new and old. It embraces and enhances what made the series so iconic while also incorporating what worked from previous modern Assassin's Creed titles. All of these things culminate in one, if not the most enjoyable entry we've had for the series in years.

While its open world is stunning, its combat is robust, and its dual-protagonist design is somewhat novel, Assassin’s Creed Shadows proves too repetitive and dramatically flat to wholeheartedly recommend taking its trip back in time.

An authentic Assassin's Creed experience with something for everyone. The best of the AC RPGs has arrived.

With its two playable characters allowing you to tackle scenarios head-on or with a more stealthy approach, Assassin's Creed Shadows gives you more options than ever before when it comes to completing objectives. And while it has some minor issues, like it simply not being all that fun to explore its open world as Yasuke, it's up there with the best entries in the series thanks to its thrilling gameplay, engaging story and immersive world.

Better yet, Assassin's Creed Shadows is not in competition with the aforementioned like-minded games, but instead serves as a companion, covering an entirely new era of Japanese history that we haven't seen a modern action RPG tackle and letting the player rub elbows with influential historical figures from the Sengoku Period such as Oda Nobunaga, Hattori Hanzo, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. It features two of the most well-rounded and three-dimensional protagonists in the entire Assassin's Creed series, each of whom has real stakes that connect them to both the historical plot set in feudal Japan and the larger Assassin's Creed timeline chronicling the ongoing struggle between the Brotherhood and the Templars. Simply put, Assassin's Creed Shadows is the best Assassin's Creed game in years, and even though its open-world gameplay can feel somewhat too familiar at times, it never stops being fun and always respects the player's most valuable resource — time.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been a long time coming. Despite the clamouring of their fan base, Ubisoft held off for years on giving the people what they want, an Assassin’s Creed game set in feudal Japan. Then, after finally announcing Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the game was delayed at the last minute… and then delayed again. Thankfully the wait is over, the latest entry in the Assassin’s Creed franchise is finally here, and it is utterly resolutely brilliant. Indeed, it might just be the best game in the storied series to date and Ubisoft’s best game in years.

With Assassin's Creed Shadows, Ubisoft has finally delivered on the feudal Japan setting fans have always wanted. However, some elements have been left behind in the wake of the modernization of Assassin's Creed.

So much of Shadows' issues come from Yasuke's inclusion. Not because he's a badly written character or because he doesn't feel like he belongs, but because much of what makes an Assassin's Creed game an Assassin's Creed is stripped away to make his samurai fantasy work. Naoe's shinobi fantasy works far better, effortlessly sliding into the gameplay loop of hunting down mysterious targets, puzzling through the best way to reach them, cutting them down, and disappearing without a trace. Naoe and Yasuke's story could have used more unity, especially in giving the duo a shared purpose to drive the plotline and their character development forward. But at the very least, Naoe's gameplay is the best that the series has felt since the transition to a more action-RPG format--Assassin's Creed Shadows is an absolute blast to play.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is a bloated collection of uninspired quests that quickly turn into a repetitive, boring grind. While the art and history teams deserve recognition for their efforts, it's all unfortunately wasted on a narrative that goes nowhere, is poorly explained, and has no satisfying resolutions. None of the changes and tweaks that Ubisoft brought to the table move the needle, and the game is ultimately more frustrating than it is fun. This is a game that desperately needed to succeed, and instead, collapses under its own weight. Future Assassin's Creed releases need to innovate instead of being yet another rehash of games we've already played in different locations. There are other open-world games in similar settings that are much more worthy of your time.

A game that’s not without its issues, but is a great entry in the franchise, and didn’t feel the need to cram in a ship to captain.

I’ve longed for the franchise to go to Japan ever since the first game was released in 2007. It seemed like the perfect setting for the series, and although Assassin’s Creed: Shadows doesn’t quite live up to my lofty expectations, it still delivers a generally good and enjoyable experience. The world is stunning, brimming with feudal Japan’s rich culture that oozes into the atmosphere, and the core gameplay remains as engaging as ever. While it may not break new ground or take the series to the next level, and it certainly has faults, Shadows captures the franchise’s spirit in fresh and exciting ways that I’m sure any diehard fan will come to appreciate.

Experience an epic action-adventure story set in feudal Japan! Become a lethal shinobi assassin and powerful legendary samurai as you explore a beautiful open world in a time of chaos. PC version reviewed. Review copy provided by company for testing purposes.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows does not revolutionize the formula that has both served and undermined the franchise for a very long time. It does shake things up a bit by bringing back the twin protagonist mechanic in a new way and making some tentative progress with mission design, stealth, and combat. Shadows’ world and attention to Japanese history and culture are genuinely impressive. Naoe is not the ultimate assassin and Yesuke is not the most refined ARPG hero. However, their different strengths add creativity to combat and narrative complexity. I don’t think Assassin’s Creed Shadows will disappoint many fans, nor pull in the uninitiated in great numbers. It’s a solid AC game with just enough new ideas to make it stand apart from the recent titles.

Assassin's Creed: Shadows is a game full of contrasts. On one hand, it offers solid stealth mechanics and a great combat system, but on the other, it features a lackluster storyline and generic exploration. If you're a fan of the series, you'll likely find something to enjoy here, but if you weren't convinced from the start, the combat and stealth may not be enough to win you over.

With the amount of content and value on offer here and an incredible open world to sink upwards of 80 hours into, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is an example of what the franchise can be among its best. While not every aspect is perfect, the game’s epic journey makes for the best Assassin’s Creed game in a decade, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for the franchise after seeing Ubisoft can still deliver on its flagship IP in a big way.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is almost the best game across the long-running franchise, as a beautiful game to look at the whole way through, with strong central characters, solid improvements to exploration and perhaps the best combat and stealth gameplay we've seen from the series yet. Its strengths, however, make it all the more upsetting that the poor progression system and elements of bloat still drag the experience down. Still, it's very close to being the best game we've seen in the series yet, and a true sign that Ubisoft is on the right path to elevating the franchise beyond its original peaks.

Assassin’s Creed has been lost in the wilderness for some time now with fans split firmly into two camps. On one side, you have the traditionalists that stand firmly behind the pre-Origins titles, preferring their narrative linearity, urban cities for advanced parkour and a blend of mechanics that made you feel like an assassin. On the other hand are the RPG fans who crave the open worlds, narrative choices and more action-packed combat of the post-Origins titles. At the center is Ubisoft and its studios, who have not only struggled to find a middle ground that pleases both camps, but have stumbled through numerous controversies over the last few years. Botched launches, copying and pasting of design ideas and intense monetization of every release has hurt their reputation over time. Suffice to say, there’s a lot riding on Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the first mainline entry since 2020. After two major delays to polish the game and promises that it would blend elements to make both camps happy, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is finally here. Is Assassin’s Creed Shadows the hail mary Assassin’s Creed and Ubisoft needed or should this game have stayed in the shadows?

The Assassin's Creed series may no longer have the luster it had with the games starring Ezio Auditore, but there's no denying that there's still no video game series like it. While the stories featured in many installments may not be one hundred percent accurate to the time period they are set in, the ability to explore some of the world's most incredible places while getting to interact with real historical figures is something that very few games can offer at this quality level. With the introduction of role-playing game mechanics, some of the uniqueness of the series was inevitably lost, but the market seemed to appreciate this direction, as Assassin's Creed Valhalla, even with its issues, achieved financial success, selling the highest number of copies during its launch weekend for the series.

The Brotherhood comes to feudal Japan's Sengoku period with conflicting results

Assassin's Creed Shadows finally takes the main series to Japan, and does so in some style. With excellent gameplay, a compelling narrative and a massive, beautiful world to explore, it is so much better than many expected it to be. Even if it's not the game that saves Ubisoft, it did exactly what it needed to, bringing confidence back to one of modern gaming's biggest and most troubled franchises.

Come for the neck stabs and stay for the surprisingly great combat, Assassin's Creed Shadows is a stealth action buffet with a story to forget.

Assassin's Creed Shadows tried to be this big massive open world RPG. While some of its elements are a welcome sight. The gatekeeping can just feel very offputting at times if you just want to soldier on through the main story.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ few frustrations are quickly outweighed by a magnificently immersive Japan, an excellent AC-style mix of real-world and fictional characters like Yasuke and Naoe, and a fantastic cinematic-level story to let them all shine — especially if you experience the Japanese dub via the Immersive Mode.

Assassin's Creed Shadows thrives on boldness. Its dual protagonists improve on the series' stealth-driven roots and modern RPG leanings, though they're let down by a vague story that fails to make full use of either character.

And that's really it. The setting will largely dictate whether or not it speaks to you. I found it more appealing than the other big Creeds of recent times. I lasted mere hours in Odyssey's ancient Greece, and the same for Valhalla's 9th century England, but much longer in Mirage's golden age Baghdad. That simply comes down to being more into Islamic architecture than Greek myths or Viking longboats. Assassin's Creed, for all its faults and weaknesses, is as close as video games can get to ti...

“Assassin's Creed Shadows finds peace and quiet amid a flurry of repetitive violence.”

Assassin's Creed Shadows refines the formula fans have come to know and love, though some warts still rear their head from time to time.

And that’s really the ultimate takeaway. It has a load of really fun parts, a fun gameplay loop, an engaging story, and an earnest effort to split the difference between the various elements of the franchise history. It’s a good game! Take these reservations not as a subversion of that fact, but for what they are: Acknowledgement of its limitations.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is another strong entry in the AC universe, excelling by building on the series' strengths. Japan is stunning, and both Naoe and Yasuke shine as some of the franchise's best protagonists to date. However, even for seasoned fans, its repetitive and unimaginative mission structure may be tough to overcome. Well, unless you just turn it all off.

Assassin's Creed: Shadows follows a skilled assassin navigating the treacherous world of feudal Japan. Tasked with uncovering and dismantling a secretive Templar conspiracy, players utilize stealth, parkour, and combat skills to complete missions and uncover hidden truths. The game combines the rich historical setting with the iconic Assassin's Creed gameplay, offering a blend of action, strategy, and immersive storytelling.

Assassin's Creed Shadows starts off strong with an interesting story and great core gameplay and combat. Unfortunately, Shadows ends up getting in its own way by delivering a compelling story, but not knowing when to trim the fat, a gorgeous overworld that overstays its welcome, and an equipment system that isn't exciting.

Though imperfect and moored to indelible design traditions and gameplay rituals, Assassin's Creed Shadows fizzes with style, intention, and detail, curating the best parts of the series into a confident and deeply enjoyable journey through feudal Japan.

The biggest shake-up in the Assassin’s Creed formula since Black Flag, Shadows manages to simultaneously honour legacy and break new ground.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows represents an excellent amalgamation of not only the new generation of Creed titles that started with Origins, but also plucking some of the best elements of those that came before.  It’s a graphical powerhouse, combined with compelling characters, a meaningful and impactful story that takes risks, and refined gameplay mechanics.  This is the new benchmark for the series, and it’s a high bar indeed.

By sharpening the edges of its existing systems, Assassin’s Creed Shadows creates one of the best versions of the open-world style it’s been honing for the last decade.

There are optional objectives dotting the map as per usual, with the upgrade/knowledge system carefully tempered to decelerate main quest progress and force grinding for XP. The open-concept quest menu is confusing, and some forgettable activities round out the game’s more uninspired elements, but the overall attention and focus feel noticeably sharpened from Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. If you loved all or parts of those games, you’ll probably become fast friends with Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but this never comes off as the history-fueled sandbox game set in Japan to rule them all, and it’s hard not to wish that it were so.

In a lot of ways Japan has always felt like Ubisoft’s break glass in case of emergency for Assassin’s Creed. The setting was teased in the very first game in the franchise and since then has more or less been the most sought after setting. Ubisoft however, has felt more interested in the western half of the world, giving unprecedented locals like Renaissance Italy & the Caribbean timee to shine. While this has worked for the most part, after years of fan clamoring, and likely some competi...

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a massive success and a winning combination of stealth and steel. It’s a fantastic entry in the open-world RPG line of games in the stealth series and the most refined version of that style yet, with satisfying and rewarding exploration, brilliant combat, and a dual protagonist system that really works. Even a few minor quibbles can’t hold it back.

With the exception of some quirks with the quest system, a less-than-stellar English voice track and a storyline that may not be the most compelling of the franchise, it's hard to find major faults with Assassin's Creed Shadows. Ubisoft has found what could be the new formula for the franchise, and it will hopefully retool this formula to keep future titles fresh for players.

Assassin's Creed Shadows provides an unexpected amount of player agency against the Feudal Japan backdrop fans of the series have wanted for ages. Two fleshed out characters come together to deliver one of the best stories in the series yet.

Assassin’s Creed Shadow’s ability to seemingly strike a perfect balance between the older titles in the series and its RPG brethren. This is exactly what I want RPG Assassin’s Creed games to be going forward.

An Assassin's Creed game set in Japan. For generations, this was the dream — but when Ghost of Tsushima released in 2020, it felt like the desire dissipated. Sony and Sucker Punch had beaten Ubisoft to the, er, punch, and so, in a weird roundabout way, Assassin's Creed Shadows almost feels like it's late to its own party.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows arrives at a strange time for Ubisoft. The company needs a win after some rough releases that each had their own merit but didn’t quite stick the landing for a variety of reasons. Avatar: Frontier of Pandra, Skull and Bones, XDefiant, and Star Wars Outlaws have all failed to set the world on fire over the last eighteen months.

Despite the weight of the world on its shoulders, Assassin's Creed Shadows is a great entry in the series with one of its best worlds to date.

Majestic in scope, impressive in detail, Assassin's Creed Shadows honours the beauty of feudal Japan, even if its strongest moments are saved for the personal stories of two protagonists.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows in a nutshell is a more refined, polished game with more of the same familiar formula. This isn’t a big revamp, nor are there any deep changes. However, it’s the best the series has been for a while. Fun combat, a pair of genuinely interesting protagonists, and a gorgeous recreation of 16th century Japan mean the flaws are easier to overlook.

Ultimately, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is technically sound and authentic and represents a world that fans of the franchise have wanted to explore for many years. The artistic choices are great, the soundtrack is impressive, and the ambience is stellar, plus Naoe makes for a phenomenal lead, but there are just too many niggling flaws for me to consider this a perfect title.

If you’ve never liked Assassin’s Creed this won’t win you over but Shadows is a well-made and exciting iteration that’s impressively well-polished, even if it lacks any significant new ideas.

The best entry in the franchise since the good ol’ days of Ezio

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