Assassin’s Creed Shadows received a 13-minute detailed gameplay description at Ubisoft Forward on Monday, detailing the dual heroes and their different play styles. The gameplay, which included both open combat and stealth sections, featured two main characters, Naoe and Yasuke, working in tandem to complete a mission in the castle town of Fukuchiyama in Japan’s Tamba Province. The gameplay also gives us a glimpse of the bustling cities and villages we can expect in the game.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows gameplay details
The walkthrough begins with Yasuke, a clumsy armored samurai who has come to Fukuchiyama on the trail of a corrupt daimyo. A terrible samurai walks through the city and meets a group of samurai who are chasing the villagers. We see Yasuke smash his enemies with brutal efficiency. Using his staff and sword, he crushes and slashes other samurai.
Yasuke’s abilities focus on head-to-head combat, and he seems to be able to handle multiple enemies at once with ease. Although he is not agile, his brute strength beats everything in his path. Yasuke’s combat abilities continue the Action RPG spirit of recent Assassin’s Creed games such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
Yasuke hits enemies head-on
Photo: Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed Shadows dual heroes
However, to address the concerns of dedicated fans, Ubisoft is also emphasizing stealth and assassination in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. This is achieved with the help of the second protagonist, Naoe, a shinobi who works from the shadows and uses clever parkour mechanics and stealth-oriented tools to achieve his goals.
Although the two main characters can be swapped at will during free roaming, the game will allow us to choose between the two during certain sections of the mission, which will decide whether to confront our enemies directly or choose a more stealthy route. In the gameplay demo, we see a shinobi break into Fukuchiyama Castle and use his grappling hook, kunai, and his custom hidden blade to infiltrate and kill the daimyo.
Naoe’s abilities focus on stealth
Photo: Ubisoft
The stealth gameplay in Shadows is reminiscent of the older Assassin’s Creed games and the more recent Assassin’s Creed Mirage. With dual protagonists offering different play styles, the next game in the stealth action franchise seems to be taking a best-of-world approach to appeal to both loyal AC fans and audiences who prefer the action-RPG elements of recent games in the series.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set in 16th century feudal Japan and allows players to explore a vast open world with diverse environments and changing seasons. The game will be released on November 15 for PC (via the Ubisoft Store and Epic Games Store), PS5, and Xbox Series S/X. It will also launch on Macs from Apple Silicon via the Mac App Store.
