Assassin's Creed Shadows Review: A Beautiful Redemption Beneath the Noise

Allow me to begin with this: It’s easy to see why Assassin's Creed Shadows was the target of the internet's ridicule during the early months of its release. Ubisoft’s track record of bad PR releases and overpriced, bloated releases, even before the game was fully functional, was cause enough to expect the game to be riddled with bugs and overpriced microtransactions. However, Shadows is worth the time and attention, and it is a good game. It is one of the better open-world RPGs of the year. Not in the category of the best, but worth enough to anticipate the weekly missions and post-launch content.

Many fans should know that this is not a return to stealth-only Assassin’s Creed. If you are still waiting for the tightly designed single-city stealth experiences from the Ezio era, this is not going to be your game. Shadows takes great pride in continuing the line from Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla, only now with a better sense of balance. Where Valhalla felt like a never-ending marathon, Shadows is a little more measured. It is expansive, but not exhausting. Sure, the map is big, but it does not feel like it is punishing you for wanting to explore. For fans who love to buy cheap Xbox One games, this balance makes it even more rewarding. I’d say it is closest in spirit to Origins, the perfect middle ground between scale and soul.

Japan Has Never Looked This Good

Let's discuss the competitive advantage that Shadow has over its competitors, and that is the visuals. This game is GORGEOUS. No exaggeration – it’s easily one of the best-looking titles on current-gen hardware. The lighting through bamboo forests, the rippling reflections on temple ponds, and the way the seasons shift as you travel between regions all combine to make this one of the most visually striking open worlds I’ve ever played. Praise should go to Ubisoft’s art teams. There’s a calmness to wandering the Japanese countryside, watching the sun dip behind the horizon while fireflies blink to life around you. The visuals are, for most, the best part of the game, and the Japanese countryside is a perfect place to experience it. And in 4k and HDR, the game is even better to experience the countryside.

Still, I need to point out the Ubisoft problem. Shadows still has some frustrating waypoint placements and odd traversal restrictions. Some cliffs look climbable but aren’t, streams that should be swimmable block you, and, in general, the world often feels like it rules you instead of the other way around. It can be frustrating, like when you are trying to be stealthy with Naoe, and you get detected not by the enemy, but by the terrain you can’t see, especially for players who buy cheap PS4 games and expect a smoother stealth experience.

Naoe: A True Shinobi

Concerning Naoe, she is certainly among the most impressive characters in the game. Using her is characterized by quickness and fluid precision. She was beautifully animated, and every detail, every dodge, the scaling of walls and gliding across rooftops, was a joy to behold. You sensed that the animation team relished working on her moveset and that she was delightful to control. This is what I appreciate the most in these modern Assassin Creed titles: the overpowering feeling of agility to the point of hyperemotional. RPG players feel the progress of having a skill strategy in a fight and stopping the fight. This feeling is simply profound.

Shadows offers systems that aren’t too overwhelming. You still get different tiers of gear, crafting materials, and abilities, but compared to the almost overwhelming systems of Valhalla with its many currencies and icons, Shadows is much easier to manage. Each one of the systems and how they interact with each other to upgrade your armor, adjust the stats of the weapons, and learn new techniques is so satisfying. My favorite part was stealth. I love to make custom builds to sneak in, and I enjoy the challenge of balancing resource management and speed. The ability to adjust the challenge and difficulty systems really made it fun, too. Flexibility is the best part of the recent design philosophy of Ubisoft. I admire how Shadows offers many different paths to success.

As far as I'm concerned, if you’re on a PlayStation, you should play with a DualSense controller. With the haptics and adaptive triggers, and the subtle use of the DualSense controller's built-in speaker, a whole new level of experience is added. The experience of feeling the different surfaces, the bowstring tension, and the rain on the controller and the speaker is fascinating. This device adds a level of immersion that is truly remarkable. The sensation of faint rumbles while creeping through grass that synchronizes with Naoe's breath is unreal. No one will argue that Ubisoft designed this game for complete immersion, and the DualSense controller provides that experience. No standard controller comes even close. The difference is obvious.