Assassin's Creed Shadows Xbox/PS5/PC

EoinMcLovin

Live the intertwined stories of Naoe, an adept shinobi Assassin from Iga Province, and Yasuke, the powerful African samurai of historical legend. Against the backdrop of the turbulent late Sengoku period, this remarkable duo will discover their common destiny as they usher in a new era for Japan.

Discover the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and pastoral landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments.

As the quick-witted and agile Naoe, use noise, light, and shadows to evade detection as enemies respond to their changing surroundings. Distract guards using kunai, shuriken, and smoke bombs, infiltrate enemy bases with your grappling hook and parkour skills, and assassinate your targets with the hidden blade.

As the charismatic samurai Yasuke, strike your foes with brutal precision and power. Use his combat-oriented skills to attack, block, parry, and defeat your enemies. Master the vast arsenal of weapons at your disposal – featuring katana, kanabo, bows, naginata, and more – to free Japan from its oppressors.

Travel the world, explore, and scout your surroundings to gather vital intel. Build your network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to unveil new areas and hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit several allies with highly specialized skills and abilities to help accomplish your missions.

You decide whether to play as a shinobi or samurai. Master complementary playstyles of two fully realized protagonists, approach quests with whichever character you prefer, as each possesses their own respective progression, stats, skills, and gear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vovkzbtYBC8&list=PLBnrd5k2F2IOOjoz62wdQntPrz6D0xjWq&index=9&pp=iAQB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nszrx939ZVA&list=PLBnrd5k2F2IOOjoz62wdQntPrz6D0xjWq&index=8&pp=iAQB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxT3sTh9qIg&list=PLBnrd5k2F2IOOjoz62wdQntPrz6D0xjWq&index=6&pp=iAQB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjAzNpMYTxw&list=PLBnrd5k2F2IOOjoz62wdQntPrz6D0xjWq&index=5&pp=iAQB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2crLch9Mb8&list=PLBnrd5k2F2IOOjoz62wdQntPrz6D0xjWq&index=4&pp=iAQB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFnLUfEgjYs&list=PLBnrd5k2F2IOOjoz62wdQntPrz6D0xjWq&index=1&pp=iAQB

Penn

Saw this a little bit ago which highlights the difference between Yasuke and most other Assassins

https://twitter.com/Jorraptor/status/1825563424861863954?s=19

marcbrophy

Well I for one can't wait!

Been 4 years since an AC game out!

The editions are really dear now 😔 (€130 for the top tier one on Xbox)

Quiet Achiever

I though Mirage and Valhalla were awful and had to give up, so I'll not get too excited

EoinMcLovin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122522647#Comment_122522647

Yeah I'm just going to get 1 month ubi plus and play it via that. Chances are it will go down in price by Christmas anyway like all ubi games

marcbrophy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122522669#Comment_122522669

That's another thing that's too dear haha!
Their needs to be a console only tier of Ubi plus for like 8 to 10 bucks, instead of it being an add-on for the PC tier.
What if you don't have a PC, or don't want to play games on PC?

But yeah, that might be a good option for some, who want to test it out 😊

EoinMcLovin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122520905#Comment_122520905

Comparing both characters

https://twitter.com/IGN/status/1825866899520979123?t=iKRcI_Kd5e7XEzckj68lpw&s=19

EoinMcLovin

Delayed and moving away from season pass model

Listening to players' feedback, and as an illustration of our player-centric approach, the following important decisions relative to Assassin's Creed Shadows have been taken:

- Assassin's Creed Shadows will now be released on 14 February 2025. While the game is feature complete, the learnings from the Star Wars Outlaws release led us to provide additional time to further polish the title. This will enable the biggest entry in the franchise to fully deliver on its ambition, notably by fulfilling the promise of our dual protagonist adventure, with Naoe and Yasuke bringing two very different gameplay styles.

- We are departing from the traditional Season Pass model. All players will be able to enjoy the game at the same time on February 14 and those who preorder the game will be granted the first expansion for free.

- The game will mark the return of our new releases on Steam Day 1.

https://twitter.com/assassinscreed/status/1838971189722562906?t=V6BtluO-LmrRPWa0WtiIKw&s=19

Potential-Monke

One line got me:

"...the biggest entry in the franchise..."

Valhalla was too big. How big will this one be?!

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122654000#Comment_122654000

I'd see that more as just sales-speak; biggest entry in terms of excitement and anticipation (based on nothing) rather than "there's a huge map in this game"

marcbrophy

Damn, got a year of Ubi + thinking I'd make the most out of Outlaws and Shadows!

Outlaws is mid and Shadows is delayed!

Painful stuff, at 180 bucks, wasn't cheap either :(

Ridley

Is the ambition having the launch not riddled with bugs?

But enough about Valentine's Day

Potential-Monke

Is it a delay long enough to completely re do some parts?

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122654674#Comment_122654674

Nah, three month delay is a polish and bug-fixing delay, not an overhaul delay.

Penn

Yeah at most they may be doing similar to what they're doing with Star Wars Outlaws and maybe adjusting some stealth sections where they're overly restrictive or something, but other than that I'd say they're just really trying to QA and shine everything up as much as possible.

As shown with Suicide Squad where they delayed the game for nearly a year, you really can't fundamentally change sections or systems in the game even in the space of a year.

EoinMcLovin

Going off the internal memo game is finished and of high quality, they are just trying to get all the stuff that they usually leave for Title updates after launch sorted now

Consequently, we decided to delay Assassin’s Creed Shadows to February 14, 2025. The game is already playable and of high quality, and has all the features the team wanted to integrate into this ambitious experience. This unusual decision at such an advanced stage is motivated by our desire to offer an optimal experience from launch on all platforms and various PC configurations, and to remove the small frictions we typically used to address in post-launch title updates. We will also use the extra time to complement the experience with a few high-impact secondary quests that will bring even more memorable moments.

https://insider-gaming.com/yves-guillemots-internal-memo-to-staff/

nix

Ubisoft polishing and bug fixing…. good one lads 😆

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122655107#Comment_122655107

I think they said in a statement that theyre going to use the time to implement fixes and improvements that would normally be done in post-launch patches, so I think they're acknowledging the condition a lot of their games launch in and are trying to prevent that.

Let's face it, Ubisoft have had a rough time of it the last few years. Their big hits just aren't hitting. Their Prince of Persia remake was going to be easy money until people said it looked awful and now they're almost completely rebuilding the game from scratch. Their new PoP Metroidvania was very well received but doesn't seem to have sold well. Star Wars Outlaws had a rough launch and hasn't sold well. Skull & Bones finally launched and didn't really make a splash. The Division is kind of in limbo. Hyperscape didn't last that long. Watch Dogs is on pause as a franchise. Beyond Good and Evil hasn't been seen or mentioned in years. Avatar didn't do too well.

I think they really need AC Shadows to hit. They're not delaying it outside of the financial year, just a few months, but given it's one of their biggest franchises and they have other AC games in the pipeline, yeah I'd say they're absolutely squashing every bug they can possibly find right now.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122654766#Comment_122654766

Yeah the whole thing about moving away from a season pass model suggests that they have some side-quests and stuff ready (or near ready) which were going to be drip-fed every few weeks between the game launch and whatever big story expansion they were going to release, and that now they're just working those smaller things directly into the game from the start and the story expansion will just be its own paid DLC.

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122655152#Comment_122655152

So much of their undoing is entirely their own fault, sadly (Ubisoft the corporation as opposed to the developers themselves). They've spent years making effectively the same basic game over and over, just in like three or four different franchises. They've allowed multiple titles get stuck in development hell, and made numerous cynical 'live service' plays. They've refused to release games on Steam at launch (basically slashing their PC audience to a fraction of what it otherwise would be), and have repeatedly rubbed people the wrong way with every cynical marketing tool in their arsenal - convoluted 'editions', pre-order only bonuses etc… They've trained audiences to wait for sales because of the sheer relentlesnness of their discounting practices. Above all, almost all the games they've made have been utterly average and bland.

TBH, it's quite remarkable they've done as well as they have, so it's little surprise a correction has occurred. I wouldn't want to see them go under purely because the video game labour market is in such a state and the loss of Ubisoft would mean horrendous job losses. But they definitely need to get their act in gear. Series like Far Cry and Assassin's Creed were quite pioneering in their day, flaws and all. It'd be great to see that inventiveness return - maybe even in something like Clint Hocking's upcoming AC game - because it's been a very long time since I've been bothered with a Ubisoft open world game (other than a few hours I spent with a freebie copy of AC Valhalla).

EoinMcLovin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122655478#Comment_122655478

Well looks like the board aren't happy about it

https://insider-gaming.com/ubisoft-investigation/

EoinMcLovin

Context Around the Assassin’s Creed Shadows Delay

Ubisoft announced that the game was delayed "to polish and refine the experience. " In its earnings update, the company further claimed that the delay was due to "the learning from the Star Wars Outlaws release." Both claims are true, but beyond a few short words, internally, the developers have been pushing for a delay for the best part of a few months, which had fallen on deaf ears until the release of Outlaws.

But first, let me address some of the wild rumors about Yasuke—he's not going to be removed. However, sources have said that the team has been actively addressing many of the historical and cultural concerns, which started before the game's reveal following external playtests and were accelerated further following the game's initial reveal and mass feedback. This includes changing some of Yasuke's story and how he's portrayed in the game, fixing architectural details, and ensuring that the game is historically grounded while fitting into the Assassin's Creed universe. Fundamentally, though, these are issues that should have been caught internally before the game's reveal, especially given Ubisoft's strict asset-approval process. As for how these issues fell through the cracks, I'm told that historical experts were brought onto the project much later than usual for a project of this magnitude and that miscommunication between teams and cutting corners when it came to the approval process of assets to meet deadlines were also at play.

As for the game's polish and issues with bugs, it's pretty self-explanatory. The game is currently not at the stage it needs to be for release, and I'm told that there have been some tweaks to some gameplay mechanics and elements that are going to take time to incorporate. While some of these issues were highlighted in recent playtests and mock reviews, these are end-of-development issues that will take a little longer.

For now, though, Ubisoft Quebec will release Assassin's Creed Shadows on February 14, 2025, and while the game isn't matching Valhalla in pre-order numbers (which launched on Steam and past-generation consoles), the numbers are solid and are likely to rise further given its Steam release announcement.

https://insider-gaming.com/exclusive-context-around-the-assassins-creed-shadows-delay/

Exclamation Marc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122655641#Comment_122655641

Surely there's a tower that they can climb that will show them the way forward.

Ridley

It is interesting that Star Wars spooked them when AC Valhalla was massively successful to the point that its Basim DLC got promoted to a mainline title. Lingering memories of the impact of Unity's struggles on Syndicate..?

Hopefully, it's the beginning of a trend to release titles when they're fully cooked but I suspect it will be more about presenting the same content in a new way further down the line.

EoinMcLovin

Assassin's Creed Shadows currently has a co-op mode in development, which is scheduled to release post-launch.

The new co-op game mode, codenamed LEAGUE, is under development at Ubisoft but doesn't have a set release date due to the game's recent postponement, affecting the entire Assassin's Creed pipeline.

That isn't the only multiplayer Assassin's Creed experience to hit players' hands within the next 18 months, either. It's understood that Assassin's Creed Invictus, a fully-fledged multiplayer experience, will come in 2025.

https://insider-gaming.com/exclusive-assassins-creed-shadows-co-op-mode/

Potential-Monke

Oh great. A game made with co-op in mind definitely won't affect the single player experience.... thank feck for Yotei!

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122678839#Comment_122678839

Ghost of Tsushima had a co-op mode added in after, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ghost of Yotei does the same thing.

I don't think AC Shadows was made with co-op in mind, it's definitely still a single-player game (hence why it was never previously mentioned and wasn't due to be incorporated at launch). If anything it'll be more like AC Unity which introduced co-op missions for up to 4 players. Wasn't successful and was abandoned for the next game, but doesn't at all surprise me that Ubisoft are trying again, and when you have dual protagonists rather than the last few games' "Oh the Animus is confused about whether your ancestor was a man or woman so canonically it's the woman but you can play as the man but sometimes you'll have to play a specific one" nonsense, some co-op missions seem like a natural enough next step.

Potential-Monke

I don't mind adding it after the fact. That does usually indicate SP first and room for coop after. The vast majority of coop games that can be played solo are, we'll, pants solo. Just hoping the same doesn't happen this. But with the struggles, negative feedback so far, it wouldn't surprise me if they tried to get it on the delayed launch date. I'm sure Yotei has rattled them somewhat but they have more time now to make it better before Yotai releases (Sucker Punch could land a killing blow by shadow releasing it randomly some night! Won't happen, but would be cool).

Having not liked Mirage, I feel like it's been ages since the last AC game (5 years since Valhalla once Shadows drops). I wouldn't mind getting lost in the game hut I don't have a great track record for finishing games with a choice of protagonists (not including games where you dont have a choice but it still changes characters). I feel like im always missing out on something by picking one or the other. And i dont usually replay games so playing again but picking the opposite is a non runner.

I dunno. I feel like AC has to evolve somewhat, but I probably won't end up liking the evolution! Hard not being the target audience anymore...

Cordell

For me they are already evolving but backwards. Odyssey was top AC and FC 5 was top FC, Valhalla and FC6 were a step down in all things, protagonists, NPCs, villains and setting.

And I'm pretty sure they didn't delay Shadows to polish it up, they did it because they can't afford another semi-flop right now. A game this size can't change much in 3 months.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122682680#Comment_122682680

Yeah there's very little they can actually change in these few months. From reading it, it seems like they're going to add in a lot of the smaller stuff they had planned to drip-feed over the first few months, like small side-missions or events, so these things are part of the initial experience to boost the game's reviews at launch rather than trying to retain players and have them come back every few weeks in a single player game, which I doubt most people do. And then they'll just make sure it's as highly polished as possible. But they're not going to change anything of any great substance in these few months. They just need this one to hit hard in terms of reviews and sales.

Ridley

Having a glance at the achievements, about 10% of Xbox players finished Valhalla's story and 32% saw Mirage to the end. 18% for Odyssey. Most games on there tend to be something like 1 or 2% in my experience.

EoinMcLovin

New details

https://youtu.be/3kcJiTyI25A?si=HUvKgX99b3DgETQM

https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/game/assassins-creed/news/1lmnk4XTnnqRh1foViGYPR

https://youtu.be/gnspp90iNAc?si=LOa2c94_47hduKD2

https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/game/assassins-creed/news/1zutGco21KjZ5PUe6EYnpf/assassins-creed-shadows-combat-gameplay-overview%5C

EoinMcLovin

Reddit AMA

https://www.reddit.com/r/assassinscreed/comments/1hbq6qg/hi_we_are_brooke_charles_jonathan_and_thierry/

Gear in chests, as quest rewards, from unique targets etc.

As Yasuke you can equip two weapons and can go melee/melee, melee/ranged, or ranged/ranged. Naoe has two melee weapons at a time you can swap between it seems like.

There's a procedural faction system where vying factions will gain or diminish in power as seasons progress and this might change the layout of rewards and valuables in camps and the like that can appear dynamically.

Hidden trail parkour and grappling hook challenges for Naoe with some secrets to discover.

You can recruit specific allies to your cause. These are defined characters with bespoke quests and abilities, and they can augment your capabilities, so you might supplement Yasuke with stealth characters or presumably Naoe with combat characters. Not super clear how this works.

Large scale battles at points to show the scope of the war.

Controller remapping and a bevy of options, stuff like camera auto-follow etc.

Shadows will rework some of the existing AC Memories lore.

There is a "canon choice" animus mode which will make dialogue choices etc. for the player to show a specific set history, and it seems like it might be like sydnicate where characters for missions are pre-set but can change in the open world.

Wanted system where alarms will cause guardians to station on roads etc. Elapses as seasons change, and can explore other regions, or just deal with the greater threat.

Delay has involved polishing and bugfixes, improvements to parkour fluidity, combat animations, cinematic transitions, etc.

Hattori Hanzo is in the game.

Some of the cinematic scenes brought the dev team to tears with how moving they were.

Re: nonlinear targets -- they still have bottlenecking points which enforces some elements of linearity with the target's questchain, and then some quests can evolve in different ways depending on who you complete the quest as.

Historical database similar to Mirage, no discovery mode planned for now.

Hideout is a cozy place that you will visit to gossip and catch up with friends and characters you recruit.

While the game has a singular canon ending, there are a variety of paths there and differing configurations that will influence what characters are there in the ending.

Black and White is for fighitng unique targets, can't be disabled.

Limited modern day story that will introduce a bigger story in the hub.

Back eject is in.

Stuntman broke leg doing the mocap for one of the parkour flip moves.

Can wear multiple outfits for each character and can upgrade all of them.

All your base upgrades have tangible gameplay impacts.

Potential-Monke

I just can't get excited for this game. I feel like it's gonna be a crap Ghost of Tsushima. I'm open to being wrong, but zero excitement...

El Gato De Negocios

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122948864#Comment_122948864

Yeh. I loved GoT. Played through Rise of the Ronin a while back and enjoyed it well enough but it did become a huge grind to complete. Will wait till this is on gamepass or very cheap.