You are probably familiar with the Japanese art of “Kintsugi” and literally means “golden repair.” Kintsugi is a part-time philosophy and part-art form. It revolves around the act of repairing broken ceramics and ceramics with lacquer. “Kintsugi” aims to expose, emphasize and celebrate the damage that has been done in the past, and finds new meaning in repaired products.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows feels like Ubisoft’s attempt to play “Kintsugi” in the prestigious 18-year-old franchise. Imperfections – messy UI, map screen icon vomiting, gross parkour, clazzy combat – all exist and explained, but it feels like Ubisoft is trying to hide them, push them away, or “tard polish” the phrase. Every gross and exciting element of the game is something that takes you breath away. Every “follow this man” mission has a set piece that drops your chin more than anything (or even more) in the series. Each crack has a layer of gold.
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It’s one of the best bits of the Assassin’s Creed era “post-reboot” (it’s origins after that). The maze lore of the series always sets you on one shadowy Cabal trail, and the same goes for Shadows’ Sengoku-era Japan. However, this time there are reams and reams for these boards. Surround the circle of evil organizations you need to take root, assassinate and loot.
yes. yes! This is the bone flesh of the open world. This is why you don’t mind 8 minutes of horse exercise from one prefecture to another. Like the main story, it kills 13 assholes with the injustice of revenge. Kill, kill, kill. But it’s convincing. All sets of infamous Ronin or Refuted Ninja are a little different and require creative thinking to drill holes in different places or secure them. Certainly, it all comes to “discover” and “discover” in “killing”, but I would rather do it than the tragic “For This Priest” quest we had in the Assassin’s Creed game we went to.
Ubisoft gave us both the fragile but fast Naoe and the chon-rimmed bruiser Yasusuke to play with. Honestly, I feel like it’s not much different to what we’ve had since our origins – serviceable, but there’s nothing to write about in the house. But once again, it is the connective tissue that makes it work. If you want a stealthy, pop headshot with wrist flicks and often space kunai, swap it for a NAOE. If you want to attack the gate, roam like a madman and start slamming your head with a canabo. Please select Yasuke.
Who cares if the AI is a little wet or collision physics can turn around a bit? It’s amazing how he cleans Ronin’s legs twice the size and thrusts the tanto into his neck. Looking at someone The whole life bar It disappears because you have a proper distance between your defensive footsie and the tip of the naginata. It’s fun and satisfying to see everyone’s hats that take off as visual words that have removed their armor. All its seriousness was glued to the goofy stuff. It’s brilliant.
The story itself is also decent. However, if you don’t mind subtitles, we recommend playing in immersive mode in English. However, the Japanese/Portuguese mix is great, and actually has the general in mind more than anything else. Ubisoft’s film art direction and vision are amazing. And there are some early cutscenes out there at the best assassin creed moments ever. Seriously. Here’s a special cry for Teke Teke, a Japanese psycho-rock band. Because the Tarantino-esque atmosphere they bring to some important scenes is remarkable.
But there is something to consider for every iota of praise. The story takes time to go. Thanks to the meaty prologue and many expo dumping, I think the game is really open for over 12 hours. But it does the job well. By the time you unleash a true (huge) open world, you feel competent enough as Naoe, and you start to grab onto Yasuke.
From there, a way that encourages the game to swap out characters from characters is a masterclass in pacing. Whether you blitz the story or bite the mist of war on a map of the world, there is a constant opportunity for you to exchange and play as someone else. I probably had a 70/30 split nae to Yasuke (I like stealth, OK), but every time I had to play as a big guy I grinned and equipped as Naoe with some powerful gear I picked up for him, stomping on what the poor militia thought could resist this unstoppable force.
Even the most quintessential bits of milk formula of assassin creeds are toyed in the shadows. It appears that Ubisoft has broken down the “Collectibles Mission” into the components, dismantled the reasons and reasons for sniffing out 100 or more, and then rebuilt it from there. Yes, you need to find and collect a bunch of origami cranes, but…well, the way that mission unfolds (no pun intended) is a real surprise. I won’t say it here anymore, but that alone gives UBI a big mark in my book.
Next is the base building. You can really ignore this if you want, but the game prefers to stack rewards you to be involved in cleaning up your hideout. Not only will you reveal small story crumbs and reveal some great character works, but in the hidden parts of the game you can also bring more allies into battle, upgrade weapons, get more efficient healing items, get discounts in the store, and more. It’s not in the way, as you steal resources while you’re doing other things (and actually keeps me in mind some of the better mechanisms of brotherhood).
Then there is the moment when the shadows make you slow down. Want to unlock more layers of the RPG-Lite system that throws all your Accreded Skill Points? Well, to do that, you need to visit the temple, collect forgotten scrolls and see the 11-second animation of Isoku or Nae praying at various shrines. Rinse and repeat. If that’s not your preference, practice meditation as Naoe or learn Katas as Yasuke. These tasks are dull. A recurring quick-time event poses as mindfulness techniques.
But what do you know? They work! As players, they work to direct the pace of the game. After killing all the worth of all the goons hired in the castle, you can hear the song of the Cycadas in the forest, hear the water falling in the pond, and see the light from the sun breaking into a million pieces through the canopy of the pine forest. It’s real, and as in fact many shadows do – what Assassin’s Creed’s “Disneyland” expects from the Japanese islands.
The shadows are also beautiful. I played mostly in Quality Mode on the PS5 Pro. Because I couldn’t stop drinking visually. At least every one play session, I literally put the controller down and ogle the view. I think Autumn is my favorite of the four in-game cycling seasons. Simply contrast for all Celis, Ombre, Bottle Green and Sky Blue colours and contrast. A love letter to the wonders of Japan’s natural wonders, and perhaps the setting of my favorite assassin beliefs to date (sorry, Odyssey).
It says that mechanical use of the season is instantaneous. In marketing, Ubisoft has promised that different seasons will allow for different opportunities to approach major missions, practice new ways to sneak in, and make you do more in the cold light of the day. no. not much. I hadn’t changed my style of play from season to season at all, but I sometimes slid down steep mountains in winter snow, which was exciting. Mileage may vary, but the seasons are at least very clear, and staying on the horse from A to B to A offers some variation.
“Kintsugi” is often associated with the concept of “wabisabi.” This is a practice that embraces the nature of temporality and imperfection. I really think Shadows embodies these two principles. It doesn’t try to fix something that you know is not repairable. Beyond restoration, Assassin’s Creed Formula has a burnt-in section that is essentially flawed. But that’s fine. Because when Ubisoft accepted what they were, they made them shine.
Certainly, there is a problem with the shadow of the Assassin’s beliefs. But it’s so much fun to play, it tells a fascinating story, and there’s so much progress and reward for every little thing you do, and it actually feels like an open world game that takes its clue from modern-day roguelike and more. Every action has meaning, and the breadcrumbs are more quality, seducing you to clean up all the icons on the map. This may be one of the biggest Assassin’s Creed games ever made, but it feels like it’s the best put.
I actually enjoy finding most of the problems in the game. It’s a high praise for any artwork, but in video games it feels like something really special.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be appearing on the Xbox series, PS5 and PC on March 20, 2025, after catching a last-minute delay earlier this year.