Freya Hilton
Mastering the ways of the feudal era Japan has consistently been the most sought-after location in the 16-year history of Assassin’s Creed. That’s what Marc-Alexis Côté, the vice president executive producer of the franchise, shared with me during a presentation on Codename Red. Now officially titled Assassin’s Creed Shadows, this game will fulfill fans’ long-held wish. It will offer an incredibly detailed digital recreation of Japan in 1579, showcasing its vast array of samurai, shinobi, Portuguese merchants, and Jesuit missionaries. If you were a fan of this year’s Shōgun TV series, then Assassin’s Creed Shadows is ready to immerse you in that world.
IGN had the opportunity to take an exclusive tour of Ubisoft’s Québec studio, where the development team unveiled their vision and ambition for their latest game, designed specifically for the new generation of consoles. Now we have the opportunity to give you an exclusive look into Assassin’s Creed Shadows. We will delve into its captivating setting, introduce you to its two skilled protagonists, and explore the ever-changing world they inhabit, where each season brings new gameplay experiences.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows – Reveal Screenshots
According to Stéphanie-Anne Ruatta, world director and historian at Ubisoft Québec, the team behind Assassin’s Creed games always aims to select a setting that not only represents a significant moment in history but also offers ample gameplay opportunities. In Shadows, the crucial moment takes place in 16th century Japan, during the Azuchi-Momoyama period. This period marked a significant transition between the war-torn Sengoku period and the peaceful Edo period.
“It would mark the final battle for the samurai, signaling the end of their prominent military role,” Ruatta explains.
As the samurai were a prominent fighting force during that era, it’s only natural that you’ll be taking on the role of one. It is quite remarkable, however, that this samurai comes from a unique background: for the first time in Assassin’s Creed, Shadows will grant you the opportunity to embody an actual historical figure. If you have a good understanding of Japanese history, you might already know about Yasuke, the renowned ‘African Samurai’. Presumably born in Mozambique, he was brought to Japan in 1579 by a Jesuit missionary, and later became a trusted servant of the powerful daimyō, Oda Nobunaga.
“Yasuke is someone who will bring together numerous influential figures in our era,” states Brooke Davies, associate narrative director, with confidence. He has an excellent understanding of the subject, with Oda Nobunaga on one side and the Portuguese he arrives with on the other. He has a remarkable ability to connect historical dots based on factual information. And then, we thoroughly enjoyed envisioning the type of individual who would possess this trajectory.
Strike from the Shadows
Shadows will take you on a captivating journey through Yasuke’s perspective, delving into themes of honor, justice, and the search for belonging. However, this is not the only story you will encounter. Shadows will showcase two exceptional protagonists who will be played together, following the successful format of 2015’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Playing alongside Yasuke is Naoe, a highly skilled shinobi who embodies the characteristics of a seasoned Assassin’s Creed protagonist.
Naoe stands out as a distinct character from Yasuke, being the fictional daughter of the renowned historical figure Fujibayashi Nagato. While he possesses a fearless fighting style, she embodies the stealth and precision of a master assassin. It’s evident that Ubisoft is truly embracing the series’ stealth origins, surpassing even last year’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
According to game director Charles Benoit, one of the standout features in Assassin’s Creed is the hidden blade and the ability to carry out stealthy assassinations while remaining undetected. That’s the core we want to preserve. We needed to give it a more modern approach to really take it to the next level.
The thing that shines the most, it’s really the hidden blade, the assassination, being able to stay hidden.
Discover the perfect solution for a modern lighting system that brings dynamic radiance to both the land and you. Experience the illuminating power of sunlight, torches, and lanterns like never before. Master the art of blending into the shadows, and you become virtually undetectable. And if you’re looking to master the art of creating pools of darkness, one effective technique is to eliminate lamps or their carriers. If you grew up playing Splinter Cell, this is all very enticing.
“Parkour has always been a fundamental aspect of the stealth experience,” explains Jonathan Dumont, the creative director of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. To take their parkour skills to the next level, the team has equipped Naoe with a grappling hook. He explains that using it requires a solid understanding of physics, which can sometimes lead to unexpected outcomes. There are risks involved, but it is possible to carry out assassinations with expertise.
Naoe’s exceptional shinobi skills make them the perfect choice for players seeking an Assassin’s Creed experience focused on true assassins. However, the sneaking systems also incorporate elements from the stealth genre that Creed has traditionally overlooked. For example, players can now knock out enemies, allowing for a more pacifist playthrough.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows – Exclusive Concept Art
Undoubtedly, the RPG era of Assassin’s Creed has called for a highly immersive combat experience, and Ubisoft intends to showcase Yasuke’s expertise in this area. According to Dumont, the team has put a lot of effort into making the combat feel truly spectacular by incorporating a high level of destructibility and slicing mechanics for various objects. The upgraded Anvil engine used in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is capable of accurately simulating the damage caused by various weapons, including precise sword strikes and flawless arrow punctures. Imagine a game similar to Fruit Ninja, but with a wide array of props from Shadows’ world.
Undoubtedly, the true samurai fantasy is brought to life in duels reminiscent of Kurosawa’s masterpieces. While Ubisoft Québec isn’t directly drawing inspiration from the legendary director’s filmography, they still aim to achieve a similar level of tension. According to Benoit, creating a mini-boss fighter involves making it feel like a true duel. So this exchange of blocking, parrying, dodging. So it’s always done with finesse.
Stealth or combat will be your primary options. Every character has a set of personal quests that they must complete, but apart from that, you have the freedom to choose who you want to control. You can even switch characters seamlessly between different objectives. “That’s the beauty,” remarks producer Karl Onnée. “When embarking on a quest, it’s crucial to have the freedom and control to navigate through various stages and locations, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the gameplay experience.”
Seasonal Gameplay
Shadow’s new design is centered around the creation of a dynamic and responsive world. You can clearly observe the expertise in the dynamic lighting and destruction, but there is a significantly more intricate system at work: seasons. The open world seamlessly transitions through spring, summer, autumn, and winter, with each new period introducing unique weather conditions and changes in terrain. This feature adds a touch of authenticity to the environment, as the dynamic winds will realistically scatter pollen during spring and cause leaves to fall from trees in the autumn. It’s important to note that each season can significantly affect gameplay.
Onnée explains the importance of seamlessly integrating gameplay and art, emphasizing the need for them to work together harmoniously. He demonstrates how to expertly use the new prone stance to stealthily crawl into a pond and conceal oneself beneath the water’s surface during the summer. However, during the winter season, the pond will become completely frozen. “You create new ways and routes of infiltration while also removing them,” he says with expertise.
We’ve really been pushing about making sure that gameplay and art are not separate, but they’re intertwining.
With the arrival of spring, the grass grows so tall that it provides the perfect hiding spot. Bushes are transformed into lush foliage, ideal for expertly concealing oneself. However, as time passes, the upcoming winter eliminates these natural hiding spots. Hanging icicles pose a potential danger as they dangle precariously, exposing your elevated vantage point. However, the deteriorating weather conditions make it difficult to spot enemies. Master the art of walking through howling winds. Guard patrols are strategically limited to warmer areas, enabling you to explore alternative, colder routes. According to Dumont, players will need to constantly adapt to the ever-changing environment.
Seasons will change as you progress through the campaign, according to art director Thierry Dansereau. This is done to maintain an authentic world that aligns with historical events. If a particular moment in history coincided with spring, the world would be perfectly aligned. “But during an open world [side] quest, it’s possible that you might experience the quest in autumn while I experience the same quest in summer,” he explains. It all depends on the system and your approach to the game.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows – Art and Concept Art
These seasonal conditions have a significant impact on the entire map, encompassing the central area of Japan. This is the very region where Oda Nobunaga expertly established his stronghold and successfully unified the country. The region is comparable in size to the Egyptian map in Assassin’s Creed Origins, but it has been designed with a more realistic scale ratio. “We have made the environments in the game feel wider to create a sense of spaciousness, allowing the mountains to truly feel like mountains,” explains Dumont.
Those castles, renowned for their historical significance, will serve as the main dungeons in Shadows. “The way they were built, it’s on a whole other level,” Benoit exclaims with enthusiasm. “The castle is incredibly vast, providing an exhilarating experience every time you step inside.”
The Hunt
Although Ubisoft has been quite forthcoming about the setting, protagonists, and world of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, they are not yet prepared to delve into the specifics of what you will be doing in the game. What little they will say suggests a highly skilled and strategic approach that is centered around eliminating targets. It’s a format that immediately brings to mind the structure of last year’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage, or the intricate web of targets that needed to be hunted down in 2018’s Odyssey (also developed by Ubisoft Québec). You will have the freedom to track your prey in any order, and quests will provide hints to guide you instead of directly pointing out your objectives.
“Our main goal was to create a truly immersive experience, where the world feels vibrant and the targets seamlessly blend into their surroundings,” explains Benoit. It’s quite likely that you may come across some of them without prior knowledge.
According to Dumont, it’s not about following a quest up to a certain point, but rather about having the determination to accomplish something and then figuring out how to do it. He mentions that the campaign remains focused on objectives, but players now have more freedom to approach them. This is demonstrated by a modification made to Assassin’s Creed’s well-known synchronization points. Visiting them in previous games would strategically place numerous new objective markers on your map, guiding you to discover a multitude of exciting activities. In Shadows, they have become strategic vantage points that can be scaled effortlessly, allowing you to survey the area and identify noteworthy spots to explore.
When it comes to the targets, I’m excited about Shadows’ improved stealth values. It seems like it could provide a satisfying follow-up to the ‘Black Box’ missions in Assassin’s Creed Unity, where you had various options for taking out your targets. Ubisoft is not willing to satisfy my curiosity, but Dumont believes that players will appreciate the diverse range of targets they have included. He mentions that there will be different options available to take them down, and warns that there may be some drawbacks and unexpected elements.
During the studio tour, I get limited opportunities to see actual gameplay in action. I observed a designer expertly demonstrating Yasuke’s combat abilities, which were quite different from the precise swordplay of Sekiro. However, the combat did resemble a modified version of Assassin’s Creed’s RPG fight system. Walls transform into powerful strikes that shatter the enemy’s armor, and a series of precise attacks culminate in a spectacular finishing move. The developer then switches to Naoe, who expertly fends off a group of attackers using a kusarigama, swinging its chain in wide arcs to maintain distance between her and her foes. At another desk, Naoe expertly takes down unsuspecting foes by skillfully hiding in the rafters and swiftly impaling enemies through Shoji paper doors. It’s just a small sample, but it shows great potential.
I anticipate that the Ubisoft Forward presentation on June 10 will bring us a significant gameplay reveal. Hopefully that’s where we’ll witness the seamless integration of captivating dynamic systems with the series’ beloved traditions and tropes, showcasing Assassin’s Creed Shadows as the ultimate shinobi simulator that countless fans have eagerly anticipated. The wait is finally coming to an end – Shadows will be launching on November 15.