Stimmt... da kommt Astro Bot und Mechwarrior... mehr Spiele kommen dieses Jahr für mich glaub ich nicht raus. Mehr fällt mir spontan jetzt nicht ein. Und davon wird wohl nur eines in einem für mich akzeptablen, technischen Zustand sein!![]()
Ubisoft Forward offered us our first chance to look at actual gameplay from Assassin's Creed Shadows, along with an initial taste of the latest revision of the series engine - presumably a new version of Anvil. Oliver Mackenzie breaks down the trailer, offering thoughts on the technological innovations Ubisoft delivers with the first next-gen only AC title.
Put your headphones on and immerse yourself in the captivating and ever-changing world of Feudal Japan. This vast open world is full of unexpected discoveries and wonders at a time when beauty, serenity, and tradition clash with treachery, violence, and war.
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.
Ist schon gut dem Februar aus dem Weg zu gehen. Bin wirklich auf das Rating gespannt. Bisher stand Shadows allerdings irgendwie unter keinem guten Stern.
In many ways, then, Shadows feels like a culmination of Assassin's Creed's past and present, a game that pushes the series forward with its more complex approach to combat and refined (albeit still heavily guided) exploration, while also doubling down on its stealthy foundations. Yes, you can still steamroll everything in your path if you prefer a more action-oriented approach, but I liked how much choice there was in each of the missions in my preview build.
While the layout of the various buildings and spaces I had to infiltrate regularly felt tailored to specific characters, the multitude of tools I had to play with for both Yasuke and Naoe also encouraged me to experiment a lot more with different approaches than I ever did in Odyssey or Valhalla. It feels good to have an Assassin's Creed that feels surprising again, and not just another tired iteration of what's come before (sorry Mirage). Barring a few technical hitches and a couple of hard crashes I encountered,
Shadows looks to be very much on track to become that feudal Japanese fantasy we've long been hankering for. If Ubisoft can stick the landing on this one, it will be worth the extended wait.
Shadows’ story moments are dramatic, supported by a swelling musical score, with some fantastic performances. It’s impossible not to be drawn to the Shogun comparisons, but there’s a little bit of Tarantino in there as well. Particularly, the game’s main antagonists, known as The Shinbakufu, are a crew of colorful villains who feel like they’ve walked straight off of the set of Kill Bill.
In the open world, especially in a preview event setting where we’ve essentially been dropped into the middle of a 60-hour game, the tone of the experience, of course, switches from exciting and fast-paced, to relaxed and open-ended. Without proper onboarding, it was difficult to see how Yasuke’s tank controls benefit exploration over the Tenchu perfection of Naoe, but slaughtering our way through an entire castle with the samurai was certainly a welcome contrast.
If its narrative is smartly weaved through the larger package, Assassin’s Creed Shadows could prove to be a notable release for both fans of Valhalla and Odyssey’s country-sized sandbox, and those craving a more cinematic Samurai story. It’s a tricky balance to make, but goodness knows Ubisoft has long enough to plan the franchise’s most anticipated setting.
I'm left more excited for the future of Assassin's Creed than I have been in years. Yasuke and Naoe are instant favorites, easy to love within moments of meeting them for the first time. And, with its approach to scale, and smart decision to restrict past features in order to build a compelling core loop, Assassin's Creed Shadows refreshes an open world approach that was running the risk of growing stale. I'm eager to see if it can pull it all together across the full game, and I can't wait to spend more time with the unlikely duo.
The country is in chaos, homes are burning, and from the shadows even worse villains seek to use the misery to seize power. This is where you've made your home. Where you'll find people to call family. Time to pick up that blade, and do what needs doing.
So far, Assassin's Creed Shadows is shaping to be a solid follow-up to Ubisoft's ambitious Valhalla. Even if the familiar crop of open-world bugs and quirks popped up during my time, I still found a great deal to appreciate with Shadows and its worldbuilding. While this conceit is not an uncommon backup for video games – which can be easy to mess up with insensitive representation – Assassin's Creed Shadows so far does well to justify its take on an open-world RPG set during this culturally rich era, especially in its handling of the two protagonists. With the release coming soon, I'm eager to see how Ubisoft's take on Assassin's Creed's journey to Japan will come together.