Assassin’s Creed Shadows Review: The Long-Awaited Japan Adventure Finally Arrives

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After years of fan requests and speculation, Ubisoft has finally delivered the Assassin’s Creed game set in feudal Japan that players have been clamoring for. Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t just meet those long-held expectations—it exceeds them in ways both expected and surprising. The long-awaited Japan adventure sharpens and refines its edge without fully reforging it.

This isn’t a revolutionary reinvention of the Assassin’s Creed formula, but rather a masterful refinement that showcases everything Ubisoft has learned about open-world design over the past decade. Assassin’s Creed Shadows in a nutshell is a more refined, polished game with more of the same familiar formula. This isn’t a big revamp, nor are there any deep changes. However, it’s the best the series has been for a while.

Two Protagonists, One Incredible Journey

The dual-protagonist system stands as one of Shadows’ greatest innovations and strengths. Japan is stunning, and both Naoe and Yasuke shine as some of the franchise’s best protagonists to date. Each character brings a completely different gameplay experience that feels authentic to their backgrounds and motivations.

Naoe: The Shadow in the Night

Naoe, the shinobi assassin, represents perhaps the purest Assassin’s Creed experience the series has ever delivered. While Yasuke excels in combat, Naoe offers probably the best parcours gameplay the series has ever had. Her stealth-focused gameplay feels like a return to the series’ roots while incorporating modern design sensibilities that make every infiltration feel dynamic and engaging.

Playing as Naoe transforms the familiar Assassin’s Creed stealth into something more tactical and deliberate. Her arsenal of traditional ninja tools—katana, tanto, and kusarigama—each serve specific purposes in both combat and traversal. The way she moves through environments, using grappling hooks and wall-running with fluid precision, captures the fantasy of being a legendary shinobi in ways that feel both historically grounded and cinematically exciting.

Yasuke: The Legendary Samurai

Yasuke brings a completely different energy to the experience, offering more direct, combat-focused gameplay that feels satisfying without being mindless. Yasuke has more health, deals more damage, and has more Adrenaline for abilities than Naoe. His presence changes not just how you approach combat encounters, but how NPCs react to you throughout the world.

The historical significance of Yasuke—the real-life African samurai who served under Oda Nobunaga—is handled with respect and nuance. His story provides opportunities to explore themes of belonging, honor, and identity in ways that add emotional weight to the typical Assassin’s Creed narrative structure. When playing as Yasuke, combat encounters become epic duels and large-scale battles that showcase the brutal beauty of samurai warfare.

Seamless Character Switching

The ability to switch between characters isn’t just a gimmick—it’s integral to both gameplay and storytelling. Different missions and situations call for different approaches, and the game does an excellent job of making both characters feel necessary rather than optional. Some missions are clearly designed for stealth, others for direct confrontation, but many offer genuine choice in how you want to approach them.

A Breathtakingly Beautiful Japan

As always, Ubisoft has crafted a highly detailed and undeniably beautiful world. The recreation of feudal Japan is nothing short of stunning, with each region offering distinct visual identities and cultural touchstones. From the bustling streets of castle towns to the serene beauty of mountain shrines, every location feels meticulously researched and lovingly crafted.

The seasonal weather system adds another layer of immersion, with changing conditions affecting both the visual presentation and gameplay mechanics. Cherry blossoms drift through spring air, autumn leaves carpet forest floors, and winter snow transforms familiar landscapes into something entirely new. These aren’t just cosmetic changes—weather patterns affect stealth opportunities, NPC behavior, and traversal options.

Architecture serves as both backdrop and playground, with traditional Japanese buildings offering unique traversal challenges and opportunities. The way Naoe moves across curved rooftops and through interior spaces feels distinctly different from previous Assassin’s Creed games, adapted to the specific architectural styles of the period.

Combat That Honors Tradition

The combat system has been completely redesigned to reflect the weapons and fighting styles of feudal Japan. Sword play feels weighty and deliberate, with proper timing and positioning being more important than button mashing. The game captures the lethal precision of both ninja and samurai combat without making fights feel overly complex or inaccessible.

Each weapon type has its own moveset, range, and tactical applications. Learning when to use Naoe’s quick, precise strikes versus Yasuke’s powerful, sweeping attacks becomes second nature as you progress through the game. The combat system rewards mastery while remaining approachable for newcomers to the series.

Boss battles, in particular, showcase the combat system at its best. These encounters feel like proper duels between skilled warriors, requiring patience, observation, and precise timing rather than simply overwhelming enemies with superior numbers or equipment.

Story and Character Development

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a great entry in the Assassin’s Creed franchise and a perfect entry point for newcomers. Its dual protagonists are fantastic and distinct, and while the villains are forgettable, the personal stories of Naoe and Yasuke help deliver a strong narrative.

The personal journeys of both protagonists provide the emotional core that drives the experience forward. Naoe’s quest for revenge transforms into something deeper as she learns about the larger conflicts affecting Japan. Yasuke’s story of finding his place in a foreign land while serving a powerful daimyo offers opportunities to explore themes of loyalty, identity, and belonging.

While the overarching conspiracy plot follows familiar Assassin’s Creed patterns, the historical setting provides fresh context for these themes. The tumultuous period of Japanese history, with its shifting alliances and social upheaval, creates a perfect backdrop for the eternal conflict between Assassins and Templars.

In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, playing as Yasuke and Naoe is as powerful as the Shoguns that ruled during this era of Japan, even if the story doesn’t match the gameplay’s towering heights. The character development throughout the journey feels earned and meaningful, with both protagonists growing in ways that feel authentic to their backgrounds and the challenges they face.

Technical Excellence and Performance

From a technical standpoint, Assassin’s Creed Shadows represents some of Ubisoft’s finest work. The game runs smoothly across different platforms, with loading times that don’t break immersion and visual fidelity that brings feudal Japan to vivid life. The attention to detail in character animations, environmental design, and weather effects creates a world that feels alive and dynamic.

The audio design deserves particular praise, with a soundtrack that blends traditional Japanese instruments with modern orchestral arrangements. Voice acting for both protagonists is top-tier, with performances that sell the emotional weight of their individual journeys and their growing partnership.

Character customization options allow for meaningful personalization without breaking the historical immersion. Armor and weapon upgrades feel meaningful both mechanically and visually, with each piece of equipment telling its own story about the characters’ progression.

The Familiar Formula Challenge

However, even for seasoned fans, its repetitive and unimaginative mission structure may be tough to overcome. Despite all its improvements and innovations, Shadows still struggles with some of the series’ longstanding issues. Side content can feel repetitive, with too many activities following similar patterns across different regions.

The open-world design, while beautiful and detailed, sometimes feels overstuffed with icons and activities that don’t always contribute meaningfully to the core experience. Completionists may find themselves engaged in busy work rather than meaningful exploration and discovery.

Some missions fall back on familiar Assassin’s Creed patterns—follow targets, collect items, clear enemy camps—that feel less inspired than the game’s best moments. Traversal with Yasuke, the actual story and the typical open-world problems do tarnish the whole thing somewhat, but the series certainly wasn’t this good for a while.

Critical Reception and Industry Impact

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is rated ‘Strong’ after being reviewed by 200 critics, with an overall average score of 81. It’s ranked in the top 14% of games and recommended by 82% of critics. The critical consensus reflects a game that succeeds more often than it fails, delivering on the promise of an Assassin’s Creed set in Japan while addressing many of the series’ recurring issues.

IGN: 8/10 reflects the general critical sentiment—this is a very good game that doesn’t quite reach greatness due to familiar franchise limitations. The score reflects both the game’s considerable strengths and its adherence to sometimes tired formulas.

International reception has been particularly strong, with four critics from Famitsu gave the game a total score of 36 out of 40, indicating strong appreciation for the game’s respectful portrayal of Japanese culture and history.

A New Standard for Historical Settings

What Shadows does exceptionally well is demonstrate how to respectfully and authentically adapt a historical setting for interactive entertainment. The research and attention to detail evident in every aspect of the game—from architecture to clothing to social customs—sets a new standard for how historical games can honor their source material while still providing engaging gameplay.

The dual-protagonist system could easily become a template for future Assassin’s Creed games, offering multiple perspectives on historical events while providing varied gameplay experiences within a single title. The success of this approach in Shadows suggests that Ubisoft has found a way to add narrative complexity without sacrificing accessibility.

Accessibility and Player Choice

The game offers extensive accessibility options and difficulty customization that makes the experience welcoming to players of all skill levels. Combat difficulty, stealth detection sensitivity, and navigation aids can all be adjusted independently, allowing players to tailor the experience to their preferences and abilities.

The character-switching system also provides natural difficulty modulation—players who struggle with stealth can rely more heavily on Yasuke’s combat abilities, while those who prefer tactical approaches can spend more time with Naoe’s infiltration gameplay.

Long-Term Engagement and Replayability

Beyond the main campaign, Shadows offers substantial post-game content and reasons to return. The hideout customization system provides ongoing goals for exploration and resource gathering. The character progression systems for both protagonists offer multiple paths for development, encouraging different playstyles and approaches.

Seasonal events and ongoing content updates promise to extend the game’s lifespan, with new missions and challenges that take advantage of the game’s strong mechanical foundation. The photo mode has already spawned a community of virtual photographers capturing the beauty of feudal Japan.

Final Verdict: A Refined Return to Form

Assassin’s Creed Shadows in general is a great game overall with a superb world and locale to explore along with a great story and characters that I really enjoyed and kept me wanting to play the game along with a great soundtrack and excellent voice acting.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows succeeds by playing to the series’ strengths while introducing meaningful innovations that feel natural rather than forced. The dual-protagonist system works beautifully, the setting is realized with stunning attention to detail, and the core gameplay loop remains as compelling as ever.

Fun combat, a pair of genuinely interesting protagonists, and a gorgeous world make this an easy recommendation for both series veterans and newcomers. While it doesn’t revolutionize the Assassin’s Creed formula, it refines it to such a high degree that the familiar elements feel fresh again.

The game’s respectful and authentic portrayal of Japanese culture, combined with strong character development and refined gameplay systems, creates an experience that feels both familiar and distinctive. This is Assassin’s Creed at its most confident and accomplished, delivering on a premise that fans have requested for years.

For anyone who has ever wanted to experience the world of ninja and samurai through the lens of Assassin’s Creed, Shadows delivers that fantasy with style, substance, and remarkable attention to detail. It may not reinvent the series, but it demonstrates that sometimes refinement and execution matter more than revolution.

For me it’s one of the most 8/10 games I’ve ever played- not a masterpiece, but great, a beautiful world to explore with fun gameplay—a sentiment that captures the game’s position as a highly accomplished entry that excels within its chosen parameters.

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Have you experienced the dual journey of Naoe and Yasuke in feudal Japan? Which protagonist do you prefer, and how has the Japanese setting enhanced your Assassin’s Creed experience? Share your thoughts and favorite moments in the comments below.

Final Rating: ★★★★☆ – A Refined Adventure in Beautiful Japan

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

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