- Assassin’s Creed Shadows seems to feature some great visuals, but the other elements are less than stellar.
- The combat looks quite outdated.
- Ubisoft’s voice acting seems as disappointing as ever, and I’m not too enthusiastic about the microtransaction model.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the most anticipated Ubisoft game this year. Many fans are excited about Star Wars Outlaws, but nothing beats the excitement of another Assassin’s Creed release.
It’s even more interesting since the team is now headed to Japan. The recent trailers and gameplay videos have shown promise, and this entry was previously described as the studio’s most ambitious project.
However, being a fan of this series, I couldn’t help but notice that only the graphics look good. Most of the game looks quite dull, and the samurai combat seems to have completely missed the mark.
Why it matters: Assassin’s Creed Shadows was supposed to be a technical leap for the series since Ubisoft has upgraded its engine.
Impressive Visuals Paired With Mediocre Gameplay
The Japanese setting practically guarantees a visual extravaganza, and Ubisoft does not disappoint here. The lush forests, historic architecture, and more are captured in crisp detail here.
Lighting is also impressive thanks to ray-traced global illumination, but it’s hard to give the studio credit for something that is now standard across the industry. This is where my praise for the game ends.
It was always clear that Yasuke would be more of a brute, but Assassin’s Creed Shadows seems to be going too far. My excitement for the game nosedived when I saw Yasuke throwing his giant weapon around.
Wasn’t he supposed to be a Samurai? I am just glad that the game won’t force you to play a certain character. Yasuke’s combat seems uninspired at best and completely mundane at worst.
Naoe fared better, thanks to a focus on stealth. However, I have to point out how many of her animations looked clunky. Parkour seems to have received an upgrade, but it still seems too close to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s fundamentals, leaving a lot to be desired.
Poor Voice Acting & Cutscenes
Lately, the cutscenes in Ubisoft games have been so poor that it’s hard to take NPCs seriously. NPCs often have very uncanny facial animations, and their unimpressive voice acting doesn’t help.
I don’t expect mo-capped performances for every single character, but Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t seem to be much of an improvement in this department. The voice acting seems mediocre yet again, with characters delivering almost robotic performances akin to reading lines from a script.
This is something that the franchise has always struggled with. However, Abubakar Salim as Bayek and Roger Craig Smith as Ezio stand out. These voice actors poured their hearts and souls into their performance, making it a joy to go through the stories.
I would’ve liked to see such quality across the board for Ubisoft’s biggest release, but there seems to be little hope here. Fortunately, the studio will deliver a Japanese dub, which seems to be quite a bit better.
Another Cash Grab?
Assassin’s Creed Shadows, way before release, is already drowning in microtransactions.
The ultimate edition costs $130 and offers nothing substantial. This entry also marks the arrival of a battle pass, a first for the IP. Many players, including me, despise this trend, and the developer has just added it to a single-player release for some reason.
You can still try Ubisoft+ to play the whole game for less than $20, but I’ve had a bad experience with this service in the past. It was quite a pain to get my games to show up once I bought the subscription, and I eventually ended up cancelling it ahead of time because of Ubisoft’s poor launcher and services.
Anyhow, Assassin’s Creed becoming a live-service IP doesn’t sit right with me. Why is Ubisoft so desperate to turn everything into a live service? 16 different studios are working on this entry, yet I remain unimpressed.
Ubisoft is on a spree of disappointing everyone, and I can’t see one of my favorite franchises go down like this. I’ll still play Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but I don’t expect to be blown away at all.
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[News Editor]
Obaid is pursuing a Law degree while working as a content writer. He has worked as a gaming writer for over three years because of his passion for the medium and reporting the latest updates in the industry. Having played hundreds of games, Obaid finds himself coming back to Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Red Dead Redemption 2, with these games being among his favorites. He has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as Wccftech, Metro UK, PS Lifestyle, GamePressure, VGC, and Gamespot.
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