Ubisoft has revealed that Assassin's Creed Shadows will once again return to its series roots, but also feature modern mechanics.
The next major Assassin's Creed title has officially been revealed and will take players to the long-awaited setting of Japan. Even more exciting is that this game will revisit the idea of dual protagonists, last seen in Assassin's Creed Synidicate, allowing fans to play as both Yasuke, a skilled samurai, and Naoe, a shinobi.
According to Ubisoft, each character will have their own unique skills. When it comes Naoe specifically, the development team wanted to explore the series' classic assassin roots - just like last year's Assassin's Creed Mirage - as well as implement modern mechanics that will allow for a unique playstyle.
"The thing that shines the most, I feel, in Assassin's Creed, it's really the hidden blade, the assassination, being able to stay hidden,” said game director Charles Benoit in an interview with IGN. “So that's the core that we want to keep. What we needed to push forward [was to make it] feel a bit more modern in the approach."
In terms of the "modern" mechanics, Ubisoft explains that the game's new dynamic lighting system will be a huge factor during stealth missions. For example, Naoe can escape into the shadows and become invisible to enemies, although when she's in direct light, such as sunlight, torches or lanterns, she'll be much more visible.
This means players will be able to snuff out lamps and torches, as well as their carriers, and blend into the darkness around them.
In addition to this, the series' iconic parkour is also getting a update in the form of Naoe's grappling hook. It can not only help in traversing buildings, but also perform assassinations, according to the game's creative director Jonathan Dumont.
While assassinations appear to be a shinobi's bread and butter, the game will also feature a knock out mechanic, allowing for a more pacifist playthrough. It's unclear just yet if this will impact story beats, but the option to not draw your hidden blades and instead put enemies to sleep seems like an interesting skill to feature in a series that primarily focuses on pulling off the smoothest assassination.
Assassin's Creed Shadows is set to launch on November 15 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Amazon Luna, and PC.
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