I've Played Every Assassin's Creed Game, But There's One Reason I'm Most Excited For AC Shadows

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

I have n’t immerse myself in anAssassin ’s Creedgame sinceValhalla , which is why I find myself a little surprised that I ’ve pre - orderedAssassin ’s Creed Shadows . After all , I do n’t think of the last meter I properly enjoyed anAssassin ’s Creedentry mail - Unity , with perhaps the only elision beingOrigins , and yet even with that biz I ’m severely - entreat to think of a memorable moment . Still , here I am , unironically , shamelessly , and unreservedly eagerly awaiting my transcript ofAssassin ’s Creed Shadows , peaking through my letterbox like when I was a tiddler carry my very first parcel .

That ’s because , despite all ofAssassin ’s Creed Shadows’necessary delays , I am last excited for anAssassin ’s Creedgame . A peck of work and passion has ostensibly blend in into this title of respect ; the previews are glow , and buff who pre - ordination get a 10 - 60 minutes enlargement for free . However , as much as all of that does appeal to me , there ’s one particular feature above all else that has me excited forAssassin ’s Creed Shadows . Frankly , it could be a terrible secret plan , and I ’d still find myself jumping with joyfulness the second that terse PS5 box pop through my letterbox .

AC Shadows Is Set In Feudal Japan

It Is The Coolest Setting So Far

Assassin ’s Creed Shadows’greatest asset is its setting : feudal Japan . It is not a peculiarly untapped circumstance in westerly medium , with show likeShogun , picture likeThe Last Samurai , and game likeGhost of Tsushimautilizing it , and yet , I discover myself take out toAssassin ’s Creed Shadowsnevertheless . I have a gravid affinity for this period , whether it is thanks to my sidekick ’s bang-up warmness for samurai , the engrossingly goodTotal War : Shogun , or the ten thousand of beautiful yet hauntingly somber traditions of the refinement at the time . As a solvent , I can not turn down any media associated with it .

Assassin ’s Creed Shadowsoffers what seems to be the most beautiful looping of feudalistic Japan in play , and that may just beUbisoft ’s lay aside grace . I ’m not particularly bothered by overpoweringly photorealistic visuals , nor do I give care much for AAA developer ’s fixation with them . However , when it comes to historical configurations , the closer to realism the unspoilt , peculiarly in a statute title likeAssassin ’s Creedwhose total ethos is to give players a gorgeous sandpit through which to engage in virtual tourism . I desire to be transported to the yesteryear , andShadowsseems best befit to do that .

Assassin ’s Creed Shadows is a significantly shorter game that its predecessors , and that ’s an of import tone that ’ll enormously profit the series .

While I ca n’t state confidentally that the gameplay will match the phenomenal setting or stunning visuals , I feel reassure that merely trapesing through this humans with its environment - change seasons , will be a joy unto itself . honestly , that ’s all I want from a game likeAssassin ’s Creed Shadows , although that ’s not to say I ’ll allow Ubisoft off the hook if it delivers a wicked experience . It is much likeHogwarts Legacy , which was largely forgiven for itsshallow gameplay and storythanks to the fact that it had commit itself to giving rooter the ultimate immersive experience within the wizarding human race .

Fans Have Waited Decades For A Japan Setting

It Is The Most Requested Period

I , much like the legion of similarly minded feudal Japan - know buff , have been waiting forAssassin ’s Creedto harness the era . We ’ve been imagining how Ubisoft would tackle what will assuredly beAssassin ’s Creed’scoolest setting , and , in many way , I ’m grateful it waited this long to take on it . It is n’t like Ubisoft failed to utterly capsulize the bloodied streets of eighteenth century Paris inAssassin ’s Creed Unityback in 2014 , nor did it struggle to capture the beaut of Renaissance Italy in 2009’sAssassin ’s Creed 2 .

However , it would have been a ignominy to have gottenAssassin ’s Creed Japanduring an earlier era of Ubisoft ’s game blueprint , where climbing pillar was considered a sufficiently fun gameplay loop . get feudal Japan right inShadowsis a rugged task , something that other games have n’t quite mastered . touch of Tsushimaoffered a far belittled - scale glimpse at the period , take on a tiny island off the coast of Japan and not directly deal with the fascinating intrigue of the geological era ’s complex politics .

lift of the Roninwas a far more challenging experience , but one hampered by a smaller budget and some not - so - exhort game design . Neither game is terrible - in fact , spook of Tsushimais amazing - but they both prove thatthis is a meter stop that deserves a bang-up deal of consideration when it come up to capturing its essence . Fortunately , the manyfan - created variation ofAC Japanended up pal in comparison to what Ubisoft has shown off thus far ofShadows , give me hope that it has draw near this monolithic chore with the respect and care it deserves .

Yasuke holding a spear with a Japanese castle behind him in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Custom Image by: Tom Wilson

While the many argument prior to launch , include some regarding the secret plan ’s diachronic truth , were somewhat concerning , I’m also quite content with Ubisoft ’s passably loose approach to its rendition of history . It paints a wide brush , one that caters for the period ’s mythology and folklore to take middle leg from meter to time , or for more unconventional heroes to have their moment in the spotlight .

AC Shadows' Setting Is The Main Reason I’m Excited For it

It Has Made Me Play Assassin’s Creed Again

It seems moderately silly to get worked up about a plot based purely on its stage setting , and yet that ’s the position I find myself in . Gaming as you get older is an interesting enigma , one in which prioritise dismission becomes increasingly significant thanks to a dwindling amount of free time and never - ending burdensome responsibleness . Sometimes , the reason for picking one game over another can be as simple as its setting . After all , if I am spending a skilful few months devoting myself to a straggle RPG , I better enjoy the world in which it adopt post .

However , I can not tell you how many times I ’ve sit down with admirer discussing how not bad anAssassin ’s Creedgame set in Japan would be . There ’s something sweetened - albeit somewhat confront given that it only further illustrate the saddening passage of time - about it finally happening , like the dreams of my twelve - year - old self are at long last coming lawful . While I hesitate to expect that playingAssassin ’s Creed Shadows will rekindle the passion for games I accommodate as a tike , the same mania that led me to wishfully imagine what Assassin ’s Creed Japan could be , I can hope .

Whether you ’re newfangled to Assassin ’s Creed or a old hand of the franchise , AC Shadows does n’t require any especial noesis , though it might help .

Yasuke from Assassin’s Creed Shadows with his hands together with Eivor from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Kassandra from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey behind him.

Custom Image by Lee D’Amato

After all , even Ubisoft realise that everyone has beenwaiting forAC Shadows . I am self-effacing to put my hopes in the corporatized AAA developers , the same that so frequently disappoints , shutter good studios , and shove microtransactions into game . However , I also find that the older I get , the less cynical I require to become . I want to believe that Ubisoft has finally deliver the plot of our dreaming . I want to believe thatAssassin ’s Creed Shadowswill exist up to the idea we all had ofAssassin ’s Creed Japan , and sometimes , that , and a pinch of fervor , is enough .