7 reasons to buy Assassin's Creed Shadows - even if you're tired of the previous parts
Assassin's Creed Shadows is a game that tries not just to repeat the success of its predecessors, but to bring back the character of the series. And while it's not without flaws (yes, we see your microtransactions, Ubisoft), it has at least seven good reasons why you'll want to play it. And maybe even twice - for each of the characters.
1. Two Souls mode: play as you wish
Naoe is stealth, Yasuke is strength. And these are not just two skins, but two full-fledged gameplay styles. One is about shadows, traps, cunning, and shurikens. The other is about the weight of a punch, armour, and how a kanabo takes down three at once. Switch, experiment, adapt. Variability is the main feature of Shadows.
You have to play as two characters, sometimes by player choice, sometimes only as a specific character. Illustration: Ubisoft
2. Finally, stealth is not background, but in-game
If you hide in the shadows, you disappear. Turn off the light and create a hiding place. Lie down in the grass and you're invisible. Stealth here is not just "hiding in a bush", but a real system: with tactical control of light, movement, body position and even your own breathing underwater through a bamboo tube. Naoe in the dark is like a Predator on the lowest setting.
3. The fight has become tangible - finally
A blow is a blow, not a gamepad vibration. The emphasis is on positional attacks, precise parries, and short windows for counterattacks. And most importantly, the difference in combat between the characters is real. While Yasuke blocks and counterattacks like a truck, Naoe is all about plasticity, evasion, and speed.
4. The world reacts to you - not just the background
The seasons change tactics. Snow leaves traces - you can't hide. Frozen water bodies provide new paths. In addition, many objects are being destroyed. Not decoratively, but functionally. This adds unpredictability to the game: once you get through, the next time you have to find a new way.
In winter, ponds freeze over and become roads. Illustration: Ubisoft
5. Characters are not cardboard
Naoe is not just a "ninja girl", but a living, motivated heroine with a story and character. Yasuke is not a hyperbolic samurai, but a character with a past that is not erased, but rather explored. The story is built not around one figure, but through the conflict of two worlds, and it works.
Yasuke participates in the conquest of Naoe's native Iga, but then takes the girl's side. Illustration: Ubisoft
6. Strategy, not just katana swinging
A spy network, information gathering, and pinpoint attacks before the main mission - all of these can be upgraded and used like in a spy simulator. Before breaking into a castle, you can know where everyone is, who is a bribe-taker, and who disappears after the search begins.
There are always too many enemies, so you need to plan the battle carefully before you start. Illustration: Ubisoft
7. The atmosphere of Japan is made with respect, not clichés
Instead of "anime samurai" and sake in bamboo cups, there are real cultural elements, a historical code, and even an in-game encyclopedia. Moreover, the developers' reaction to cultural remarks already at the release (inviolability of temples, NPCs without violence in sacred places) shows that this is not just an exotic background, but a real setting with respect for the context.
Assassin's Creed Shadows is a game with ambition and potential. It's not perfect, but it's trying. And in a time when a "big series" often just copies itself with a new cover, this is enough to give it a chance. At least for the sake of being a ninja. And jump from the roof to the stack once again. Well, it's tradition.
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