It can happen that quickly. We had just finished typing our extensive trailer analysis for the new cinematic video for Assassin’s Creed Shadows and had comfortably called it a day. And then, of all times, Ubisoft decides to come around the corner with even more information about their upcoming assassination game.
And this information has it all. Because Ubisoft has revealed more about the size of the map, weather and seasonal changes as well as the backgrounds of the game’s two main characters. The first in-game screenshot has also appeared online.
We have compiled the most important news for you.
Die Map:
Of course, fans will first be interested in how big the map of Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be – and which part of Japan we will travel to in the new part of the series.
With regard to the latter question, a look at the world map included in the Collectors Edition of Shadows will help. On this one the Kansai region is highlighted in red the area around Osaka, Kobe and the then capital Kyoto
As for the size of the game world, according to creative director Jonathan Dumont, we can expect a map comparable to Assassin’s Creed Origins, which was released in 2017. This means that the map will be smaller than in the last two parts of the series Odyssey and Valhalla, but also larger than in the older games.
In conversation with IGN said Dumont, the scale of the map should now be much more realistic. The many castles in particular take up a lot of space and they want the environment to feel more spacious than in its predecessors.
Seasons:
For the first time in the series, Assassin’s Creed will have seasons, which progress dynamically as the game progresses. During the campaign, players should be able to enjoy spring, summer, autumn and winter.
The landscape also changes with the seasons. While tall grass grows everywhere in summer, inviting assassins to hide or you can duck into ponds, in winter you have significantly fewer places to do so. However, enemies crowd around the campfire more often during the cold season and are less actively looking for you.
The two protagonists:
As confirmed yesterday, the game will have two main characters: Shinobi Naoe and Samurai Yasuke. While Yasuke is a historical figure, Naoe’s background remains obscure. Now Ubisoft has revealed more about the two characters in a new video.
With Yasuke Ubisoft consciously decided to cast a non-Japanese protagonist
us westernersto make it more understandable. Because just as Yasuke has to discover Japan as a foreign country for himself, we as players should do the same.
8:19
Assassin’s Creed Shadows wants to combine the best ideas of the series
Naoe is against it the daughter of a legendary ninja leader from Iga Province. During her youth, Oda Nobunaga’s forces invade her homeland to wipe out the shinobi of Iga. Yasuke and Naoe initially face each other as enemies, but later join forces.
What does that mean for gameplay? There will be a series of fixed quests for both characters that we can only complete as Yasuke or Naoe. During the open world passages and other quests you will probably be able to switch freely between the two.
What other information is there:
- No more synchronization? Ubisoft probably wants to change the synchronization in AC Shadows. Instead of discovering all the surrounding interesting places from a tall building (and showing them on the map), as before, these only serve as simple vantage points. From now on you should do the discovering yourself.
- Pacifism: Enemies can now be knocked out if you want to pursue a pacifist playstyle.
- Hiding places: In Shadows you can set up your own ninja camp where you can recruit new shinobi, train them and craft equipment.
- Destructibility: The developers want to bring more destructibility and cuttable objects into the game; with realistically reproduced damage from sword blows, arrow marks and so on.
- Licht: When it comes to lighting effects, AC Shadows relies on dynamic lighting for the sun, torches, lanterns and other light sources.
- Shadow: You should be able to destroy light sources like in Thief and Splinter Cell to create more dark corners to hide in.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is based on a beefed-up version of Ubisoft’s in-house Anvil engine. The game should am 15. November 2024 for the PC and the next-gen consoles PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S will appear.
If you want to find out more about the upcoming Assassin’s Creed and get every little detail of the trailer sorted, then we recommend our detailed Plus Preview. You can find this and other news about the upcoming game in the link box above.
What do you think of the first images of Assassin’s Creed Shadows? Are you excited about the shinobi adventure in feudal Japan? Or does the Far Eastern setting leave you completely cold? Feel free to write it to us in the comments!
Table of Contents