Poor Ubisoft can’t seem to keep a secret these days. Assassin’s Creed: Shadows (formerly AC: Red) has been officially announced as the latest installment in the series, after weeks of increasingly larger and more detailed leaks.
Shadows, coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X on November 15, is the Japan-centric Assassin’s Creed game that fans have been asking for almost since the beginning. Of course, Ghost of Tsushima took Ubisoft to the punch on this one.
The trailer shows Naoe, a female shinobi, encountering Yasuke, a real-life historical figure who is noted as one of the earliest Africans to appear in Japanese historical records. For the game, Ubisoft took considerable liberties, describing him as a “mighty samurai of historical legend.” There is no evidence that he was a samurai. At best he would have been promoted to Bushi.
Ubisoft games have become famous for their slightly odd juggling of history and fiction. They often take real events and characters and then awkwardly twist them to fit Ubisoft’s fictional storyline.
Both characters are playable, and although there’s no gameplay in the trailer, it seems to indicate that Yasuke will prefer direct combat, while Naoe will be a more stealthy character. Ubisoft confirmed this: “As Naoe and Yasuke, players can master two complementary playstyles, with each character offering their own progression path, skills, weapon options and statistics. Whether embracing Naoe’s stealth skills or Yasuke’s combat prowess, players will have a variety of ways to approach their objectives.”
This idea of dual protagonists is reminiscent of Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, which features brother and sister duo Evie and Jacob Frye. Both played like typical assassins, but one preferred a more brute-force approach than the other.
That makes sense because Shadows’ development is being led by Ubisoft Quebec, the team behind Syndicate and 2018 Odyssey. The Odyssey featured two main characters, albeit in very different ways.
The second trailer details who Naoe and Yasuke are. Check it.
Other gameplay details revealed include a spy network, the ability to call in allies during missions, and even a hideout that can be customized and used to train your squad.
I’ve been obsessed with the Assassin’s Creed games for the past few years, and I’d like to give this one a try. I hope it’s less bloated than Valhalla and more creative than Mirage.
