There was a time when “Assassin’s Creed” meant something. It evoked careful planning, rooftop getaways, and that sweet satisfaction of pulling off a perfect kill in a well-guarded fortress. Fast forward to Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and while the franchise has never looked better, it’s now a strange hybrid of its former self—part stealth, part RPG, part sandbox experiment—with mixed results across the board.

A Gorgeous World, Held Together with Duct Tape

Let’s get this out of the way: Assassin’s Creed Shadows is visually stunning. From the misty forests of feudal Japan to the way lantern light flickers against temple walls at night, it’s the kind of game that makes you stop mid-mission just to soak it all in. The art direction and lighting are top-tier, and the character models are some of the best Ubisoft has ever delivered.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Unfortunately, this beautiful world is riddled with bugs. I encountered pathfinding issues, NPCs that clipped through walls, and enemies that T-posed mid-battle like they were auditioning for a glitch compilation video. Worst of all, mission logic broke more than once—forcing me to restart or accept a jarring, immersion-breaking workaround.

Assassination by Proxy

The stealth core of the game—once the heart of the franchise—feels automated and at times, insultingly simplified. In one mission, I had to assassinate a target surrounded by what felt like an entire festival crowd of guards. Bracing myself for a tense infiltration, I crept in… only for the game to just give me the kill. No chase, no escape sequence, just a mission complete screen as though the challenge was optional.

Moments like that drain the tension out of the game. The stakes feel fake. Assassin’s Creed used to reward finesse and punish impatience. Now it just hands you the kill and pats you on the back for showing up.

Power Curve Problems

Progression is another mixed bag. Early on, you feel unstoppable—taking out enemies like a walking war god. But then the game stalls. New gear feels less impactful, abilities plateau, and the mid-game becomes a grind with little incentive to experiment. It’s a power curve that spikes early, then flatlines, which kills any momentum the narrative is trying to build.

Serviceable Acting, Shaky Direction

Voice acting ranges from decent to questionable. The leads are mostly fine, but several side characters deliver their lines like they’re racing to finish before the dialogue timer runs out. There’s little emotional weight or urgency behind what should be pivotal moments, which contributes to the game’s sluggish storytelling.

Speaking of the story: it’s dull for long stretches. There’s an overreliance on exposition, and it takes far too long to get to the good stuff. When the game does drop a twist or reveal, it lands well—but the journey there is padded and predictable.

The Assassin’s Identity Crisis

There’s no doubt this game had ambition. It wants to be the definitive feudal Japan experience for the series, and in some ways, it succeeds. The setting is phenomenal. The toolkit available to the player is diverse. But mechanically, it feels like the developers still can’t decide if this is a stealth game, an action RPG, or a cinematic story-driven epic. It tries to be all three and ends up watering each one down.

Conclusion

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a gorgeous, bloated, and confused entry in a series that continues to drift further from its roots. The spectacle is real, and there are moments—fleeting moments—where it captures the spirit of the original titles. But between the bugs, progression issues, and baffling stealth design, it’s hard not to feel like the soul of the series is buried under years of reinvention.

There’s a good game here, maybe even a great one, but it’s locked behind a series still unsure of what it wants to be. Shadows, indeed.

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