Itâs no secret that the video game industry is struggling. The last two years have seen more than 25,000 redundancies and more than 40 studio closures. Thanks to game developmentâs spiralling costs (blockbuster titles now cost hundreds of millions to make), overinvestment during the Covid-19 pandemic, and a series of failed bets to create the next money-printing âforever gameâ, the pressure for blockbuster games to succeed is now higher than ever.
Itâs a predicament that feels especially pertinent for Ubisoft. Employing in the region of 20,000 people across 45 studios in 30 countries, its most recent big licensed games Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars Outlaws underperformed commercially. It has had two expensive, failed live-service experiments in the past year, Skull and Bones and X-Defiant. With Ubisoft share prices plummeting and investment partners circling like sharks, rarely have the fortunes of a massive games company relied so heavily on a single release. It has already been delayed multiple times, to ensure its quality.
Against this gloomy backdrop, I find myself roaming the glistening halls of Ubisoft Quebec for the worldâs first hands-on of Assassinâs Creed: Shadows. The companyâs series of historical action games is back after a two-year break, and this time it takes us to feudal Japan. This has been the most requested setting by fans, according to creative director Jonathan Dumont, but ironically some of those purported fans have turned on Ubisoft over the course of this gameâs development.
Shadows stars Yasuke, a documented historical figure known as the black samurai, and a female shinobi named Naoe. This ignited a mini culture war, as X posters and YouTube commenters seethed over âhistorical inaccuracy†and the wokefication of video games. (Oddly enough, these complaints of historical inaccuracy have never been levied at the series before, despite the fact that it stars a secret order of essentially time-travelling assassins doing side quests for Karl Marx and Leonardo da Vinci.)
When I ask nervous Ubisoft developers about the deluge of unpleasant comments and online harassment directed their way over the past year, they look understandably scared. Nobody is willing to address it directly. âWe like to make games, this is what we wake up to do every morning,â offers Dumont. âSo obviously if the criticism [we receive] is nuanced or if itâs good feedback, itâs always taken.
When I pick up the controller, Yasuke is the first character to take the stage. After an engrossing opening cutscene, Portuguese missionaries introduce their African slave Diogo to the Oda clanâs ruler, Lord Nobunaga. The influential warlord takes a shine to Diogo, employing him as a samurai and renaming him Yasuke. As he wanders silently across Harimaâs cobbled streets, he is greeted by the kind of dumbfounded looks youâd expect for an African man arriving in 16th-century Japan. Kids and adults alike scramble to take a look. Itâs a clever and attention-grabbing opening, reminiscent of 2024âs Emmy-award winning Shogun series; here Yasuke echoes the TV showâs John Blackthorne character, a cipher for players to experience this era of Japan through a foreignerâs eyes.
Naoe the shinobi in Assassinâs Creed Shadows. Photograph: Ubisoft
After a so-so hour-long prologue, this war-torn world finally opens up. I gallop across the green fields of the Iga province, and Shadowsâ Sengoku period adventure truly begins. There is pleasing visual variety and attention to detail. Reeds sway in the wind convincingly as workers toil the rice fields beside the road; fishing boats float across the horizon line while villagers chatter by bustling markets.
With open worlds, itâs the little details that really bring the simulation to life, and in Shadows, I am told, there are more than 1,000 different situational behaviours directing its 16th-century characters. Roaming the port town I see a fishmonger chopping his fish, a woman cleaning a firearm and a shiba inu gleefully hopping around as merchants and villagers haggle over their wares. Wild deer frolic in the tall grass, fleeing skittishly as I ride past, and noble ladies gather idly at Buddhist shrines. Weather and seasons change dynamically too, adding a welcome layer of unpredictability as a sunny countryside walk suddenly becomes an ominous, rain-drenched affair. As I ride valiantly into battle, scale Osaka castle and gallop my way across serene landscapes, I forget all about the difficulties surrounding this gameâs development and lose myself in the feudal fantasy.
The Quebec studios of Ubisoft, where the game had its launch. Photograph: Tom Regan
Itâs hugely enjoyable to play. In recent years, Assassinâs Creed has strayed from its stealth roots, embracing RPG-esque inventories and swapping infiltration for all-out action. Yasuke embodies this, yet in Shadows, players who prefer their Creed on the sneakier side can step into the tabi boots of shinobi Naoe, swapping lumbering might for agile parkour and stealthy takedowns.
In a Grand Theft Auto V-esque touch, youâre free to switch between Yasuke and Naoe as you please, approaching each new quest as either protagonist: sneaky shinobi or murderous samurai. On main missions, this plays out as the pair splitting up to divide and conquer, with Naoe silently running across rooftops and slitting throats while Yasuke charges brazenly through the front door. Yasukeâs heft leaves him unable to perform aerial assassinations or do much in the way of the seriesâ trademark acrobatics, but he can wield katanas, bows and rifles. Having the freedom to swap between protagonists and their vastly different play styles keeps things fresh, providing a welcome antidote to the mission-repetition fatigue that so often plagues open-world games.
On first impressions, Shadows marks itself as the most overtly violent Assassinâs Creed to date: heads are sent flying by Yasukeâs katana; arms are severed from bodies by the force of a spear; and skulls caved in with a mace. An explosion of blood and viscera accompanies each of Yasukeâs cinematic executions (these gory animations can be turned off for the more squeamish player). At key moments during Shadowsâ 700 cutscenes, players can decide which lords they will pledge allegiance to, how they navigate Japanese/ Portuguese relations and which romances they chase.
Strength and stealth each play their part in the game.
Shadows también toma inspiración sorprendente de otro AC: Animal Crossing. Una vez que desbloqueas un escondite para tus personajes, puedes adornarlo con muebles y decoraciones, y las personas que reclutas en el camino se trasladarán allí. Me quedé fascinado al crear una sala de té y rodearla de un hermoso bosque de bambú alrededor de un estanque. Fue un agradable contraste con toda la matanza.
También puedes colgar pinturas de la vida silvestre en tu escondite, porque en lugar de cazar y desollar animales, Naoe y Yasuke dibujan respetuosamente la vida silvestre de Japón. Agachándote fuera de la vista, te deslizas silenciosamente hacia el punto de vista perfecto, lo que te permite pintar dos ciervos enfrentándose con los cuernos o capturar a una garza en pleno buceo. Esto me hizo sentir como un Attenborough japonés antiguo.
A pesar del reciente segundo retraso de Shadows, me sorprende gratamente lo pulidas y libres de errores que son mis seis horas de juego, una mejora notable sobre el agradable pero plagado de errores Star Wars Outlaws. Se está perfilando como una aventura inmersiva y agradablemente pulida, ofreciendo quizás una simulación más detallada y variada del Japón feudal que Ghost of Tsushima de Sony.
Brooke Davies, directora narrativa asociada del juego, me habla sobre los esfuerzos meticulosos del equipo para crear personajes entrañables y que se puedan relacionar. “Tuvimos el gran privilegio de trabajar con consultores, historiadores y expertos en cada etapa de la producción”, dice. “Esto nos dio muchas ideas interesantes sobre cómo contar historias sobre personas muy comunes atrapadas en este momento extraordinario de la historia.
“Uno de nuestros temas narrativos principales es la comunidad y cómo las personas se unen para hacer del mundo un lugar mejor, y a pesar de la pérdida y la dificultad, realmente perseveran y tienen el coraje de empezar de nuevo. Para mí, es un mensaje muy inspirador, imaginar y aprender sobre el coraje de estas personas y poder explorar eso junto a nuestros protagonistas Naoe y Yasuke.”
Con una serie tan grande como Assassin’s Creed, es muy fácil olvidar que estas piezas de ficción son creadas por personas muy reales, personas que solo quieren entretener a su audiencia. “Los juegos son hechos por humanos, y nadie quiere hacer algo malo”, dice el director de arte Thierry Dansereau. “Estamos trabajando duro. Queremos hacer el mejor Assassin’s Creed que podamos … Así que creo que [la gente] debería tener eso en consideración. Las personas que están haciendo videojuegos solo quieren divertirse y crear excelentes productos.”
Esta sesión de juego y estas entrevistas tuvieron lugar en Ubisoft Quebec, Canadá. Los gastos de viaje y alojamiento del escritor fueron cubiertos por Ubisoft.