It took a long enough time and went through a bunch of controversies, but we finally got Assassins Creed Shadows. To me, the game may not be the best the series ever has been, but it’s certainly one of the better of the open world Assassins Creed games. Whereas Valhalla had too much going on and Mirage not enough, Shadows strikes a good balance of having a decent sized map with plenty of activities to do but not so many that you become immediately overwhelmed. Many of the changes in Shadows were welcome from previous games. Shadows level up and equipment system is clean, easy to understand, and efficient with amazing gear transmogging. You can change individual parts of all the weapons and outfits to fit your taste without giving up the stats you are going to need.

As far as characters go, I was at first worried about how Naoe and Yasuke were going to work, but after spending about 10 hours playing as each my worries were gone. Unlike Assassins Creed Syndicate where you play as essentially two identical characters, Shadows separates Naoe and Yasuke in the best ways possible. Naoe hits the perfect stealth element as a shinobi. She is agile, can climb anything, has a grappling hook, has access to tools such as smoke bombs, and has access to the Eagle Vision mechanic. However, Naoe has very low health and defenses, can’t move certain objects or use certain items, and isn’t very strong in combat. She is reliant on her stealth for her playstyle. On the other side is Yasuke who is an absolute unit. Yasuke does almost triple the damage Naoe does and has triple health. He has access to more weapons and can break down doors and move more items in the world. However, he’s slow and clumsy. While being able to climb, he does it slowly and can’t reach certain areas Naoe can. Yasuke also does not have the Eagle Vision mechanic. He is a straightforward fighter. Although they may be completely opposite in playstyle, I have not had issues doing my usual exploring, climbing, and synchronizing as either of them. This is a good thing as it makes both characters feel useful in most situations. The combat of the game is fun, allowing you to use a multitude of insane abilities such as rushing the enemy with a giant katana slice or using a kusarigama to bring enemies down with its chain.

The world is beautiful. I’ve found myself taking more pictures in this game than I have in the last few Assassin’s Creed games. I posted them all to look at as well. The world doesn’t feel empty, there is always a temple or a town to explore with treasure or questlines to start. I honestly haven’t done much of the main questline outside of a few of the required story missions but from what I have gathered from it so far, it’s your typical Assassins Creed plotline with a few twists and turns but nothing earthshaking or new (at least for now). In my opinion, I am giving this game a solid 8.5/10. It’s a fun entry in the series, and while it doesn’t do anything to make it the best in the series, it does set itself apart with its amazing world, setting, and interface.