Assassin’s Creed Shadows gameplay combines stealth and open combat

Assassin’s Creed Shadows received a 13-minute gameplay deep dive on Ubisoft Forward on Monday, detailing its two protagonists and their differing play styles. The gameplay walkthrough, which featured both open combat and stealth sections, saw the two protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke, team up during a mission set in the castle town of Fukuchiyama in Japan’s Tamba province. The gameplay also provided a glimpse at the bustling cities and towns we can expect to see in the game.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows gameplay details

The walkthrough begins with Yasuke, the massive, armored samurai, riding into Fukuchiyama on the trail of a corrupt daimyo. The intimidating samurai makes his way through the town and comes across a group of samurai harassing the villagers. We watch as Yasuke finishes off his enemies with brutal efficiency, using his club and sword to crush and cut down the other samurai.

Yasuke’s skills are focused on head-on combat, and he seems to be able to easily take on multiple enemies at once. While he’s not agile, his brute strength is capable of crushing anything in his path. Yasuke’s combat skills continue the action-RPG ethos of recent Assassin’s Creed games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

Yasuke takes on enemies
Photo Credit: Ubisoft

Assassin’s Creed Shadows dual protagonists

However, to assuage the concerns of loyal fans, Ubisoft also places an emphasis on stealth and assassinations in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. This is achieved through the secondary protagonist, Naoe, a shinobi who operates from the shadows and uses agile parkour mechanics and stealth-focused tools to achieve her goals.

While the two protagonists can be swapped between at will during free roam, the game lets us choose between the two during certain missions, which will determine whether we confront enemies directly or take the stealthier route. In the gameplay demo, we see the shinobi infiltrate Fukuchiyama Castle and use her grappling hook, kunai, and her custom Hidden Blade to sneak in and assassinate the daimyo.

Naoe’s skills are focused on stealth
Photo Credit: Ubisoft

The stealth gameplay in Shadows is reminiscent of older Assassin’s Creed titles and the more recent Assassin’s Creed Mirage. Featuring two protagonists that offer different playstyles, the next entry in the stealth-action franchise looks to take a best-of-both-worlds approach in order to please both loyal AC fans and audiences who prefer the action-RPG elements of more recent games in the series.

Set in feudal Japan during the 16th century, Assassin’s Creed Shadows lets players explore a vast open world with diverse environments and changing seasons. The game will be released on November 15 for PC (via the Ubisoft Store and Epic Games Store), PS5, and Xbox Series S/X. It will also be available on Mac computers running Apple silicon via the Mac App Store.