I Played ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Because I Wanted Ubisoft To Make Me Care About the Franchise Again, and It Shattered My Expectations (Hands-on Preview)

Let’s talk about Assassin’s Creed Shadows. I remember the initial hype I felt when Assassin’s Creed was revealed. Seeing Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad on the screen for the first time. His gaze, darkened by the shadow of his hood. This haunting visage is something that has stuck with me for years. And my hype for the original game was unreal. While Assassin’s Creed 1 had its flaws, it was one of the most refreshing games I had ever played.

Fast forward to when Assassin’s Creed II dropped, bringing Ezio Auditore da Firenze to the forefront. His arrival harkened to a new era for the franchise, spawning numerous sequels and being loved by everyone. But somewhere along the line, the paths got further blurred. Assassin’s Creed started to stray from its roots. It quickly became another action game Ubisoft could add to its arsenal. Yearly releases tarnished the quality. Long-time fans of the series slowly started to back away from the franchise they once loved. That’s why, when I was offered a chance to go hands-on in a remote preview session with Assassin’s Creed Shadows, I needed to see if the franchise I once loved was back.

Yasuke and Naoe Cater Equally to New and Old Fans — Something I Can Appreciate

While I may have initially been critical about Assassin’s Creed Shadows, it was purely from a gameplay/design perspective. As someone who had tried to immerse myself in Origins and Odyssey, while completely disregarding Valhalla, I just couldn’t get into the new-age ebb and flow the franchise slowly shifted toward. While I cannot compare it directly to Valhalla, I am glad to say that the action in Assassin’s Creed Shadows feels more refined than the previous two Action-RPG versions I had played.

I had equal time spent between Yasuke and Naoe, with each character catering toward a particular play style. Naoe felt much more familiar to me. I had spent countless hours roaming the streets of the authentic Assassin’s Creed Trilogy. Yasuke, on the other hand, played similarly to the “non-Assassin” characters of the more action-focused games of recent memory. He’s big, bold, and powerful, whereas Naoe is small, nimble, and acrobatic. At any point during my playtime, I could swap between them to ensure that a mission was carried out correctly. Yasuke was my go-to when I needed to bust some heads. Whereas Naoe was perfect for a carefully planned excursion into a base.

Both characters control extremely well, and the variation between the two is immediately apparent. Naoe, while still deadly, is nowhere near as resilient as Yasuke. On the other side of the coin, Yasuke is a big man; he’s very easily spotted and requires the brawn to back up his frame.

The Story in ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Flows Well and Kept Me Interested

During my session, I was allowed to play through the Prologue, as well as through a lengthy mission. In this starting sequence, we’re introduced to both Yasuke and Naoe. Much as was told through historical texts and Historical Institutions such as the Smithsonian, Yasuke was brought to Japan by Portuguese slavers. Fascinated by the color of his skin, Oda Nobunaga took claim to Yasuke, giving him his name, alongside his rank.

Naoe, on the other hand, was a victim of the raid upon her village by Nobunaga and Yasuke. While Naoe may be the fictionalized daughter of the historical Shinobi Fujibayashi Nagato, her introduction is equal parts emotional and traumatic. Without going into detail, she is easily one of the most trauma-stricken protagonists of the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

This isn’t the first game in the series to feature dual protagonists, as Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood was the first to take that claim to fame. However, being able to swap between Naoe and Yasuke at any time was a welcome treat and helped keep things feeling fair and balanced. When switching between the two characters, a brief loading screen would appear. I could then continue the adventure with whomever I chose.

I wasn’t able to swap between these characters during combat scenarios for obvious reasons. Naoe, while skilled at sneaking, is still dangerous in combat. Her health, and ability to take hits for that matter, pales in comparison to Yasuke. Trying to challenge large groups with Naoe was exciting, fluid, and frantic in a way I hadn’t expected, but I still would take Yasuke into these massive battles any day of the week.

Trying To Nail Timing During a Remote Play Session Was a Bit More Difficult Than I Would Like To Admit

Getting to go hands-on with Assassin’s Creed Shadows from home was a treat, but my session was conducted via Cloud Streaming. Likely to avoid any files from being downloaded onto my PC, or any PC for that matter, there were the typical woes of any Cloud-based platform. I have Spectrum Internet, with a respectable download and upload speed, and there were times when it felt like the action on the screen would lag behind any input that I pressed.

When things were performing right, however? I was genuinely shocked to find myself enjoying Assassin’s Creed Shadows as much as I did. The action felt smooth, and swapping between the two characters made things feel much more varied than in previous entries. Naoe’s stealth sections, for example, felt much better than Mirage. Utilizing light and shadows to my advantage had me feeling like I was playing something from Ubisoft’s golden years, and not a product from 2025.

Yasuke, on the other hand, feels like an improved version of previous Ubisoft attempts at an action hero. His movements are fluid, weighty, and full of power. Any time I hit an enemy with Yasuke, or barreled through a door, I could feel the power behind his movements. While I sometimes did meet my end due to Streaming issues, it was overall smoother than I would have expected for an Ubisoft event.

Erasing grunts from this alternate reality world was easy work, and bosses required genuine thought when facing off against them. Parries, dodges, multiple weapons, tools, and more are utilized quite well here. It was genuinely shocking playing Assassin’s Creed Shadows, as it feels like something another company would have made. And I mean that in the most positive way possible.

The Delays Have Brought a Noticeable Level of Improvement to ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’

While seeing a game delayed is never a good thing, I can genuinely say that it was in Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ best interest that it was. Ubisoft knows how to make a gorgeous game, the lack of polish is inevitably their downfall. I did encounter a few expected glitches, but Shadows did feel genuinely better to play, control, and experience than most pre-release games. That can be chalked up to the number of delays the game has seen. Ubisoft knew that they couldn’t ship it in the shape it was back in November 2024.

Everything has been refined significantly. New features have seemingly been added. When I wasn’t engaging enemies in combat, I could roam the world recording wildlife in journals. I could craft a hideout for myself and my army of minions to hang around in. There’s a lot of content here, but it doesn’t feel like a quantity-over-quality situation. Everything just feels… well, like it’s higher quality than most people would have expected.

I have no shame to admit that before going hands-on with Assassin’s Creed Shadows, I had very little interest in the game. In my younger years, I always hoped for an Assassin’s Creed game set in Japan, but that was back during the Xbox 360/PS3 era of games. And I had little to no hope that a new-age AC game could be any good. I’m happy to be wrong, honestly. I was completely wrong about this one, and it feels surprisingly good to admit that fact.

Honestly, ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Is Great, if You Don’t Have Someone Whispering in Your Ear That It Isn’t

At this point, I’m willing to eat crow and say that I was wrong about Assassin’s Creed Shadows. There’s a quality product here, and one that feels much nicer than I would have ever imagined. Gorgeous vistas, varied playstyles, and less handholding. It doesn’t even feel like a Ubisoft game. The quantity matches the quality, rather than it being just about running between lookout towers and unlocking more random things to do.

Even at the end of my session, my presenter asked if I had any questions. I asked if I could sneak back in for another session because I wanted to keep playing. Truthfully, I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed playing an Assassin’s Creed game as much as I did here.

As someone who has been cynical of AC and Ubisoft for years at this point, I can really only say this; keep your eyes on this one. It has the makings to be something special, and I don’t say that lightly. I’ll be beyond thrilled if one of my old favorite franchises finally hits the highs it once used to, rather than the lows I feel it has suffered from over the years.