For example, infiltrating a castle at night versus during the day gives you a bit more leeway from detection by guards, with more shadows to take advantage of beyond just ducking into haystacks and bushes. Even if daytime infiltration is your only option, you can knock out lanterns and snuff out candles when inside structures, allowing you to sneak through darkened, shadowy hallways and take on your targets by surprise. Also, some armor and weapon types can give a damage bonus when used at night, so keep an eye out for those when looting crates.

Customizable Base-Building

Having a “home base” isn’t a new feature for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but having one be as highly customizable as this is. For example, you can choose where you want your expanding village to take shape, what statues to place in the yard, the type of gravel you’ll like to use on the pathways, and even place dogs all over the place to fill it out (I have eight Akitas running around mine).

Each of these buildings is upgradable as well, which is essential as you dive into the higher-level zones of Feudal Japan. You’ll want to invest in your Forge early on so you can upgrade your armor and weapons, and Study so you can have additional Scouts to feed into what we talked about earlier, being able to source the location of your targets and tag resources to be smuggled out of hideouts.

Viewpoints Don’t Tell You Everything, Encourge Exploration

“Observe your surroundings,” Naoe is frequently told early on in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and it is good advice, as identifying objectives, treasures, and enemies has been tweaked from previous entries in the series. To start, simply climbing a synchronization viewpoint doesn’t give you granular details of everything in the area. At most, it pops a few question marks on the map, denoting places you should check out, for… well, finding out what’s there is a huge part of the game.

When you get to that point on the map, don’t expect an NPC to come running; just know you’re closer to your destination. Once again, observe by holding down LT and looking around will identify objectives (blue dots), treasures and supplies (gold dots), and other notable items (white dots). Where there’s treasure, you can expect resistance. Pressing down on the right thumbstick as Naoe activates Eagle Vision, an Assassin’s Creed staple, making enemies glow red, even though walls. Then: observe them with LT held to keep them marked, even when you look away.

If you just want to go from point to point, like the old days, check out the Guided Exploration Mode option. Point, click, assassinate.

Gaining Knowledge, Seek Inner Peace

It’s worth checking out these points of interest on the way to your next objective, as many play into the new Mastery Point system. While leveling up, hitting major story points, and assassinating key enemies earn you those valuable points, the new Knowledge Rank system unlocks higher tiers of the skill tree, giving you more options on where to develop your characters.  

Back to those question marks: upon close observation, some will become a red-orange circle on your map, denoting a Knowledge Rank-earning opportunity. Early on, I stumbled upon a place for Naoe to sit near a shrine, which led to a meditative QTE event, eventually giving way to a meaty flashback about Naoe’s first taste of battle. Over time, I encountered more of these “Kuji-Kiri” opportunities, revealing essential bits of Naoe’s past, while helping me unlock the next tier of abilities for her to use in the future.

Two Very Distinct Heroes

This is a little stating the obvious – it’s one of the most unique features about Assassin’s Creed Shadows – but the two characters play styles are very dramatic from one another. As Naoe, you’re an agile assassin who relies on stealth and guile; Yasuke is a devastating tank that can quickly leave a bloody path through a courtyard in a manner of seconds. But how (and when) you choose to use them in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is just as important.

The opening hours of Assassin’s Creed Shadows will primarily have you playing as Naoe, learning the art of swordplay, stealth, assassination – basically learning how to be a badass ninja. You learn to become reliant on your speed, tools, and unique approaches to expose an enemy — she is closest to what you may have played previously in an Assassin’s Creed game.

Yasuke on the other hand, unlocked after you complete Act 1 (you can’t miss it), has no need for these tricks. What he lacks in unique Assassin Creed-like abilities (he can’t sense through walls, for example), he makes up for it with sheer brutality, soaking up hits and parrying with lethal results making him great for crowd control. You’ve never played anything like him before in an AC game and it brings an exciting new dynamic to how you choose to play. Especially since you’ll be able to freely swap between these heroes at numerous points later in the game and sometimes even mid-mission allowing you to have a multi-pronged attack when it comes to checking off the next target on your list.

Multiple Weapon Options Open Up Combat

As we detailed in our Assassin’s Creed Shadows weapon guide on Xbox Wire, Naoe and Yasuke can each equip two different weapon types, providing unique strengths and strategies for combat — Yasuke with his long katana, naginata (polearm), kanabo (massive club), bow, and teppo (rifle); Naoe with her katana, hidden blade, kusarigama (spiked ball and chain), and a variety of throwable tools.

There are also several ways to enhance your weapons as each type has a specific mastery tab where you can allocate mastery points to boost damage and unlock new abilities. Weapons also have levels; you cannot use a weapon that exceeds your current level, but with a Forge built in your Hideout, you can upgrade lower-level weapons to match your player level, improving their base stats.

Best of all, these weapons can be hot-swapped during combat encounters (right on the D-Pad). For example, you could start off with your katana with Naoe and then switch up to your kusarigama if you get surrounded. Or as Yasuke, you could open the battle with a ranged attack with his bow or teppo, then swap to his kanabo to bash foes. It’s a flexible dynamic that makes combat in Assassins’ Creed Shadows feel more exciting than any of the series and is one of the strongest aspects of the game in my opinion.

Scouts Are Vital to Success

One of the elements I’ve liked the most is that Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t “hold your hand” as tightly as previous entries when it comes to finding your target. Instead, you’re given access to an intel network of Scouts who can help you pinpoint your target’s general location – the rest is up to you to put the pieces together.

Not only does this feature make us feel more like an assassin tracking their target and looking for clues, but it also encourages us to get out there and explore this beautiful recreation of 16^th Century Japan. Scouts are also useful for smuggling resources back to your hideout — as you begin to become bolder in your infiltration of castles and the like, you’ll come across Stockpiles that you can tag for them to bring back to your base at the end of the season (Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer), allowing you to invest in upgrades or create additional structures like a Forge. Scouts will also automatically replenish at the end of these seasons as well, but can be refilled for a cost at Kakurega (unlockable safe houses) if you don’t want to wait.

Canon Mode vs Immersive Mode

Japan has long been a requested setting for an Assassin’s Creed tale, and if you really want to immerse yourself in the vibe, there are two settings worth considering. As Naoe and Yasuke, you’ll frequently be making dialogue choices that affect how other characters perceive you. But what answer is canon? Wonder no further, Assassin’s Creed Shadows offers a new Canon Mode, where the story plays out in a set way.

As a fan of recent hit series “Shogun,” I found the interplay of Japanese and Portuguese speakers in this era fascinating. Immersive Mode replicates this; characters speak in their native language with subtitles.  

And with that, we hope you enjoy the most ambitious Assassin’s Creed title yet.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is available now for Xbox Series X|S. Assassin’s Creed Shadows also supports Stream Your Own Game for Game Pass Ultimate members – if you own the game, you can play it via the cloud on the supported devices you own. Learn more here.