Assassin's Creed Shadows

I'm only 5 hours in but I'm having a great time with this game so far. For those saying they don't enjoy the voice acting, I can genuinely understand - it's a little clunky. This goes double when comparing it against its predecessors AC Odyssey (a masterpiece) and Valhalla. However, I did find that a great fix was switching to immersive mode. Some may not enjoy reading the subtitles, but as an anime sub enjoyer I found the voice acting to be much more dynamic and, well, immersive.

Graphics are awesome when playing on Series X in 4k, especially considering my TV over 5 years old. The level of detail is incredible. Seeing cherry blossoms floating in the wind, dynamic weather, sweeping vistas, it's everything you want in an AC game.

Gameplay-wise, it feels like it's somewhere between Odyssey and Valhalla. The world is absolutely huge without feeling quite as bloated as Valhalla did. The inclusion of the base-builder is already a personal favorite of mine. Again, this mechanic feels quite similar to what we've seen before with Valhalla, but has been expanded to a significant degree. Rather than tracking down materials just to simply unlock a building that can be given a handful of different flavors, you can now merge buildings, place them around a space equivalent to about an acre, and customize specific details of each building's exterior and interior. This may not be everyone's cup of sake, but I am a sucker for base building and I can already tell I am about to comb every square inch of this game for resources to feed my base building addiction.

The game feels pretty polished to me. As I am only a few hours into the game, I have yet to encounter any bugs. So, I'll update again once I'm further in.

The only gripe I have so far would be that the intro does feel a tad long. This is somewhat understandable given that we are being introduced to two separate characters with entirely different stories. The cinematics are enjoyable, but I was also really keen to start playing and would've liked to have had these introductory scenes spaced out between more opportunities for gameplay than the 3 or 4 short times that we get them.

Overall, this is a great game though. I've played a lot of AC over the years and I can confidently say that this is a really solid entry to the franchise.

A very well made game. I have to admit I've never played any of the Assassin's Creed games, except for this one. I've only seen clips and people play the other games.

It reminds me of Ghost of Tsushima, which is also a really good game as well.

The story is well made and quite engaging for me. The gameplay is good too and most of it is reliable on exploration, which is like Ghost of Tsushima. The graphics are great, which offer really nice scenes. I love how we can play different characters that are both completely different and have their own story.

Naoe is more of a stealth character and she is better used when needing to be quiet and quick. While Yasuke, who is based off of a real samurai, is more of a brute and meant to fight bigger battles. Each of the characters have different game styles, which some gamers could appreciate.

Overall the story is quite long but enjoyable. The gameplay is adventurous and heavily relies on you exploring the land. The characters are well developed and have their own unique stories and abilities tied to them. Making it an amazing game.

The graphics are beautiful, the exploration is wonderful, the dynamic weather is the greatest there has ever been with excellent visual and audio changes depending on the conditions. The gameplay and the combat is refined and a huge upgrade on previous entries with different weapons and styles depending on preferance. Stealth is greater than ever before. Very strong start and finish to the game. Maybe a bit slow paced mid part. I finished all story and got the 100 per cent completion. No clear flaw but maybe missing a spark of magic that games like red dead or the witcher 3 have. So I would say 8/10 is the perfect rating.

Wow! A surprisingly rich narrative, genuinely stunning graphics and gameplay that's the best of both Assassin's Creed eras. I know the haters will probably sink this game into the abyss but to me - this is the best game in the franchise since Black Flag! (So far)

I'm only 10h in which sounds like a lot but for a game of this scope it's nothing. I've loved every second, so far and my 10/10 score doesn't mean Shadows is flawless, it just means that the enjoyment level has been sky high. Special shout out to the new dynamic weather and lighting system. Possibly the most effective I've ever seen on a video game and gave the already amazing world of Feudal Japan even more life.

Please give this game a try for yourself and don't let Ubisoft's reputation or that review bombings deter you. Definitely not a perfect experience but an absolute blast!

Shadows is absolutely superb. An incredibly rich story that manages to draw you in and tug at your heart strings. Amazing mechanics. A vast amount of content that never grows old. A true return to form. The only downside are the completely baseless and totally predictable negative reviews from the die-hard anti-Ubisoft brigade who delight in hating anything from this studio. You should just go back to Fortnite and keep your prepubescent opinions to yourselves!

Ignore the 1/10 reviewers, I guarantee they have never played it or have any intention to.

This game is not Ghost of Tsushima. It's far deeper and more varied. There's room enough for more than two accident Japanese RPGs however. If you are a fan of well written and well acted stories, Shadows won't disappoint..