Image: Ubisoft
Ubisoft has shown off 12 minutes of gameplay for Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
This week’s Ubisoft Forward showcase saw the debut of 12 minutes of gameplay for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the first open-world game in the franchise to be set in feudal Japan. The gameplay trailer focuses on the differences between the two playable protagonists Yasuke and Naoe, as they go about freeing a small village from a tyrannical daimyo.
Watch the gameplay video here:
New Assassin’s Creed gameplay showcases stealth and combat
Ubisoft’s new gameplay trailer for Assassin’s Creed Shadows highlights the key differences between its two main protagonists: the samurai warrior Yasuke and stealthy shinobi Naoe. The trailer starts out with Yasuke exploring a village and running into a child, who leads him to an unfortunate discovery: the village is being taxed relentlessly by a corrupt daimyo and his subordinates. Yasuke decides to take matters into his own hands and kill the daimyo.
Yasuke takes a straightforward approach to combat. Instead of sneaking around, he starts attacking enemies head-on to track down the daimyo. The massive mace-like weapon Yasuke wields is best used for breaking apart armour, after which he wields the more nimble katana. Yasuke also pets a dog, an animal that Ubisoft notes mostly wanders the streets during springtime. He also smashes a cart full of oranges, and Ubisoft points out that there are many more destructible props on the map to destroy for no apparent reason.
Once Yasuke deals with one of the daimyo’s underlings, Naoe intervenes to offer the player a choice: they can either storm the gates of the daimyo’s castle with Yasuke or sneak inside unseen for a stealthy assassination with Naoe. For the purposes of this video, Naoe’s route is chosen. Naoe wields different weapons for different purposes - each one offers different assassination opportunities, whether you need to stealth kill enemies through walls or from long range.
Naoe also has a grapple, which she uses to get to high ground and approach the daimyo. She can extinguish lights to shroud her enemies in shadows, and use a hollow reed to breathe while underwater. When in combat, she proves to be quite adept at combat - but Ubisoft confirms that she doesn’t have armour like Yasuke, and thus is much more vulnerable to enemy damage.
Players will be able to switch between playing as Yasuke and Naoe at any time outside of combat, and use a spy network to gather information on their enemies. Assassin's Creed Shadows launches on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on November 15, 2024.
Check out more announcements and trailers from Ubisoft Forward 2024 here and Xbox Games Showcase 2024 here.