Assassin's Creed Shadows Reviews
It's noteworthy that Ubisoft's developers put considerable effort into the game, both the base game and this Switch 2 version; however, there's still work to be done. For the future of the franchise, I hope that the direction will be more focused and less diffuse. The concept of placing the player in various different historical periods is still fascinating and, with better execution, could deliver even more satisfying results.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Following many of the principles established in previous games, Assassin's Creed Shadows is an open-world RPG that offers a fairly familiar experience, where you alternate between two protagonists while exploring and fighting across Feudal Japan. Although the Nintendo Switch 2 port brings all the content available on other consoles, technical aspects and crashes somewhat dilute what could have been a great experience, especially in handheld mode.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
While Assassin’s Creed: Shadow may not be a masterpiece, it marks a successful return to the franchise’s roots—an experience long absent from the series. Its gameplay delivers genuine satisfaction, ensuring hours of engaging entertainment.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is probably my favourite in the series. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a ‘pure’ Assassin’s Creed fan but I really gelled with the mixture of great combat, fun exploration and an engaging narrative. That, paired with a great UI, toned down map and lack of hand-holding objectives and you have a ‘sure-fire’ winner.
Outside of the new, most sought after destination of Feudal Japan, Assassin's Creed Shadows never really escapes its own shadow of boilerplate gameplay systems and its tried and true open world formula the series is known for. Whilst the game is at the same high standard as every other entry, it doesn't truly excel at anything more specific.
Assassin's Creed Shadows feels like another missed opportunity from Ubisoft. It had all the ingredients needed to deliver a masterpiece—deep storytelling, varied gameplay, and the stunning setting of feudal Japan with two protagonists, each offering a unique combat style. Unfortunately, the game falls into the same repeated mistakes that have plagued the Assassin’s Creed series in recent years, leaving the experience dull, repetitive, and lacking in creativity—even in its story, which had the potential to be truly epic.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
For me, Assassin's Creed Shadow is by far the best installment in the series so far and will hopefully serve as a blueprint for future releases. The Japanese game world is incredibly well realized, the seasons and dynamic weather enhance the experience immensely and the decision to simply split the two very different gameplay aspects - stealth and action - between two characters works perfectly.
Review in German | Read full review
Assassin’s Creed Shadows stands out as the most technically impressive entry in the series to date, with stunning visuals, dynamic weather, and an incredibly detailed world that truly shines on current-gen hardware. However, despite this technical excellence, the game struggles with inconsistent structure, weak AI, and a lack of clear progression, making its 80-hour runtime feel longer than necessary. It’s a beautiful and enjoyable experience, but one that highlights the need for Ubisoft to refine the series’ core gameplay in future installments.
Review in German | Read full review
After years of experimentation, Assassin's Creed Shadows finally delivers a true Assassin's Creed game that will satisfy both nostalgic fans and newcomers alike. Feudal Japan was worth the wait – Ubisoft has created a masterpiece that puts the series back on track.
Review in German | Read full review
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is exactly what fans have been asking for—a stunning, immersive adventure set in feudal Japan. It offers refined mechanics, a compelling revenge story, and a world that feels alive thanks to its dynamic weather and changing seasons. The dual protagonist system is a great addition, even if the balance between the two characters isn’t perfect.
Assassin's Creed Shadows blew me away with its beautiful graphics, expansive world, and historical depiction of Japan, and ultimately won me over with its fun combat and stealth systems. It's true that it's more of the same and lacks some innovation, but that didn't ruin the fun. The tons of filler activities, imprecise controls that were sometimes frustrating, and the poor pacing of its story knocked it down a few notches, but I fervently believe it's the best game in the series in at least a decade, and I recommend it to fans of the series and lovers of Japanese history alike.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Ultimately, though, Shadows shows immense promise for the future of this franchise, but it also exposes the areas where it still needs to work hard to improve. While it’s an enjoyable experience, it’s far from perfect. Regardless, playing Shadows has renewed my hope and investment in the franchise, which I am now almost certain will be just as refined and enjoyable going forward, if not more.
As the most modern game in the series, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a welcomed addition. I enjoyed my time playing as both Naoe and Yasuke (although Naoe was my preference due to her stealthier approach) and taking in everything Feudal Japan had to offer. The interlocking stories were interesting, the open world had plenty of content to complete and combined combat/stealth was everything I wanted from Assassin’s Creed.
Assassin's Creed: Shadows is technically a very well-done installment in the series. The Japanese setting is beautiful, the graphics are breathtaking, and the optimization is very decent. The game's main failings are the need for constant grinding and a relatively uninteresting main story.
Review in Czech | Read full review
While I can’t say it’s Ubisoft’s savior, I can say it’s easily one of the best entries in the series yet.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is the finest addition to the series in years. It adds just the right balance of content, pacing and progression to keep you invested, gives you just enough but not too much so you don’t feel overwhelmed, adds a total overhaul of combat that offers both a satisfying challenge but makes the game stand apart from its brethren and offers perhaps the most captivating environments the series has ever had. Despite some uncertainty around certain mission objectives, a quite brutal difficulty curve and some repetition in content, there is no finer current open world offering on the market right now. Especially if you’re pining for a visit to Japan and need more cherry blossoms in your life!
Perhaps it was a mistake on Ubisoft's part to release Assassin's Creed Mirage, their last Assassin's Creed, that felt like a return to the roots. Assassin's Creed Shadows had a tough time holding its own in comparison, precisely because it's more like the games since Origin. Which is why, in the end, the game is a good, but not a superior Assassin's Creed game. There isn't a single flaw that had a negative impact. The enemies are once again a mysterious organization, the controls are clunky, the enemy AI could be improved, and the lackluster present-day story is disappointing. But on the other hand, you have entertaining antagonists, a vibrant and colorful world, and many diverse missions. Despite all the flaws, I got that usual AC feeling while playing, meaning I moved from tower to tower, took on every side mission that came along, and enjoyed the game's atmosphere. Hopefully, this won't be the last Assassin's Creed game Ubisoft releases. Although hopefully, there will be some time before the next installment, during which a little polishing can be done on everything. That would be nice.
Review in German | Read full review
Assassin's Creed Shadows brings the series to new heights by giving fans almost exactly what they wanted in a location long clamoured for.
Assassin's Creed Shadows is a small, yet flawed, step in the right direction for the series. While the story, characters, visuals, music, and main gameplay mechanics shine, the lack of development for the protagonists, the boring side quests, the continued emphasis on combat instead of stealth, and the frustrating action RPG mechanics severely hinder the experience. Unfortunately, it's not the evolution of the series that many fans were hoping for, and it pales in comparison to other games that have handled its formula far better.
If - like me - you love the last few Assassins Creed titles then this will be right up your alley, great combat and some engaging characters really make this a game worth playing. If you have the opposite opinion, then Shadows does nothing really different from those titles that will change your mind.