Assassin's Creed Shadows: About Time!

If I am ever fumbling around for something to do on a lonely weekday evening, I always go to one of my old faithful Assassin's Creed (AC) games.

- Anusha Ganapathi

If I am ever fumbling around for something to do on a lonely weekday evening, I always go to one of my old faithful Assassin's Creed (AC) games. I blow the dust off the CD, place it in the PlayStation drive, and continue my ancient save file. Which is why I am so glad that Shadows finally released last week—a new favorite game to spend hundreds of hours on.

Shadows, set in feudal Japan, with sharp katanas that chop bamboo forests. Shadows, an AAA game on East Asian cultural history that unfortunately came a few years too late (who knew Ghost of Tsushima would be that good!). Shadows, a new RPG combining stealth with brute force, new AC exploration with age-old tailing and eavesdropping missions.

If I am being very honest, Shadows is doing nothing radical in the larger sense of things. Gameplay, combat, and story are all as it was in the recent RPG style of the AC games. Given how a little too sprawling Valhalla was, I was concerned that Shadows would follow suit. But luckily for Ubisoft, Shadows is kind of perfect. The series has found the right balance of RPG and concentrated city exploration missions, and the landscapes in Shadows are absolutely stunning. This game felt closest to Odyssey in its overall themes, which means I will easily spend another 200 hours on Shadows. Let me explain.