The upcomingAssassin’s Creed Shadowsis drawing closer to release, even with the game being plagued by several delays that have now seen its release date be pushed to March 20. Many fans are interested to see how Ubisoft will apply the modern RPG framework of the franchise to the long-anticipated setting of Feudal Japan, with every narrative and gameplay-related detail being squeezed out of each glimpse of in-game footage that has been shown.
The decision forAssassin’s Creed Shadowsto feature two simultaneous protagonists is itself quite uncommon, being quite reminiscent of 2015’sAC Syndicate, and it already seems clear that this is having a large impact on gameplay. It always seemed obvious that the larger frame of Yasuke would lead to more brutal and powerful combat mechanics, and fans now have a good idea about how Naoe’s Shinobi background will impact the important parkour mechanics ofAC Shadows. Recently released gameplay footage shows a focus on seamless transitions and smooth animations forAC Shadow’s parkour, with the game seemingly taking great inspiration from one of the best aspects of 2014’sAssassin’s Creed Unity.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows' Parkour is Leaning Into the Strengths of the Franchise’s Past
The upcomingAssassin’s Creed Shadowsis choosing to continue the franchise’s recent trend of massively expansive mainline releases that adopt RPG mechanics, being a far cry away from the more compact and intimate scale of the IP’s earliest releases. This will hopefully allowShadowsto portray a wide range of Japanese settlements and landscapes, having a much greater impact on the game’s parkour possibilities rather than its combat mechanics.
Freerunning and parkour have always been at the heart of theAssassin’s Creedfranchise, being the secret weapon of the Assassin Brotherhood to rapidly traverse crowded urban spaces to eliminate targets and communicate with each other, yet the series has failed to really land on a consistent level of positive reception for the parkour mechanics of its many titles. A clear effort has been placed intoAC Shadowsto evolve the parkour mechanics that were seen in recent open-world games likeValhalla, with modern mainline franchise entries having focused largely on combat to the detriment of parkour.
Ubisoft recently teased some more gameplay footage ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows, largely showcasing Naoe’s parkour abilities, and fans were quick to point out how this seems like a return to form for this aspect of the franchise. The studio has stated how a massive focus has been placed on increasing the density of “parkour highways” inAC Shadows, with a new dive button also being used to seamlessly and stylishly dismount from ledges and leap over obstacles to transition between different traversal options.
A Smooth Parkour System Like Unity’s Could Provide a Huge Boost to Assassin’s Creed Shadows
This care being placed on parkour transitions and pathwaysseems very reminiscent of 2014’sAssassin’s Creed Unity, which itself has one of the most polished and satisfying parkour systems of anyACentry in the opinion of many fans. Despite the infamously problematic and glitch-filled launch state ofAC Unity, the parkour mechanics of the game were eventually refined to be an undeniable strong point for the franchise, andShadowsis seemingly leaning into this past success in what could be a very beneficial way.
Whilethe delays thatAC Shadowshas experienced are undoubtedly disappointing, this hopefully allows Ubisoft to avoid the same buggy launch thatUnityexperienced in 2014. It does seem as if more attention needs to be paid to the parkour systems of modern mainlineAssassin’s Creedtitles, and a focus on recapturing the seamless magic ofUnity’s freerunning seems like the perfect way forShadowsto earn more favor with long-term fans of the Ubisoft franchise.
