Meet the ever-changing world of Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Not something that’s gotten much attention, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will feature a changing environment via some new tech.

Storm’s coming

There is a storm coming, in a few ways, as Assassin’s Creed Shadows is shaping up to be one of the more interesting titles in the series. For one thing, there’s the controversy surrounding it, and the way that it appears to play faster and looser than AC games typically have with its time period.

There’s been no shortage of fans taking note of that since the title’s reveal, so we won’t cover it again here. But there are some other ways in which Assassin’s Creed Shadows is notable, which have gotten almost no attention. And those fall squarely in the game’s technical makeup.

For one thing, there’s the destructibility that’s set to be in play. Unlike really every other AC entry, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will allow for the real-time destruction and even interactivity. For example, lights can be turned on and off, and things like doors, bamboo trees, market stalls, and more can all be wrecked as players see fit. Then there’s the “ray-tracing global illumination”.

A new system that Ubi will be using in the game, ray-tracing global illumination will allow for alterations to the world’s ray-tracing, also something that AC games have lacked in the past. And from the news drop that we received today, it’ll need those on the fly alterations to its lighting, since the game’s weather will change as you play too.

Take a look at all of the above in action, in the new trailer below:

However you feel about the contents of its story, Assassin’s Creed Shadows appears to be a darned attractive game. There’s even more to it than the above mentioned as well, as Shadows introduces something called micro-polygons. That’s a tech that serves to create a more detailed game world, and one that will hopefully scale easier, as players engage with this massive open-world.

Basically, the “micro polygon” term breaks down to mean that in-game assets don’t need to be replaced as players approach something from a distance. Instead micro polygons are “adaptable intelligent assets” that “render themselves best based on their visibility and proximity to the player”, according to Technology Director Pierre Fortin. Sounds slick, and from the trailer anyway, it looks to work nicely.

All of this will be in full effect, when Assassin’s Creed Shadows arrives for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, along with Amazon Luna, and Macs “with Apple silicon via the Mac App Store”, on November 15th, 2024.

If you’d like to read a ton more on everything mentioned here in this article, click here to head to Ubisoft’s news page.