Twenty minutes of Assassin’s Creed Shadows gameplay arrives, showing a castle takedown

Ubisoft’s latest look at the fast-approaching Assassin’s Creed Shadows shows just what’ll go into a castle takedown.

Stealth or action

When Assassin’s Creed Shadows does eventually drop this month, players will have a choice between making more of a frontal assault to tackle the game’s challenges, or a more ‘AC’ approach. By the latter, we naturally mean sneaking around in the shadows, and picking guys off one by one.

While it had been shown previously that the above choice comes by way of the game’s two protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke, and their differing styles, that’s only partially true. Yes, samurai Yasuke makes a lot more noise than the shinobi Naoe, but he’s also capable of stealth when needed. And on the flip side, Naoe can get plenty confrontational.

This week’s video drop showcases all of that, delving into combat possibilities aplenty, as both characters are shown infiltrating the same hostile stronghold.

Walking dual paths

So what did you think? Assassin’s Creed Shadows has gotten its fair share of pre-launch criticism for a number of design choices, but the game in action does look pretty sharp. On a side-note too, the video actually makes direct mention of something that we’re quite fond of, with the title’s sound design. We’re suckers for that sometimes forgotten element of gaming, and we have to agree that Shadows certainly sounds terrific. Along that asme track too, we’re feeling like the all-Japanese language mode adds a ton to the atmosphere.

As for the looks, they are undeniably good. And we’re not only talking about the characters and movement, but also the country itself. The action in feudal Japan moves between seasons in a way that we actually weren’t aware of. A nice surprise, that.

Are you planning on picking up Assassin’s Creed Shadows? If you are, then you’re almost to launch, as the title will hit Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC on March 20th. And if you haven’t made up your mind just yet, you might want to click on over to the PS Blog, where there’s a much longer and more detailed look at all of what was shown off in the new video. Find that here.