Yasuke

Gameplay

Assassin's Creed Shadows is an action role-playing game with an emphasis on each of its two playable characters' set of unique skills. It is developed on an upgraded version of Anvil, using dynamic lighting and environmental interactions. Improvements include the addition of breakable objects and the ability to manipulate shadows and use a grappling hook for parkour. The game's open world, whose size is comparable to that of Assassin's Creed Origins, progresses through seasons which can affect gameplay (for example, ponds and shallow bodies of water in which Naoe can submerge herself and hide in, are frozen over in winter). Missions are non-linear, encouraging players to track and eliminate targets freely; in a change from previous games, vantage points exist to help the player look for points of interest, not to mark objectives. By default, Assassin's Creed Shadows does not reveal the exact locations of targets or key NPCs, and the player must recruit and deploy scouts to narrow down their exact location based on clues given.

New gameplay features include the ability to go prone and crawl along the ground, helping the player avoid detection and pass through small openings. The character can venture into shallow water, breathing through a bamboo stick. Traditional 'Eagle Vision' also makes a comeback for Naoe, allowing her to determine the locations of enemies and useful gameplay elements. Both Naoe and Yasuke can enter a new mode called "Observe", a fast and easy way of gathering information about targets. This mode is also available while crouching on high vantage points, enabling players to closely examine newly discovered places. Hiding in shadows makes Naoe invisible to her enemies, both indoors and outdoors, so players may choose to destroy lit lanterns with shurikens. Moving while crouching enables the player to move silently across creaking nightingale floors.

Players can switch between characters as they progress through missions. A diverse selection of historically accurate weapons is available, from katanas and the kanabō war club, to polearms such as the naginata, thrown weapons such as shurikens and kunai, ranged weapons such as the yumi bow and teppo matchlock rifle, and the kusarigama. Each weapon comes with its own skill tree, enabling players to improve their proficiency. Both characters have distinctly different playstyles. Players can choose to take a stealthy, agile approach as Naoe, or charge headlong into combat as Yasuke.

Synopsis

Setting

Assassin's Creed Shadows is set in feudal Japan, specifically starting in 1579 during the Azuchi-Momoyama period. This era marks the final stage of the Sengoku period, a time of intense civil war in Japan. The game features the historical figure Oda Nobunaga at the height of his power, following his victory over the Takeda clan using arquebus firearms. Key historical events include Nobunaga's assault on the Iga province in 1581, a significant battle involving the Iga ikki, known for their ninjutsu arts. Like previous Assassin's Creed titles, characters based on historical figures are present in the game, including the samurai Yasuke, one of the two playable characters, missionaries Luís Fróis and Alessandro Valignano, samurai Hattori Hanzo, Akechi Mitsuhide, and Ise Sadaoki, the sōhei Kyōnyo, merchants Imai Sōkun and Imai Sōkyū, and tea master Sen no Rikyū, among others.

The game world covers the Kansai region of central Japan, including locations like Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka, and the Iga province, with historically-accurate castles such as Takeda and Fukuchiyama, along with detailed historical landmarks and strongholds designed as intricate dungeons. This setting reflects the urbanization of Japan at the time, featuring bustling ports, samurai districts, and ornate architecture, all significant for parkour and exploration in the game. The influence of Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries, who introduced Christianity and new technologies like cannons and long guns to Japan, also plays a role in shaping the game's environment and narrative.

Plot

In 1581, the African slave Diogo arrives in Kyoto alongside a delegation of Jesuit priests, who seek to negotiate with daimyo Oda Nobunaga for the safe passage of their missionaries throughout Japan. Nobunaga grants the request on the condition that Diogo be transferred into his service. Diogo, renamed Yasuke, begins training to become a samurai and, six months later, accompanies Nobunaga on his invasion of Iga Province to exterminate the shinobi of the Iga ikki. During the battle, the young shinobi Fujibayashi Naoe is tasked by her father Nagato to take his Hidden Blade and recover a box hidden in a nearby kofun, which she must protect at all costs. However, Naoe is ambushed by a masked samurai, who injures her and takes the box. Nagato rescues her and, after recovering, Naoe tracks down the masked samurai, assassinates him, and recovers the box. As she escapes, Naoe is shot and cornered by the masked samurai's comrades, who again seize the box. Nagato comes to her aid, but is mortally wounded by the masked men, who leave with the box; with his dying breath, Nagato instructs Naoe to "follow the blade."

After recovering from her wounds, Naoe, seeking revenge on her father's killers and aiming to recover the stolen box, visits Tomiko, an old family friend. Tomiko grants Naoe usage of her homestead as a base to gather supplies and allies, and directs her to Sakai. There, Naoe finds leads to the whereabouts of two of the masked killers, and assassinates them both. She is then approached by Akechi Mitsuhide, who identifies Oda Nobunaga as the leader of the group, called the Shinbakufu, and enlists Naoe's help to eliminate him. Naoe infiltrates the Honnō-ji Temple and confronts Nobunaga, who reveals that Mitsuhide lied to her and that he is not part of the Shinbakufu. With Mitsuhide's army closing in, Nobunaga elects to commit seppuku with Yasuke's help while Naoe escapes.

Now a rōnin, Yasuke, seeking a new purpose, approaches Naoe and asks to join her. He reveals that, during the invasion of Iga, he fought and killed the Iga ikki's leader, Momochi Sandayu, who also wielded a Hidden Blade and urged him to help Naoe if he found her. Naoe initially refuses to forgive Yasuke for partaking in Nobunaga's assault on Iga, but is told by her young ally Junjiro that the masked samurai she had killed was his father. With Junjiro having learned to forgive Naoe for her actions, Naoe agrees to give Yasuke a chance to make amends.

Working together, the pair track down and eliminate more of the Shinbakufu, and in the process meet Nobunaga's former retainer, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Hattori Hanzō, an erstwhile member of the Iga ikki. Hanzō warns Naoe to forget about the box, claiming that both her father and her mother, Tsuyu, died protecting it. However, seeing that Naoe will not back down, Hanzō instructs her to head to a kofun in Settsu to learn the truth about her parents. There, Naoe finds an Assassin hideout and journal, revealing that Emperor Go-Nara had tasked the Assassins to build a new Brotherhood in Japan, with Tsuyu being one of the Assassins given the task. Deciding to continue the Assassins' mission, Naoe, Yasuke, Tomiko, and Junjiro form the Kakushiba ikki (the "League of the Hidden Blade").

Development

Assassin's Creed Shadows was announced at Ubisoft Forward in September 2022 under the working title Assassin's Creed: Codename Red along with its planned successor, Assassin's Creed: Codename Hexe. There, Ubisoft announced that Assassin's Creed would be entering a third period related to shifts in design philosophy and approaches to future games, all connected by a working concept called Assassin's Creed Infinity (later renamed to the Animus Hub). The first major gameplay details were announced on May 15, 2024, along with the final name and release date. It was also later revealed that Ubisoft Quebec, who had previously developed Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Assassin's Creed Syndicate, would be developing the game. Development began in 2020, following the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

Shadows is the first game in the series to be aimed at the ninth generation of video game consoles (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S), dropping support for the eighth generation consoles (PlayStation 4 and Xbox One). Lead producer Karl Onnée said the hardware available in the newer consoles was necessary to support the new version of their engine that supplies effects like light, shadows, and dynamic weather.

During a Ubisoft financial meeting, CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed that while the company does not disclose production costs or any final costs, Shadows exceeded €100 million ($116 million) in expenses.

During a financial results web call Ubisoft has confirmed it plans to release additional versions of Assassin's Creed Shadows for "other machines".

Marketing and release

Assassin's Creed Shadows was initially scheduled to release for iPadOS, macOS, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on November 15, 2024. In September 2024, Ubisoft announced that, despite the game being feature complete, they opted to delay the release to February 14, 2025, for further polishing, citing insights gained from the Star Wars Outlaws launch in August. The company also cancelled the game's season pass and refunded existing pre-orders, with future pre-orders set to include the first expansion for free. In a shift from Ubisoft's previous release practices, the PC version would launch simultaneously on Steam, Epic Games Store, and Ubisoft Connect. In January 2025, Ubisoft postponed the release once again to March 20, as the company explored its sale options and to provide developers with more time to implement additional changes.

Shadows was rated as "CERO Z" in January 2025 by Japan's Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO), which legally limits sale of the game to adults; CERO issued its rating based on the amount of gore that was present in the game such as body dismemberment. While the game will be released internationally with an in-game toggle to show or disable the gore, Ubisoft said that they are working to make a Japan-specific version of the game which will not include the toggle and eliminate the gore from the game to achieve a less strict CERO rating. A collectible figure was scheduled to be released in promotion for the game. The figure used a design similar to the damaged one-legged Torii gate Sannō Shrine in Nagasaki, located less than a mile from the epicenter of the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki. It was removed from sale following claims of cultural insensitivity. In February 2025, leaked gameplay footage showed Yasuke being able to enter the Itatehyōzu Shrine and destroy the altar, causing controversy. Shrine officials said they were not consulted about the shrine's usage in the game and that they would take "appropriate action" against the game.

In February 2025, Ubisoft stated that pre-orders for the game were in line with those of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the series' second best-selling game. In that same month, it was reported that physical copies of the game for PlayStation 5 leaked.

Upon the release of the video game's premiere trailer on May 15, 2024, the decision to feature Yasuke as a central character prompted criticism online. Some fans on social media and conservative critics reacted negatively to the inclusion of a Black samurai protagonist instead of an indigenous Japanese one, accusing Ubisoft of "going woke", or stating that Yasuke was "not a 'real' samurai." Others noted that Ubisoft has never made a game with a male East Asian protagonist. The online backlash led to harassment and threats directed at the game developers. Sachi Schmidt-Hori, an associate professor at Dartmouth College in Japanese culture who had aided Ubisoft in reviewing the game's dialog for accuracy, became a target for harassment, though she was able to fend off some of these attacks herself. Multiple commentators, including Laurence Russell of Wired, likened the backlash to the Gamergate harassment campaign and the alt-right. Elon Musk criticized Assassin's Creed Shadows and Ubisoft for "woke" content, claiming that "DEI kills art", and specified the inclusion of Yasuke as offensive. Ubisoft responded by saying that Musk's comments were "just feeding hatred" and that they were focused on producing a game, not pushing politics.

Additional content

On May 27, 2025, Shadows received its first additional content in the form of crossovers with Balatro and Dead by Daylight, including cosmetic items and a new quest.

Claws of Awaji, the first paid downloadable content pack for the game, was released on September 16, 2025. Set on Awaji Island, it includes new gears and abilities, as well as a 10-hour story campaign. This expansion pack was developed by Ubisoft Bordeaux.

From May 6, 2025, to June 16, 2026, Ubisoft periodically released Story Drops for the game, small updates that introduced additional quests featuring both new and familiar characters. The first of these, The Works of Luis Frois, focused on the titular character, whom Yasuke met and befriended during the main story campaign of Shadows. The second Story Drop, titled A Critical Encounter, was released on June 25 and added a new questline and a new recruitable ally named Rufino (voiced by Robbie Daymond, reprising his role from a Critical Role one-shot); the update also introduced a new difficulty setting, 'Nightmare', and other gameplay features. The third Story Drop, released on November 25, added a new quest called "A Puzzlement", as well as a limited-time crossover with Attack on Titan, featuring cosmetic items for both Naoe and Yasuke and a special questline.

On June 9, 2026, Ubisoft announced that the final major update for Assassin's Creed Shadows would be released on June 16. The update introduced a concluding story quest, Black Tides, in which Naoe and Yasuke confront two elite Templars known as the "Black Cross". It also added a new endgame activity called "Domains", a replayable Animus simulation mode featuring five challenge maps with rotating modifiers and unique rewards. Additional Animus HUB crossover projects, "Riptides" and "Undertow", were also introduced, offering themed cosmetic rewards and gear. The update also included the final Modern Day Rift, Horizon, which bridged Shadows to Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced and the Animus HUB.

Reception

Critical reception

Assassin's Creed Shadows received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic, and 82% of critics recommend the game according to OpenCritic. In Japan, four critics from Famitsu gave the game a total score of 36 out of 40.

Giovanni Colantonio from Digital Trends praised the game for its "memorable characters" and "peaceful exploration" but criticised its "messy story" and "thin content". Eurogamer's Tom Phillips wrote that it "honours the beauty of feudal Japan, even if its strongest moments are saved for the personal stories of its two protagonists." Wesley LeBlanc of Game Informer wrote that "Shadows, like its predecessors, has now yielded its own memory for me to store in my personal Animus: a reminder that when it comes to this medium, gameplay is king. In Shadows, playing as Yasuke and Naoe is as powerful as the Shoguns that ruled during this era of Japan." GameSpot's Jordan Ramée said that it "messes with a good thing by including one too many playable protagonists, but Naoe is a valuable new addition to the legacy". Andrew Brown of GamesRadar+ said that it "thrives on boldness. Its dual protagonists improve on the series' stealth-driven roots and modern RPG leanings, though they're let down by a vague story that fails to make full use of either character." Kevin Dunsmore of Hardcore Gamer thought it "had a lot of elements on paper that made it sound like it could be the best Assassin's Creed game in years." but said "it also falls short on nearly as many." IGN's Jarrett Green wrote it "creates one of the best versions of the open-world style it's been honing for the last decade". Green noted the game's refined mechanics and setting in feudal Japan, but criticized its imbalanced combat and missed storytelling opportunities. Echo Apsey of NME said "A fantastic story and well-developed characters ground the game in a believable era of Japan that is fun to explore. It confidently sets the standard for the next games in the franchise." Oscar Gonzalez of CNET highlighted the successful blend of action and stealth, while noting quirks in quest design and English voice acting.

Morgan Park of PC Gamer criticized the game's dull story, "bland cast, and barrage of quests", and Fraser Brown said that there was "a lot to like" but criticized the RPG elements. Reid McCarter of PCGamesN said "While its open world is stunning, its combat is robust, and its dual-protagonist design is somewhat novel, Assassin's Creed Shadows proves too repetitive and dramatically flat to wholeheartedly recommend taking its trip back in time." Push Square's Robert Ramsey praised the game for its "intriguing, twisting story", "great protagonists", "solid combat" and "striking soundtrack" but criticised its forced RPG elements and "rough" English dub. Aidan O'Brien from Shacknews praised the game for its "interesting characters" and fun combat but noted that the "traversal" mechanics "can occasionally feel clunky and awkward" and that there was occasional "weak" voice acting from the NPCs. The Guardian's Daniella Lucas praised the game's "excellent performances and emotionally resonant moments". Video Game Chronicle's Jordan Middler called it "the best Assassin's Creed game in 10 years". Dom Peppiatt from VG247 said "it's so fun to play, it's telling a gripping story, and there is so much sense of progress and reward for every little thing you do that it actually feels like an open world game".

Sales

Ubisoft stated that Assassin's Creed Shadows surpassed a million players on its release date and three million players within a week. Steam showed a concurrent player count peak of 41,412 on launch day, growing to 64,825 during the first weekend after launch. The feat established the game as the highest Assassin's Creed game by concurrent players on Steam to date. According to Ubisoft's fiscal report for its 2025 fiscal year, ending March 31, 2025, Assassin's Creed Shadows has outperformed Assassin's Creed Odyssey in consumer spending to date and achieved the second-highest day-one sales revenue in the history of the franchise, ranking only behind Assassin's Creed Valhalla. On its half-year 2026 report ending September 30, 2025, Ubisoft reported that Shadows was "overperforming".

According to analysis by market research firm Circana, Shadows was the best-selling game of March 2025 in the U.S. They ranked the game as the second-best selling game of the year in the U.S. as of April, behind Monster Hunter Wilds and ahead of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. By July, it had fallen to third place, with Monster Hunter Wilds and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered surpassing it, while it remained ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. According to market research firm GfK, Assassin's Creed Shadows had the largest physical video game launch in the United Kingdom in 2025, surpassing Monster Hunter Wilds. In March 2025, market research firm Newzoo reported that it debuted as the second highest-grossing game across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, trailing only Fortnite. According to video game sales-tracking service GSD as of July 2025, Shadows was Europe's best-selling new PC and console game released in 2025 and the second best-selling 2025 game overall behind EA Sports FC 25.

Rhys Elliott of the games market data firm Alinea Analytics said that while Ubisoft says Shadows had 2 million players by March 2025, PlayStation 5 and Steam data from the first two days showed that only half of those appeared to come from sales, the other half being from subscription services.

According to Ubisoft's mid-2025 financial results, Shadows surpassed the 5 million player mark by July 2025 and performed in line with expectations.