Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be released early next year, and already the game has started splitting the community down the middle. Since the title was revealed by Ubisoft earlier this year, it has proven to be a divisive game, and nobody truly knows how to feel about it. It was given a significant pushback by Ubisoft already, as it was supposed to be released in October 2024.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ubisoft’s Jonathan Dumont took a deep dive into Naoe, one of the game’s lead characters who fights alongside Yasuke, the first assassin in the series based on someone who actually existed.
Super Speedy
In the interview with Entertainment Weekly, the creative director of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Jonathan Dumont, explained the advantages of Naoe, a ‘shinobi’-style character with insane agility levels:
Naoe’s the fastest Assassin we ever made. She runs super fast, she has a lot of gadgets to keep her stealth so that she doesn’t have to fight often. We wanted to satisfy that for players that come in for that ninja-Assassin game.
Assassin’s Creed fans spent years begging for a title to surface set in Japan, but when it was finally revealed, it left many feeling disappointed. Given that Ubisoft was beaten to the punch by the likes of Ghost of Tsushima, a high bar has been set that the current Ubisoft formula might not be able to reach.
The proof will be in the pudding, though.
In 2023, Ubisoft released Assassin’s Creed Mirage, and it was taken in remarkably well by fans because it was a small-form game that was seen as a return to the more classic AC experience. In AC Shadows, it’s back to the gargantuan open-world RPG model.
In Shadows, Naoe’s story is all about self-discovery and the betterment of her character and those close to her. Dumont explored that in the interview with Entertainment Weekly:
She will start a bit of a path of vengeance or fulfilling a promise that she made to her family. As she discovers a world in need, she begins to really value the community values her father taught. Can she make a better world?The Hidden Blade is given by her father, and we’re going to learn a little bit more what that means.She does feel like a panther looking at her prey.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows will launch amidst a packed release window on February 14 – are you looking forward to the game?