Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows is a 2025 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Quebec and published by Ubisoft. The game is the fourteenth major installment in the Assassin's Creed series and the successor to Assassin's Creed Mirage.
Set in 16th-century Japan towards the end of the Sengoku period, the game focuses on the millennia-old struggle between the Assassin Brotherhood, who fight for peace and liberty, and the Templar Order, who desire peace through control, from the perspective of two protagonists: Fujibayashi Naoe, a kunoichi, and Yasuke, an African samurai inspired by the historical figure of the same name. The two characters have different gameplay styles, allowing quests to be approached in multiple ways.
Shadows was released for macOS, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on March 20, 2025, with a version for Nintendo Switch 2 released on December 2, 2025, and a version for iPadOS to be released at a later date. Upon release, the game received generally positive reviews from critics.
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. 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.
Naoe has access to four main weapons: the katana, the kusarigama, the tantō dagger, which she dual-wields alongside her Hidden Blade, and the bo staff. Naoe's Hidden Blade can pivot, allowing her to hold it in an icepick grip. She can also use throwables that can deal damage, put out light sources, sabotage alarm systems, or distract and hinder enemies. Naoe is also skilled in parkour, able to climb most in-game structures on her own, or with aid from a grappling hook. She also has an agile style of combat, which includes dodging enemy strikes, deflecting enemy attacks into counters, and vaulting over enemies to strike them at their most vulnerable.
Yasuke has access to five main weapons. He starts out with a long katana, and eventually gains access to the naginata and kanabo as secondary melee weapons. Yasuke is also deadly from a distance with the yumi bow and the teppo. Though not as skilled as Naoe in parkour, Yasuke makes up for it by having a larger health pool. He can also parry attacks, standing his ground and deflecting the enemy's blows to open up for a counter-offensive, and makes the most of his superior size and strength against his opponents by kicking and charging into them.
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, 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 seize the box. Nagato quickly comes to her aid, but is mortally wounded by one of the masked men, who leave with the box; with his dying breath, Nagato instructs Naoe to "follow the blade."After recovering from her wounds months later, Naoe, seeking revenge on her father's killers and 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 Nobunga 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 ikkis 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.
As Naoe and Yasuke build up their league with new recruits, they deal with the remaining Shinbakufu until only Mitsuhide and the group's mysterious leader remain. At the Battle of Yamazaki, Naoe and Yasuke join Hashiba Hideyoshi's army in besieging Shōryūji Castle, where Mitsuhide has taken refuge. After mortally wounding him, Mitsuhide identifies the leader of the Shinbakufu as former shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki, who sought to regain his power after being dethroned by Oda Nobunaga. With Mitsuhide dead, Hideyoshi claims victory and promises to reform Japan as Nobunaga's successor, to which Naoe warns him to keep his promise. Afterwards, she and Yasuke confront Yoshiaki, who offers to trade both the stolen box and information for his life. He reveals that the box is one of three, each containing one of the Imperial Regalia of Japan, and that an Assassin matching Tsuyu's description was spotted in Yamato. He also reveals that the Templar Order—which Yasuke has history with—supported the Shinbakufu, and that the Templar Kimura Kei is recruiting new members to the Order's cause in Kii.
Sparing Yoshiaki's life, Naoe and Yasuke split up to investigate their new leads. Naoe travels to Yamato, where she recalls the story Nagato had told her about Tsuyu. Many years prior, the Assassins, under Tsuyu's leadership, safeguarded the Imperial Regalia until they were massacred by the Shinbakufu. Tsuyu managed to protect one of the regalia and gave it to Nagato while she left to search for the rest, but never returned. Naoe finds the Assassins' intended hiding place for the regalia and returns her box, fulfilling her promise to her father. Hanzō then arrives and returns the second box, which Ieyasu recovered from the Templars. He admits that he had betrayed the Assassins out of jealousy at Tsuyu choosing Nagato over him, and sold the regalia's location to the Shinbakufu. Naoe ultimately forgives Hanzō and offers him a chance to correct his mistake by helping her find Tsuyu, who they both believe is still alive.
Meanwhile, Yasuke tracks down and eliminates both Kimura Kei and Duarte de Melo, the Portuguese Templar and slaver he had previously served. He then confronts Nuno Caro, the leader of the Templar Order in Japan, who had killed Yasuke's mother years prior after suspecting her of being a spy; Yasuke was nearly killed as well, but escaped thanks to a distraction from an Assassin. As Yasuke kills Caro, he proclaims his new identity as a member of the Kakushiba ikki, and declares war on the Templars.