Ubisofts latest open-world game needs to be a triumph, at least by its own shaky standards.
Thankfully, that delay seems to have paid off.
Calling it a slow start would be an understatement.
Rinse and repeat for a few story acts, and youve got your main campaign.
Naoe and Yasuke themselves are compelling enough protagonists.
The bond they share is the storys main saving grace.
The games facial animation is a bit of a sore spot here, too.
At times, it looks perfectly fine and in line with the games more moving cinematics.
However, the game does not shy away from Yasukes fish out of water-like presence in the story.
There couldn’t be, right…?
This games weakest point narratively, by an absolute country mile, is its incredibly inconsistent voice acting.
Her struggle to emote extends to the rest of the games cast, as well.
Naoe adeptly fulfills the shinobi fantasy, and feels like a throwback to early-era gameplay for this franchise.
This is the most tuned in Ive been to an Assassins Creed game in a while.
Despite this, Assassins Creed Shadows makes a strong argument for being Ubisofts most beautiful game yet.
The world Ubisoft has crafted for this game is undeniably its strongest point.
The sidequests players run through are some of this series best, as well.
The main campaign does have its shortcomings namely dated facial animation, forgettable characters, and poor voice acting.
Thats Open World 101, and its something that Ubisoft has painstakingly relearned to make Assassins Creed Shadows great.
We received a copy of the game for this review.
