Assassin's Creed Shadows Releases November 15 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 15 May 2024 / 2,813 Views
Ubisoft announced Assassin's Creed Shadows will launch for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on November 15 for $69.99.
Pre-orders are available now and include the "Thrown to the Dogs" bonus quest.
View the cinematic world premiere trailer below:
View the trailer explaining who the two protagonists are below:
Read details on the different editions below:
Gold Edition ($109.99)
- The base game.
- Three days of early access to the game.
- The season pass and a bonus quest at launch and two upcoming expansions.
Ultimate Edition ($129.99)
- The base game.
- Three days of early access to the game.
- The season pass and a bonus quest at launch and two upcoming expansions.
- The Ultimate Pack, which includes the Sekiryu Character Pack, Hideout Pack, and five skill points, as well as the Red Dragon filter in Photo mode.
Read details on the game below:
Experience an epic historical action-adventure story set in feudal Japan! Become a lethal shinobi Assassin and a powerful legendary samurai as you explore a beautiful open world in a time of chaos. Switch seamlessly between two unlikely allies as you discover their common destiny. Master complementary playstyles, create your shinobi league, customize your hideout, and usher in a new era for Japan.
Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments.
Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles. As Naoe, use stealth to avoid detection and agility to confound your enemies. As Yasuke, strike your foes with lethal precision and power. Unlock new skills, gear, and progression independently for each character.
Make information your weapon as you explore the world, and build your own network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit new allies with unique abilities to help accomplish your missions.
Create a fully customizable hideout for your growing shinobi league as you train your crew, craft new gear, interact with key characters, and choose your base’s layout, decorations, and accessories.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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I feel like there's a bit of a disconnect between the amount of diversity and realism in Assassin's Creed games recently, and by recently I guess I mean at least since Odyssey, possibly even longer. Two games with female leads without much writing to back up why they had to be female in male-dominated eras, and now entirely skipping the "obvious choice"? I don't mind diversity when it has good writing to back it up (I just finished Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Aloy works great!), but with Assassin's Creed, it feels like it was deemed that no writing was required to back up the atypical choices for the eras of the most recent games - or, more bluntly, it feels like some choices were based entirely on diversity and nothing else.
Unless the game is bad, I'm probably still going to buy it, but with all the attention to detail Assassin's Creed has, I wish someone had the same attention to detail in writing these characters to feel like choosing who to portray as the protagonists makes sense. Maybe they get it right this time, but considering the recent games in the series, I have very strong doubts.
Yeah, some really weird choices. though to be honest, I'm more puzzled as to why there is samurai at all as a player character (though Yasuke was historical figure, but not sure about samurai part), in a game about stealthy assassins, which is perfect fit for game about ninjas, and then having only classic ninja as player character be female, which is historically inaccurate, given there roles were more similar to spies, as opposed to their "special ops" male counterparts.
He may not have been. But in Ni-Oh (a Japanese game) it was stated that Yasuke was appointed the rank of samurai by Nobunaga. He was a boss character there, and has featured as a samurai in several otherJapanese media such as Samurai Warriors.
As for historical accuracy, when George Washington was given superpowers by an artifact, and Leonardo da Vinci assisted in assassinations, there was no controversy.
No controversy when an Irish man was the lead for Ni-Oh.
This only seems to happen when either a woman or a person of color is made protagonist in such a game. And this one has both.
William Adams was English?
Well in Nioh he was Irish born.
Honestly, I am way more puzzled as to why is samurai even given as player character at all.
From my point of view, they should've gone with Japanese male as "spec ops" ninja, and Japanese female as a spy - but they would actually have to commit to AC being proper RPG - which, at one point, after Witcher 3's success, they wanted it to be, but never really committed to fully.
Well think about it like this. Both shinobi and samurai are very popular worldwide. If you have a game set in feaudal Japan, giving players access to both seems like a smart move. Ghost of Tsushima did the same thing, in one character, who had combat abilities mixed from both styles.
The way Ghost of Tsushima's story starts out, focusing on honor, you wouldn't think the shinobi style would suit the main character as it contradicts his teachings. But they worked it out well, so I'd give Ubisoft a chance to work the samurai style into the game. I think Yasuke's story could be interesting though. If you start off as a slave and earn the trust of Nobunaga and become a samurai. It reminds me of an old TV series about a European sailor who washed up on Japan's shores, was a slave, but worked his way up, learned the language, and the trust of the Shogun, etc.
Personally I don't feel like the historical inaccuracies you mentioned are a problem, because that's kind of the premise of the series, at least somewhat in the realm of possibility (although almost certainly very far from reality), and just generally written well enough into the series. It's basically a requirement for the series. I also don't mind some diversity that stands out, because the games depict clearly unusual events, so you might expect to see some choices that don't reflect typical society at the time. But at least four games in a row, with no particular lore explanation why that is the case? Now that sticks out like a sore thumb.
Also, I can't comment properly about Ni-Oh, because I haven't played it personally. My impression is that it's more slanted towards fantasy, but I reserve further judgement until I have experience with the game. Anyway, for less realistic games, I personally have less expectations about representation. Also, Assassin's Creed is quite familiar to me, so naturally I'm more inclined to comment about it than something I'm not very familiar with.
NiOh has a bigger focus on fantasy elements.
Were there lore explanation for why they chose an Italian to be in Constantinople (Revelations), a Welshman in the Caribbean (Black Flag), or a Norwegian in Britain (Valhalla)?
If yes, they might do that this time as well? If no, then I guess they like doing that now and then.
I'm not saying there can't be a lore explanation. I'm just saying that if you continuously keep finding ways to avoid more typical setups, it starts to have a certain look. If I was a betting man, my money would be on a diversity agenda that is fit to the setting of each game.
I'd prefer the design choices to be made with the game in mind first and including diversity where it makes sense, as opposed to trying to find a diversity angle to the main character(s) of every game and then finding a justification for it, which is what this is starting to feel like more and more with each game they make. Not that they've been doing a very good job with lore explanations for the diversity angle in in the last couple of games though... Maybe my memory is failing me, but I don't think they've touched the diversity angle much lore-wise.
EDIT: And I forgot to mention, but I find your comparisons to Black Flag and Valhalla not at all fair in the first place. With Black Flag, it's obvious they wanted to make a game about piracy, and especially after ACIII, having the setting be the Caribbean is only natural. In that context, the background of the protagonist seems only natural. The same goes for Valhalla: They wanted to make a game about Vikings, so it's either you play as a viking or someone fighting against the vikings. Picking the vikings was probably deemed to appeal more to the players (vikings are considered pretty badass!), so you pretty much end up with a foreigner as the protagonist unless you go out of your way to find an alternative. With Revelations, your point certainly stands, at least to an extent, although it seems a lot less far-fetched than Shadows. But Shadows, a game clearly about Japan first and foremost? Not at all natural choices. For both roles (samurai and shinobi), the natural pick would have been a Japanese male, whereas with Black Flag and Valhalla, their picks were only natural for the setting of the game. Again, doesn't have to be all natural every time, but now it's at least three games in a row with either non-obvious choices favoured (canon-wise) or exclusively. They're free to do so, and they can have great lore to back up the choices, but to me it sticks out 100%. I have little doubt that if you went and were able to get honest answers from the team, diversity would be one of the primary reasons for the choices.
Well I think the initial premise of the story would be if the exploration of the land and culture is from the perspective of someone very familiar to it, or an outsider.
The protagionist of NiOh is an outsider, so he is learning things along with the player. Things that a native samurai would already know of. That too has a natural feel to it for a player like me.
So if you want an outsider's perspective, Yasuke's story is probably one of the more well known ones, since he has been depicted as a samurai in several Japanese games and media. And his story of going from a slave to a position of status reminds me a lot of the TV series Shogun from the 80's.
Being able to play as a female character is almost always my preference, so I'm glad that's there. And if there is to be a female lead, then a kunoichi makes sense to me, since this is historical fiction. If this bothers someone to the point where it impacts their enjoyment, I think they are the ones ruining things for themselves tbh.
The outside point's a fair point, and one I also thought of. I'm sure it affected the decision, but I still have my money on diversity being the primary reason because of how many games they've now done in a way that looks like diversity is one of the main factors in their choice of the protagonist(s). As an individual games, I don't really have too much issue with the choices, but the picture across several games paints a different picture.
I also like playing as females! It's again the big picture, especially across several games, that's starting to hurt more and more. Immersion is a really important factor to me, and when I'm given two favoured female choices in other settings and a female character and a black character in the Sengoku period Japan, it starts to hurt my feeling of immersion. Of course I don't need immersion in all games, but Assassin's Creed in general does such a great job at immersion with its game worlds that anything that hurts the immersion is felt by me. Yes, I also have issue with the guided arrows and the eagle mechanics (and probably other, smaller things too) for the exact same reason, even though they're kind of fun mechanics. I don't decide for things to hurt my enjoyment, like I don't pick the kind of games I enjoy. Immersion and, relatedly, some sort of internal consistency just are something I've noticed I appreciate.
I'm glad they ditched last gen. Will have to wait for the Ubisoft event to see gameplay
Why were you downvoted for this?! That was my first thought as well - thank god they didn't try to do another cross-gen release and force the game unto PS4 and Xbox One again! I'm no fan of flashy cinematic trailers but the full gameplay reveal will come soon, at the Ubisoft or Microsoft events.
No idea lol, but yeah mirage and valhalla definitely did not feel like current gen games
Meh, I haven't cared for AC since Black Flag. I doubt this is going to be any different. I'm expecting the usual Ubisoft sense of quantity over quality in their major releases. And, of course it wouldn't be Ubisoft without a constant internet connection requirement for their single player games.
The idea of building your own spy network (~Brotherhood) sounds cool, but I'll probably end up waiting for a discounted complete edition or an appearance on PS+ or GamePass. Will wait for gameplay regardless.
-On re-reading this in the morning, I sounded unnecessarily snarky. My bad.
Have you played Brotherhood yet? That has the same feature, if you didn’t want to wait.
I have. Presumably this game will do something different with the concept or expand on it in new ways, which is why the idea entices me.
Requires online at all times to play a SP game. Get fucked Ubi
We wuz samurai, the game. I will pass
LMFAO best comment
Yasuke actually checks out historically and is kind of interesting considering the period, so I'm fine with it. The only thing that is not known is whether he was actually made a samurai or not, but at least he was samurai adjacent in many ways. Maybe this is one of the few instances where both sides can get what they want and it somehow works. Although I will not be surprised when they find something to complain about Yasuke anyways because he is not woke enough or something.
I actually have more to say about the female ninja. The kunoichi were a thing for sure, it was a ninja tactic to utilize their women in ways that gave them access to places and people in a different way. I don't think they were all about sword fighting and melee combat though, but rather using their allure to get inside places, even people's beds of course, and then slitting the throat of a sleeping target, or using poison or unlocking gates and that kind of stuff. Could be wrong, I'm not an expert. I'm just saying it could have been a different game mechanic as well.
Looks promising but their shady gold and ultimate edition prices really need to go away.
Make a fcking complete game or don't make one at all.
Looks good.
who would downvote this?
Mentally ill reactionary has never heard of Yasuke.
He's a real samurai...
Only in your head. Go find one official historical line about him being a samurai.
Nobody gives a shit, especially as it isn't entirely clear cut.
You know Leonidas wasn't a direct descendant of the Isu either right? The Isu don't exist, you know that? Leonardo Da Vinci didn't pal around with members of an assassin guild and help create the hidden blade, Pope Alexander VI wasn't a member of the Templar Order and didn't have a fight in some crypt with a magical weapon against an assassin, Leonidas didn't father both a boy and girl who went on to find Atlantis.
Assassin's Creed is fantasy mixed with historical elements, it is not strictly historical only, Yasuke was a real life person based in Japan and sounded like a bit of a badass, beyond that AC can take some liberties as they've done with every historical figure. I don't know whether he was or wasn't a samurai, I haven't looked into it too much but who the hell cares?
The Templar Order doesn't exist in Japan either!
It isn't just Ubisoft who depicted him as a samurai either, many Japanese creators have adapted or wrote about him as a samurai, Japanese author Yoshio Kurusu made a children's book about him, Takashi Okazaki's Afro Samurai is inspired by Yasuke, Koei Tecmo's Samurai Warriors 5 has Yasuke as a samurai. Nagoriyuki the samurai in Guilty Gear Strive is based on Yasuke.
You say "far left extremists" but you're having a meltdown over an Assassin's Creed title having a black samurai of all the things to complain about when it comes to Assassin Creed's historical accuracy, Lmao.
To be fair Al Mualim was real, based on Rashid ad-Din Sinan who lead the order of assassins during the crusades and he also tried to assassinate Saladin! But yeah he didn't have an apple of eden lol so history + fantasy
Judging by my Wikipedia read, he was a real person but probably not a samurai.
Hmm. I'm still not convinced, but there certainly seem to be a lot of content claiming he was a samurai, so perhaps he was one after all. I guess I'd have to check the sources and possibly get more familiar with Japanese culture at the time to get a better understanding of Yasuke, but that's probably not worth the effort.
Technically not a samurai, samurai were a nobility class in Japan and were given a fief of land, there is no record of Yasuke ever being given a fief nor the rank of samurai. He served Oda Nobunaga in the capacity of a retainer called a kosho, basically the equivalent of a page for European knights. The duties of a kosho include carrying the weapons and gear of their master during military campaigns, doing daily chores, and protecting their master with their lives, so they did receive combat training. He is documented to have fought in at least one battle, the Honnō-ji Incident, the final battle of Nobunaga's life where Nobunaga was betrayed by one of his own vassals, and was present when Nobunaga committed seppuku rather than be captured. After Nobunaga committed suicide Yasuke is said to have engaged Akechi's forces outside of the house of Nobunaga's son. After fighting off Akechi's men for some time, a vassal of Akechi is said to have approached Yasuke and asked him to surrender his sword, telling him he would be safe if he did, so Yasuke surrendered. Akechi is said to have sent Yasuke back to the Portuguese Jesuits who originally gave him to Oda Nobunaga, so that they could send him to India, and a letter from one of the Jesuits 5 months later indicates that Yasuke did indeed survive.
Ubisoft is taking some creative liberties here for sure, displaying him as a full-on samurai complete with an expensive suit of armor and a 2 sword set, records only show Yasuke was given a short sword upon being made a Kosho, not a 2 sword set nor a suit of armor. But Ubisoft has never claimed the series to be 100% historically accurate, all of the games take some liberties with history. I don't really mind them portraying Yasuke as a samurai since we have Naoe as a playable character as well and can choose to play as her for all side content and open world exploration, which I was probably going to do regardless because playing as a ninja in an Assassin's Creed game makes more sense than playing as a samurai.
Official records about his status were likely held in Azuchi Castle, which was burnt down.
Retainers of that era were often samurai. And he has been portrayed as a samurai in Japanese developed games and media before.
Perhaps that is romanticizing what they wanted him to be, or what they thought he was.
But Yasuke being depicted as a samurai is not a new thing as some other people seem to think.
And yeah, with George Washington getting super powers from an apple, and da Vinci assisting in assassinations, I wouldn't think Ubisoft aspired for 100% historical accuracy.
He's been a samurai in several Japanese made games before this, such as Ni-Oh and Samurai Warriors.
So no, Ubisoft didn't come up with that.
