19 March, 2025 – CraigBGP Team

Assassin's Creed Shadows Review Score Roundup

In a few hours' time, Ubisoft will be transporting us to 16th-century Japan with Assassin's Creed Shadows. The episode, which is as controversial as it is eagerly awaited, explores the tumultuous period of the Azuchi-Momoyama. This new opus features two protagonists: Yasuke, a samurai, and Naoe, a shinobi. With the Assassin's Creed stamp of approval, the game combines action, infiltration and exploration in an open world rich in historical detail.

Each episode has its own destination, and feudal Japan is recreated with iconic locations such as Kyoto and Osaka, as well as historical figures such as Oda Nobunaga. The game reflects the influence of the cultural exchanges of the period, incorporating elements such as arquebuses and Christianity.

Two characters for two gameplay styles: Yasuke favours strength and frontal attack with heavy weapons, while Naoe is more subtle with her shinobi skills. You can switch between the two to suit the situation. There's a return to the RPG formula, as in Odyssey or Valhalla, with the emphasis on progression via skill trees, customisable weapons and a vast, dense open world.

Let's move on to the feedback on the Steam chart-topper. Critics are unanimous in hailing the game's visual richness and atmosphere as ACS's biggest plus point. The immersion and duality of Yasuke and Naoe's gameplay adds welcome depth. On the negative side, the game's length is sometimes considered excessive, requiring around fifty hours to complete. Though it's shorter than some of the recent titles (we're looking at you Odyssey!).

On the ratings aggregator Metacritic, Assassin's Creed Shadows currently has an average score of 78/100 on PC. On OpenCritic, the score is 81/100.