Говно от Ubisoft, но в Японии 😍

In-depth review of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Shadows set in Japan, analyzing gameplay, open world, story, and series impact.

Key Takeaways

Assassin's Creed Shadows offers a beautiful but overly large and content-sparse open world.
Gameplay mechanics like cutting vegetation are underutilized and sometimes frustrating.
The story and character development show promise, adding emotional weight to the series.
Ubisoft's approach balances catering to new fans and longtime players but struggles with innovation.
The game is enjoyable but imperfect, reflecting Ubisoft's typical strengths and weaknesses.

What the video covers

The video reviews Assassin's Creed Shadows focusing solely on the game itself, avoiding external controversies.
The reviewer compares Shadows to previous Ubisoft titles, especially Valhalla, highlighting improvements and shortcomings.
The open world is visually stunning but criticized for its vastness, lack of meaningful content, and inconvenient travel mechanics.
The cutting mechanic for bushes and trees is praised visually but deemed practically useless due to quick regrowth and slow movement.
The game embraces a Japanese setting with traditional elements like sakura and bamboo, appealing to fans of stealth and ninjas.
Combat is balanced with timing and strategy, though some mechanics and enemy AI are considered rudimentary.
The leveling system and special missions are criticized for being poorly implemented and unengaging.
Story elements show emotional depth, with the protagonist displaying growth and forgiveness, a highlight since earlier series entries.
The reviewer expresses mixed feelings about Ubisoft's direction, appreciating some originality but lamenting the lack of innovation.
Overall, the game is seen as a step forward but still flawed, with potential for improvement in future releases.

Chapters

What is the main criticism of the open world in Assassin's Creed Shadows?

The open world is visually impressive but criticized for being too large with sparse content, inconvenient travel due to dense forests, and ineffective mechanics like cutting vegetation that quickly regrows.

How does the reviewer feel about the game's story and characters?

The reviewer appreciates the emotional depth and character growth, noting it as a highlight compared to previous series entries, especially the protagonist's moments of forgiveness.

Does the video discuss Ubisoft's overall direction with this game?

Yes, the reviewer acknowledges some originality and improvements but also points out a lack of innovation and recurring issues typical of Ubisoft games.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

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Thunder rumbles, the earth shakes. Look at this mess the industry makes. What's up, guys? Umizuka here, the best gaming channel in the Russian-speaking internet. You know, I was thinking, despite the fact that I usually talk about how I discovered the series or

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the news cycle surrounding a game's release and the review process, I'm not going to do that this time. A new Assassin's Creed release is always hype. It doesn't matter if the feedback is good or bad, it always causes a stir in

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society. This last year has been full of yellow journalism and clickbait, but the release of this Assassin's Creed became a real pile of toxic sludge.

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For [ __ ] sake. And if I hear one more word about the temple, the parliament, black people, or even their underwear—and yes, they even managed to nitpick that—I'm honestly feeling nauseous, even if I like the creator making the content.

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That's why this review will be dedicated exclusively to the game itself, both as a standalone title and as a part of the series. In this video, we'll find out how far Ubisoft has stepped forward compared to Valhalla, whether the story even needs Yasuke,

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and why the only person who clearly enjoyed the development process was the director. Get comfortable, grab something to eat, and enjoy the show.

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For the record, I’ve almost never held a negative view of Assassin's Creed. The first physical copy I ever bought with my own money—back then they were called Jewel Editions—was AC2. I was so hyped for the Brotherhood and Revelations trailers, I watched

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them for hours. "Literal" and "Smosh" parodies of AC3 and Black Flag went straight onto my MP3 player. I would've even had sex to the Unity trailer.

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Although, at that time I was in the army, so I was the one getting [ __ ] instead. Anyway, all the installments of the creed-killers settled into my Ubisoft Connect accounts, and the latest one had to end up there too.

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Though, to my credit, I did resist. I refunded and repurchased this game so many times, I’m surprised Gabe hasn't banned me on Steam yet. A saintly man.

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Gabe is a saintly man. Alright, I promised no long introductions, so let’s get right to the game. Shadows was doomed to succeed even before its release and the news cycle fueled by SJWs, "based" bros, and Twitter/Telegram trolls, because it couldn't

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have been any other way. First off, it’s a total weeb setting. Sakura blooming, bamboo being cut. They even touched up the main characters' faces.

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Isn't it just lovely? If we could play as a schoolgirl, it would be absolute perfection. But that’s just my personal wish, and we’ll see that in Silent Hill F. And secondly, it’s finally a game about assassins. Yes, you could nitpick that they aren't

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exactly assassins, but shinobi, but Christian Bale was taught to fight not ten enemies, but ten hundred. True ninjas are, well, literally stealth killers. So, for all those who whined about mages, Vikings, and Spartans, a celebration has finally come to your

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street. As for those who started celebrating back with Mirage, I ask you to apologize for your lack of judgment.

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And for those who missed Mirage, I ask you to follow the link above and check out my opinion on the previous Ubisoft game. In fairness, the casuals—that is, the new fans—weren't forgotten either. After all, the game has Yasuke,

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who effortlessly dismantles hordes of enemies. Because of him, there would be a reason to play through difficult segments, were it not for one very cool move Naoe has, which we'll discuss later. In general, Shadows hasn't strayed far from the canons of the

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mythological trilogy, and yet everyone liked it, which once again proves my theory about the bias against Valhalla, which, to be perfectly honest, has a much more interesting story and is more important to the series. It reveals the smallest lore details, making exploring

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the open world in Valhalla at least somewhat interesting. Exploring the open world in Shadows, however, is a rather dubious pleasure, let me tell you. And that, mind you, is a major part of the game. Starting from this paradigm, we will begin with our

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assessment of the open world. To say that the open world in Ubisoft games is consistently beautiful has, frankly, become a tired cliché. But not to mention it would be a sin. Sudden gusts of wind during a storm, falling cherry

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blossom petals, vast rice fields, pristine bodies of water, and majestic wooden towers. Everything is crafted so well that you naturally want to live in this world. That’s how it’s always been, in general. But I still want to take my hat off to the artists,

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especially in the era of artificial intelligence and the widespread use of the Unreal Engine 5 library. But the content of this open world is a different conversation. Do you see what the problem is? I would have said recently that every open world is crap,

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so its mere presence is an unpleasant detail. But I played some SMT5 Vengeance recently, and I can't really bring myself to say that anymore. The first and main problem with the Shadows open world isn't even its activities or

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content. There are so few of them by default that the game even includes dailies just to fill up the map somehow. The problem is the gigantism of this open world. A one-to-one map is certainly cool when it comes to Paris

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or Victorian London because those are big cities with a ton of landmarks and huge parkour potential. And as you understand, there is nothing like that in feudal Japan. Two-thirds of the map is taken up by forests and thickets,

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which, half the time, will also block your view if you’re traveling off the main road. The ability to clear-cut a bamboo grove or those same bushes doesn't help, since your movement speed drops significantly while cutting, and the bushes obviously grow back as soon

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as you get far enough away. To illustrate my point, let me give you this example. Since it would be a pain to go looking for a specific cut bush in the forest—and I wouldn't even know if it’s the right one—let’s

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pick a more noticeable victim. So, we cut the bush, place a map marker, and teleport to another city. We head back.

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And voilà, the bush is right back in place. Though, perhaps, teleporting resets the world. Hmm, possibly. So let’s pick another bush, eliminate it, and run a short distance away. We return. And it has already completely grown back. You could, of course, say

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I'm just a nut picking on a useless mechanic that’s purely for show. But considering how much they obstruct the view in an open world, thinking about implementing a pathfinding system like in Death Stranding, at least until the season changes—which, by the way, is

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a full-fledged game mechanic—would have been more than appropriate and logical, because otherwise traveling through these damn forests is just plain inconvenient. Even if you ignore the view and just run straight ahead, the game has way too many hills that

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Naoe inevitably slides back down. This animation has infuriated me so much throughout my time playing Shadows that if I could, I’d set the house of whoever worked specifically on it on fire. And, as you can see, this is

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Ubisoft in a nutshell. The object-cutting mechanic is cool and reviewers praise it, but it’s just a prop with no practical use. Normally I wouldn't be so picky, but in this specific game, this mechanic—applied not as decoration, but with a real

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purpose—would have been more than fitting. Problems of this sort could have been solved, at least in part, by tree-running routes and animal hunting, which we already saw in AC3. The architecture during the War of Independence was mediocre, and there

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were plenty of forest areas scattered throughout the game, which naturally puts Connor and Yasuke in a fairly similar situation regarding the open world. However, the difference between them is significant, as the latter lacks all of that. You can’t kill

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animals, and for some reason, Naoe doesn't know how to climb trees. We aren't counting Yasuke for obvious reasons, but what’s stopping the young Kunoi

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presence of identical trees serving as synchronization points in the game. And , well, I’m bothered by something else. First of all, with hot takes like that, you’d be better off not playing Shadows at all, or video games in

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general, for that matter. And secondly, am I the only one bothered by the fact that every single one of these trees is marked with yellow paint for idiots, Far Cry style, to show the parkour route? It’s, well, just shameful.

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There has never been a worse situation with parkour in the series. Even those cartoonishly protruding bricks and misplaced wooden beams in the early Assassin’s Creeds weren’t this degenerate. Yes, I understand that since you can't climb every tree, the

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player probably wouldn't have even tried to climb the ones that you actually can. But make up your mind, either you do it properly or you don’t do it at all. What even is this , Ubisoft? Aren't you ashamed of

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yourselves? Actually, in the process of writing this description, I suddenly realized that the problems with all of Ubisoft's latest games stem specifically from open worlds, or rather, their inability to work with them. And that is just terrifying.

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I’m starting to unironically wish that artists from every gaming studio would go on strike and start designing only individual levels and locations, because when it comes to open worlds, game designers either don't want to or don't know how to work properly. I’ve

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seen so much over these years. Elden Ring, Dragon's Dogma 2, and BotW, God forgive me. Of all of them, only Todd Howard and Arkane managed to create decent games, and even then, with some caveats. For the former, it was

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achieved through cool, well-crafted cities and random important quests, and for the latter, through extremely good level design. For the rest, the open world is just some rudimentary slop, and Ubisoft are the undisputed leaders in creating empty locations where there

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is nothing to do. I apologize for this lyrical digression, but I’ve just had it, you understand? I just don’t have the strength to put up with this anymore. The real world is filled much better with supermarkets, museums, and

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randomly discovered stashes. Also, among the objective downsides of this open world, I’d like to note not so much the level system acting as an unnatural barrier to exploration, but rather how rudimentary and unnecessary it is in this game. What’s the point

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of giving enemies levels if they are essentially all the same? They end up being exactly the same guards. With the same moveset as in a low-level area, they one-shot me without a chance to win. Well, thanks, you really made my

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day. The funny thing is that, unlike the mythological entries where you could at least somehow accept these rules of the game, this model doesn't fit Shadows at all. And that's because Shadows is a more classic Assassin's Creed that focuses on stealth, without

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the ability to solo an entire legion of enemy soldiers. You could say there's Yasuke, who isn't a stealth character, but we all know who the more testosterone-fueled members of society actually want to play as. As the cute anime girl. And stealth is her specific

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tool, which they’ve upgraded. It’s a shame, though, that it’s breadth rather than depth. And here is what I mean by that. Stealth works in depth if and only if it correlates with immersive sims, where every room containing targets features a range of

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stealth routes, methods of execution, ways to disable security systems or, conversely, attract attention, and other similar features. To be honest, Assassin’s Creed has rarely tried to live up to that kind of thing.

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Sometimes better, like in Unity, sometimes worse, like in Mirage. In Shadows, however, almost nothing of that remains. Immersiveness is very important for stealth games. Whether it's Thief, Deus Ex, Styx, or Dishonored, they all turned your stealth gameplay into a sandbox where

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you didn't just have to account for everything mentioned above, but also react quickly to random factors, like knocking over a vase, changing terrain, a botched parkour move, or an enemy who spots you out of nowhere. Stealth works in breadth when they stuff it full of

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various tools. An abundance of bombs, like in Revelations, for example, or the ability to not just crouch in bushes, but to go prone and crawl. And in Shadows, there aren't many of those features, let alone new ones, or even

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old ones. Instead of deepening mechanics like hiding bodies, setting patrol routes, bribing guards, and other fun stuff that could have taken Assassin's Creed to a whole new level, Ubisoft decided it would be enough to give NPCs eyes so that on Expert, they

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notice you crawling on roofs—which made a number of bloggers I watched go into a frenzy, saying, "What an awesome and revolutionary stealth system." And yes, it really is nice when enemies aren't suffering from cataracts. But how am I supposed to stealth if not on

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the roofs? What have you done to give me options to choose different stealth routes? Do you realize that every single time I have to crawl across a roof and drop into a bush? Of course, you can even crawl under some houses,

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for which I am thankful. It was nice to discover that possibility. But nothing more than that. Sometimes you encounter "nightingale floors" that give away your presence. But what’s the problem with assigning specific sounds to all surfaces in principle, which NPCs would

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register at varying distances from Naoe ? I mean, you were able to do that, so why didn't you go further? Social stealth is completely absent, and the only remaining element is summoning a helper who attacks the enemy head-on,

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which prevents you from killing them stealthily since you enter combat. And let me remind you that Ezio’s recruits were assassins who helped you stay stealthy as long as you weren't in combat. They would create a panic, during which you would no longer be

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incognito. In short, Ubisoft had good ideas, but the implementation is just a nightmare. The only thing I really appreciated was the katana kill through a door, because it didn't break stealth and looked cinematic. It was genuinely good. So, if you fell for the sweet

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talk of bloggers saying the stealth here is super cool, don't believe it— it’s all a lie. And don't tell me I'm asking too much from Ubisoft. The funny thing is that they’ve already done all of this before. I don't know if

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anyone still alive remembers Splinter Cell: Blacklist, but Ubisoft made that game too, for heaven's sake. And it was a cool, complete, and immersive stealth game that had the lion's share of the elements I listed above. As for the

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notorious leveling system, I can say this: the problem isn't that it exists, but how it's implemented. Even if you ignore the plot, clear the map, and do your own thing, it all gets old pretty quickly. The architecture here doesn't

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shine with variety, which ruins the lion's share of the stealth enjoyment. The pattern will always be the same: roof to bushes. And as a result, you’ll want to stop clearing outposts and just move on with the story. But

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then you'll run into an obstacle in the form of enemies that are too strong.

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Although, I actually cleared the map quite thoroughly and still arrived at the story location in the second chapter underleveled. This problem is solved by a button called "one-shot hidden blade kill." Only then does all this cringe start to make sense: either

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grind, or play like a stealth assassin. But they should have either done that from the start to provide a Styx-like experience on maximum difficulty, or removed the level system altogether, because enabling this option kills an entire branch of assassin progression.

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But even that isn't the main problem. The main problem is the lack of those super funny animations for failed hidden blade kills. They were really well made, just like all the other animations in the game. Also, enabling this option hurts a much more important

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element—the cinematic feel—because the director gave each member of the League of Evil a unique vibe and set it to magnificent music, making you want to jump out and face them in fair combat. However, when you're underleveled, the chance of pulling

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that off is, obviously, slim. Also, aside from the traditional and completely [ __ ] useless Ubisoft store, the game features free battle passes from which you can loot some stylish gear. To complete them, the game introduces a daily quest system,

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which levels you up for the main game and rewards your efforts for free as well. And, of course, some dailies simply don't give a damn that you haven't explored the map yet. You have to eliminate an Animus glitch located

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in a high-level area. And the glitch is , obviously, an enemy. Whom you either one-shot with your blade, if you have the guaranteed kill option enabled, or you're screwed. You won't be completing that daily. It’s not like this is a

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major problem compared to those mentioned earlier, but it’s still annoying. On the bright side, the game has decent looting thanks to the fashion aspect and the effects provided by your newly acquired weapons or outfits. However, the good gear can

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only be obtained in one way: by clearing out the toughest samurai in an outpost, because otherwise, the chest just won't open. Do I even need to say how interesting that is, coupled with a weird leveling system and stealth that

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gets boring fast? The question is, obviously, rhetorical. In any case, thanks for the transmog system, which lets you equip high-level but ugly armor and weapons and design them to look like items you’ve already found.

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Since the game has absolutely no connections to the Isu of Eden, unlike Valhalla where you could stumble upon King Arthur’s sword or the cave where Desmond saved the world, the lore of the open-world Shadows has nothing to reward you with. So it turns out that

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the open world in this game is done, if not just like usual, then even worse than usual. Giant expanses where, aside from admiring the scenery and looting pretty clothes, there is absolutely nothing to do. Even the outposts are

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just Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V. So how are you supposed to enjoy a game like this? The combat doesn't save the situation because it’s as simple as two kopecks . There’s a heavy attack, there’s a light attack, but neither one breaks

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through a block. You have to hold down a button to perform a lunge and break their defense. And there are only three types of enemy attacks. A series that must be parried without mistakes; these are highlighted in blue. A white one,

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which only needs to be parried once. And a red one, which you have to dodge.

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The timings are very forgiving but not too casual, which is why fighting doesn't get old overall. Of course, you can just dodge all of this, but following the established combat rules I described earlier allows you to put the enemy into a vulnerable state and

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beat them up much more efficiently. And it is recommended to follow the etiquette of AC Shadows during boss fights too, because the battle turns into a real cinematic experience. This is achieved not through a large quantity, but through high-quality

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animations. Naoe performs such pirouettes that I’d love to see her do the exact same things on my dick.

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Special moves, surprisingly, aren't really necessary. They exist simply to add some flair to the combat. I won't say much about the weapon types either.

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Naoe has a katana, which is a balanced weapon. The tanto and hidden blade are just trash without upgrades, since they have such short range. And then there's the kusarigama, which solves absolutely every problem in combat. By holding down the heavy attack, Naoe spins the

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weighted chain of her weapon and hits enemies in such a massive radius, it’s mind-blowing. The wind-up for the attack happens quite quickly. It deals decent damage and also pierces through blocks. But it really is a guaranteed death tool for everything

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that exists in Shadows. The only thing better is having shootouts as Yasuke. And while it’s all beautiful, and finding new weapons is interesting and all, personally, it’s just not quite enough for me, you know. Assassin's Creed, of course, never stood out for a

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deep combat system, but that was balanced out by gadgets of varying utility and deep stealth potential. But here, there is neither, which is sad.

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The progression system in the game is alright, overall. At the very least, it's definitely better than what Basim had. But it also has its own pitfalls.

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They consist of the fact that besides leveling up, you also need to complete special missions that reward you with mastery points. These special missions, by the way, are absolute garbage. You have to use eagle vision to search an

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area for pages, prayer books, caves, goddamn trash. So, the kicker is that you could have 100 skill points at your disposal, but until you collect a certain number of mastery points, you can't upgrade literally anything.

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It’s one thing to weave water dragon signs from Naruto just to see flashbacks and recall what you were taught. And it’s a completely different thing to do absolutely unnecessary, mindless slop. No, honestly, this is the most infuriating thing in the entire game. But please,

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don't think the game is complete crap. It’s, well, like, not bad, not good. It is essentially meditative and nothing more. It feels like the word " meh" was invented just to define this game. It has a lot of good ideas that

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are poorly implemented or remained in an embryonic state. They tried to combine the gigantism of the latest trilogy with the atmosphere of the old Assassin's Creed games. And judging by the sales, they succeeded. It’s just unclear how these same people were

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trashing Valhalla a couple of years ago . Shadows is objectively worse. Or is it enough just to give us a hood and a setting that somehow fits the assassins , and all the complaints suddenly vanish? Well, let's leave that aside.

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It’s not like the game is complete garbage, after all. But even then, Shadows barely reaches the level of a mediocre game, if we ignore the colossal work of the director. I’m talking about creative director Jonathan Dumont, who drew inspiration

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from the cinematic side of Japanese culture—specifically films like 13 Assassins, Sekigahara, and the vast filmography of Akira Kurosawa. And you can see with the naked eye that Jonathan approached his part of the work with complete dedication.

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Practically every cutscene is a masterpiece on the level of a Quentin Tarantino film. And that applies not only to the combat, but also to the narrative-focused parts of these cutscenes. I’ll give you an example of both without any commentary, so you

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can just realize the insane level of shot composition and sound direction that Ubisoft demonstrated in Shadows.

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Sokri ga Mayo Wa Ima bira do no ri ka re de e ku ru shi mi ka mi ru ka t no na ni ka re ru te ki shi ra re Kaet Ga ha ya sa shi ro te Gada ni igai re chi

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ga u Moni soku ha Suku rasu Oshi no wa. Well, you have to admit, it just gives you goosebumps. Even that scene that everyone on the internet is cringing at is actually right in the spirit of Tarantino. And if you perceive

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Assassin's Creed that way, then it's [ __ ] awesome. As for the plot itself , if there are any questions, they only fall into the category of: "Where's the connection to the modern day, and where are the Isu?" And in the category of it

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sometimes being stupid and banal. For example, thinking that a man like Oda Nobunaga would hide his face behind a mask was very silly. He would sooner commit seppuku than hide from anyone.

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Oh, right, he did do that. But that’s not important. Overall, if the story had been linear in a large city or a series of cities with plenty to do, it would have been so much better. But instead, I want to experience the story

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, and I’m told: "Suffer and clear the map." Not high enough level yet, dammit , it’s frustrating. Nevertheless, the plot really hooks you. Yes, it’s worse than in AC2, 3, 4, and Unity. Yes , it’s worse than in Valhalla. But

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precisely because of the cinematography and the fact that the two characters, Naoe and Yasuke, act in completely different ways, I don't really want to trash the story. For the first time in the series, I saw how a girl works. Not

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like Evie Frye, who is a girl only in name, but rather how a cunning, shy-looking seductress operates— putting on a cute face, while actually holding a shiv behind her back and waiting for the perfect moment to plunge it into the throat of her target

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. For the first time since Cappadocia, I saw a burst of emotion from the hero and the realization that sometimes you have to forgive even your enemy. After all, to someone else, you’re not exactly a saint either. Not like Ezio

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in the second game. Of course, I still cringe at how he let Borgia go. I’d have pissed on his grave if I had the chance. But, nonetheless. In short, the plot is actually really pleasant. The only thing that bugs me about it is

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Yasuke’s presence. No, as a written character, he’s actually pretty good. He’s noble, smart, and his motivation feels stronger than Naoe’s for Nobunaga. Even though he only shows up for 20 minutes, you want to get revenge . And those stuffy old guys from

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Naoe’s flashbacks? I’d beat them up myself. That was literally the worst part of the game. Anyway, what’s my point? Despite Yasuke being more interesting than Naoe, his existence bothers me because he’s suddenly black.

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Racist. Racist. Fine. Think of me as a racist. if you want to. But for the record, I love movies with Will Smith and Eddie Murphy . And why is that? Because in those, black people don't just take lead roles

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, they even joke about it. They play off the fact that they’re from the hood, something no white actor could pull off in their place.

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Hey, what do you do for a living? A guy of such specific ethnicity. Maybe he's an athlete? Yes. A new forward for the Detroit...squad.

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And where’d you get the car and the suit? I stole them. The car from your wife, the suit from his grandma. If a black guy is driving a nice car, it doesn't mean he stole it. And I did steal this

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one, but not because I'm black. Oh, come on. How do we know Adam and Eve weren't black?

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How? Have you ever tried to take a rib from a black guy? Well, how was it?

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Not a bad joke. Very not bad. I wouldn't try to take a rib from you.

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The situation with Yasuke is funny, though. Nobunaga was surrounded by a ton of generals who could’ve taken his place. And you wouldn't even have to change many of the lines. Since the legendary samurai being from elsewhere is mentioned only a couple of times,

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and very gently. And almost in passing. I really hate it when a character is made for the sake of an agenda. When the game was delayed and, according to rumors, a bunch of agenda-driven junk was cut, I thought they’d repaint

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Yasuke too. Although, historically, he actually was black. But that didn't happen. The trouble is, the character is good, and you don’t even want to hate him. But the very fact of his presence is a nagging reminder of why

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he’s even in the game. He’s not Tash or Abby. He is a genuinely cool protagonist. But in the end, even the idea of his detachment from Japan and using him to integrate the player into the history of the Land of the Rising

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Sun wasn't realized. At one point, while doing a mission to eliminate Nobunaga, I even saw his username among the enemies. And I thought I’d be able to kill him, and then the game would be a 10 out of 10.

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What’s the difference between a black guy and an orange? What? Well, you pick an orange from the tree while it’s still alive.

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But that was a massive swindle by Ubisoft—though, what was I expecting? Be that as it may, his presence in the game didn't stop me from enjoying the plot, and I had a pretty good time. It could have been better, they could have

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avoided selling the game for such insane money, but this time I don't feel like I was scammed, and I’m not burning with righteous anger. So, maybe Ubisoft will finally get on the right track. And now that the main analysis

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has come to an end, it’s time to grumble a little. Beyond everything I’ve already mentioned, Shadows has one more little flaw that I personally can't forgive, but it's so subjective that I had to set it aside. Ubisoft, roughly up until Origins. Managed to,

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if not capture the spirit of the era, then at least fabricate the flavor of the country where a specific installment was set. And it's not about the scenery, the music, or the characters in the play called Assassin's Creed, although that's quite

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important too, let's be honest. The point is that every installment had its own distinctive handwriting. Ezio’s story had an Italian one, Connor’s had an American one, and Edward’s had a pirate one. And at its core, it was a

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portal to a completely different, unknown world with a supposedly traditional approach for the chosen country. And a Japanese Assassin's game . People haven't been waiting all these years just to look at highly detailed falling cherry blossom petals, although

Speaker A

there are, of course, such unsophisticated players. But to see how Ubi uses Japanese flair. Recently, I’ve become really obsessed with Japanese games specifically. And each of them, strangely enough, had such a distinct stamp that even without knowing the developer's nationality,

Speaker A

you could tell the game was Japanese. Be it an absurd plot, hilarious mini-games, anime romances, highly pronounced female beauty, or anything else. You immediately understand: the game is Japanese. Even the new RE4 felt exactly like that. Although that one

Speaker A

would seemingly have more Western elements than Japanese. And Shadows just doesn't give you that feeling that the game has any Japanese flair. Simply put, it’s just Baltika 9 poured into an Asahi bottle and sold as Japanese beer at an inflated price. And many

Speaker A

people can be fooled this way. Many. But not everyone. There is absolutely nothing of Japan in this game. Even the director’s work—and he’s certainly a talented guy—looks more like Tarantino than Kurosawa. And maybe I’m the crazy one, and that’s my

Speaker A

problem, but I honestly believe the point of the Japanese is that they’re batshit insane, which is exactly why they’re capable of brilliant ideas.

Speaker A

Even if there are a bunch of shitty ones among them. That is why their games are now gaining popularity all over the world, because people are tired of the cookie-cutter, dare I say, Western approach to video games. That

Speaker A

is why The Witcher, with its Slavic style, became a great game back in the day. That is why people are literally drooling over Cyberpunk and the recently released Kingdom Come 2. Yes, because it’s something new, fresh, and made by people who aren’t stuck

Speaker A

within standard constraints. Of course, this doesn't apply to all Western studios, and they still can—and do— make unusual games. Clearly, such bad games as The Last of Us or, God forgive me, AN R, are still successful. But for

Speaker A

many, like me, this shift toward Western standards isn't very appealing —or rather, not appealing at all. Yes , the Japanese often [ __ ] their pants too, exploiting the same combat system over and over again without any noticeable changes. But that’s not

Speaker A

what we’re talking about right now. We’re talking about the fact that Shadows needed to mimic Japan, not just shove a new locomotive onto old tracks.

Speaker A

And strangely enough, Ubisoft used to understand this, always bringing in elements to a new setting that would fully reflect the flavor of the country where the action takes place. I repeat, maybe I’m losing my mind with these Japanese games I’m playing right now,

Speaker A

but answer me this: why is everyone obsessed with the tea ceremony quest? The only thing I’ve heard discussed more in my life is the Bloody Baron.

Speaker A

Yes, because this damn quest is the Japanese essence that should have permeated the whole game, instead of being limited to just one mission. But the game sells well, bloggers praise it , and you can’t call it [ __ ] even if

Speaker A

you wanted to, which means Ubisoft is on the right track. Except that originality seems to be dead, and it’s only going to get worse from here. You can’t even imagine how happy I was when I saw the love they

Speaker A

put into the Viking essence in Valhalla , and how they wove Assassin’s lore into the optional game activities. I thought Ubisoft understood their strengths and would do what was necessary with Shadows.

Speaker A

They did what was necessary—what was necessary for them. Honestly, I’m not even hurt for the series anymore. I’ve made my peace with it and don’t expect anything at all. There are plenty of good games in the franchise, and most are still a

Speaker A

blast to replay today. And what happens when it ends? Replay the Prince trilogy or check out Lost Crown instead. But I’m definitely skipping the next Creed-killer installment. Honestly, here’s the bottom line: the game didn't deserve all that hate from

Speaker A

people who never even played it, but it didn't earn praise from those who did, either. It’s an extremely average project that’s better watched as a game movie on YouTube, if you’re that curious. Than actually playing it yourself. And that’s solely the fault

Speaker A

of an open world that has absolutely nothing to do. Knowing how much content is in Valhalla, I’d rather go for 100 %completion there if I wanted to, than spend even a single minute in Shadows again. You know where the irony is? I

Speaker A

didn't want to be like those typical series haters who bash it just because it's trendy; I looked for points that reflect reality to form an opinion, rather than jumping in with the mindset that "it's Ubisoft, so it’s garbage

Speaker A

by default." So if some of my points happen to align with the standard hater playbook, well, I guess you weren't being lied to all these years, at least in some respects. I’m asking you to realize that while Shadows isn't a bad

Speaker A

game, believe me, you don't want to waste your time on it. The cinematic story, setting, and cool animations clearly aren't worth the hours you could have spent on a genuinely good game. You can find out more about those

Speaker A

on my channel and in my Telegram posts. I want to express a special thanks to everyone on this list. You guys are truly awesome, and I’m very grateful for you supporting my internet autism with your money and attention. Well,

Speaker A

that’s all I have for now. Thanks for watching, and see you next time on the Umizuka channel. [End]

Topics:Assassins Creed ShadowsUbisoftgame reviewopen worldstealth gameplayJapanese settinggaming critiqueAssassins Creed seriesgame mechanicsvideo game analysis

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