One of my oldest videogame wishes is about to be granted. Assassin's Creed Shadows is finally bound for Japan, but I've resisted getting too excited until I see it in action. Ubi says Shadows will return to the series' roots as a stealth game, similar to last year's Mirage, but it also said the same thing about Valhalla.also showed off gameplay during its Ubisoft Forward showcase—and it's mostly good news.
Apparently there are some mechanical differences between the two in combat—Yasuke can block attacks while Naoe can only evade, but is that a meaningful difference when both accomplish the same thing?Ubi has been talking up Shadows' new dynamic lighting and how it enhances stealth. Our presentation didn't call much attention to it, but I spotted a light meter at the center-top of the UI that indicates how hidden you are. When Noae was in a full shadow, she seemed nearly invisible.
Lots of stealth games are allergic to simulating real darkness, probably because it's too hard of a design challenge unless you have Sam Fisher's night vision goggles, but contrast between light and dark is really important when you're asking players to stick to the literal shadows. I'm worried that Shadows' promising new nighttime sneaking will be dulled by an overabundance of light. Hopefully cranking down the gamma will do the trick.
Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them.