#yaoe

I’m probably going to mention Valhalla a few times throughout this review. I have not played Mirage. So for me the experiences between Valhalla and Shadows are relatively back to back and suffer roughly from the same issues, but in the grand “tier lists” of the franchise I put them both roughly on the same level, but Shadows is actually a little better.

If you know me at all I don’t waste too much time talking about game stories. I’m a proponent of “Play the Game, Skip the Story.” Very rarely does a game blow me away with its amazing writing. Not every game can be Portal and I’ve long since accepted that. My question is always: Is the game FUN.

In Shadows, we’re doing the AC: Syndicate thing where we get to split our time between two different characters that do actually manage to function differently. Unlike the twins, there is an actual mechanical difference. Yasuke actually takes less damage and his own weapons tend to do twice as much as Naoe, but can’t stealth or parkour at all. Naoe has a lot more tools for a stealthy skillset. The whole affair is a lot more involved than Syndicate’s “parts of the skill tree favor combat slightly”.

Storywise, I find them both to be a bit bland. Along with everyone else, which is typical in this franchise. The last time I was actually engaged with the story is all the way back with Ezio in 2. Decades later we’ve just regressed into a fairly basic revenge story. Naoe’s dialog choices always amount to “I have a job I must do” and “MURDER BLOOD KILL.” This does vaguely affect how certain characters talk to you but ultimately I don’t really care. It’s all just a framework for some pretty solid gameplay, and I’ll get to that.

In Valhalla I sort of wanted that northern warrior fantasy but you only spend the first few hours (or less depending on how objective-focused you are) in Norway before sailing off to the vastly more boring landmass of a permanent Autumn England. Now I love a good Fall mood board but not when that’s all I’m seeing. Valhalla also had the constant flow-stopping gameplay of every upgrade ingot being locked behind some environmental puzzle, finding the exact angle to shoot at some door bar just to get some Ingot that you might not even need if you even so much as bought a single set from the store.

Shadows improve that somewhat. There’s still a few show-stoppers. Our skill tree is blocked by a knowledge system where most of the source are temples where you run around to pray at some shrines, find some scrolls like it’s an Easter Egg hunt (except simply holding right clock just highlights them all for you), and occasionally delve into some QTE memory quiz that leaks into a brief flashback memory that feels far too much like an extended tutorial, which by the time I run into them is far back from the systems I’ve already been utilizing. The first one I entered was a type of boss battle that seemed to want me to practice parrying more, except for the fact that the game already taught me that twice. I guess it’s just more story context I don’t need for Naoe’s motivations, which again… Being shot, beaten, and crippled by some masked cult was kind of purpose enough. Got it, move on. It’s annoying busywork but I can’t deny I do enjoy the praying ones, if for the fact they’re typically quite brief and I can get behind the Zen nature of it.

Now, after that various staking in the heart I will get to the true meaning of AC: Shadows. The stealth gameplay here, especially if you play a majority of the game as Naoe, is actually some of the best in the franchise and I’m not kidding. Despite whatever controversies surround this game like carrion over a battlefield, after 30 hours or so I have to say this is probably one of the best games in the franchise. I’ll maintain that even if I agree with several of the niggling complaints like how the world is just kinda too big.

The game introduces a lot of interesting systems that compliment a stealthy style. Some of the floors creak, only countered by crouching or going prone. Speaking of prone, we can do that now and sneak around even in fairly short reeds and grass. The grappling hook is often used for more than mere traversal, but a lot of structures have some kind of wench that you can go full Splinter Cell and stick to the roof and fade into the shadows. As long as you’re not in a difficulty setting where enemies can and will actually look up. Some houses and structures actually have foundations you can crawl through and enter from below, as well as some hatches up top to enter that way. Very rarely I’ve found my stealth incursions being forced into a singular entrance. The game gives a ton of tools that I find myself actually using. 

I’m reminded of my much briefer gameplay in the later Sniper Elite games where it just throws nine different kinds of mines and explosives at you and nothing really ever competes with the raw damage of the basic one. But here? Is there an non patrolling elite in the way of the easiest entrance? Smoke bomb. Too many patrollers around a house? Go under it. Two enemies? Equip the tanto, double assassination. Throwing knives, whistling, and if everything else fails just whipping out my katana and killing the three nearest guys is typically very doable, even if Naoe is much squishier. The whole area or base won’t go in full alert, which I’m always thankful for. I cannot explain how satisfying it has been to kill all five minibosses patrolling a castle without ever engaging a single one in open combat. I’ve never felt this good being able to outsmart or at least out-equip my enemies than I have in this game. My only memory approaching this feeling are the various zone takeovers in Syndicate. But then when you do all of those there’s not much of a game left, but that’s an issue for a different review.

One of the things I’ll mention; The game is the prettiest in the franchise. It also has a season mechanic that visually changes the world as you play with a consistent rotation. I think it’s based on how often you fast travel, but you can also force it in the menu (a QoL that wasn’t present when I played last year) which serves to get you your smuggler’s resources back right away rather than waiting on them. I find myself screenshotting a lot of the viewpoints and seasonal transition screens, and there’s a lot of moments where I need to stop running through the forest to go “whoa” when I see some sun rays piercing the bamboo during the Fall. Desktop Simulator 2025.

For the rest of the complaints… I just find myself unbothered. Boring characters? Not paying attention anyway. Performance? Seems fine on my end. Enemies too spongey? Play Yasuke or play to Naoe’s actual strengths. Most of my enemies die in one hit. Anachronistic music choices? No fun allowed! Turn the ingame music off then and play those 7 hour Lofi Japanese Beats then, or whatever. Bad UI? There have been worse in the franchise. Microtransactions? You must be new here.