So my opinion is not especially scientific, but from what Ive seen it is very Assassin-y.

Brendan:It’s pretty murdery.

But generally a lot of the big targets just turn into boss fights, rather than assassinations per se.

Samurai protagonist Yasuke - one of two playable heroes - in the cinematic trailer for Assassin’s Creed Shadows

The game does the rest.

Shadows didnt really subvert my expectations in this regard.

Yours do not compare to mine!)

Standing at the Nakayama Peak Kuji-kiri location in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, looking out at an expansive view of the sea.

Have you found special underwear, Jeremy?

Jeremy:That said

Ollie:Oh fine, ignore me!

Thus far, Ive not been punished for ignoring half of the stuff I listed above.

Yasuke slices at an opponent with his long katana in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

The Prince never barraged me with so many distractions he just had tight environments to parkour through.

Brendan:The icon clearing is something I doubt Ubisoft will ever abandon.

But what I’ve found interesting is how they do quest waypoints now.

Naoe perches on a city rooftop in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

They do that again here.

Instead of a straight shot to your target, you get some bullet pointed clues.

“He is in Sakai” the objective text might say.

Naoe sat atop her horse in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, with graphics set to Ultra.

“She is east of Amagasaki”.

This is my fancy way of saying: listen, a waypoint is a waypoint.

Try making a smaller game, without the waypoint at all.

So yes, Nic.

I absolutely understand how overwhelming that icon-strewn map is.

I see the likes ofAssassin’s Creed Mirage, and I say to Ubisoft: no, smaller.Smaller.

Are you free to actually explore this one at your own whims?

(you could find them selling Christian paraphernalia at shops that you could then use to decorate your base.

Talk about foreign propagandists.)

And then they killed me in a single hit.

If an enemys too good for me, make me unable to land a blow.

Im okay feeling powerless against a superior soldier.

Less okay feeling that my sharp-enough-to-cut-dimensions-in-two katana is powerless against a soldiers blood loss apathy.

It feels like trespassing.

Nic:How’s the base?

How are the deer?

Also, can you kick bears in this one?

I hate that this brute force approach works on me, but it does.

Ill now forgive the game for pretty much anything.

Nic:Any giant women about?Asking for a friend.

you could romance people, if this is where your gutterbrain is going, Nic.

I tried to flirt with a high-born lady and she was categorically against it.

Nic:What, if anything, does this game mean for the series?

Whatever happens, I do not have much confidence that it wont involve further job losses.

Personally, I think Assassins Creed is too familiar at this stage to seriously change Ubisofts fortunes.

Im interested to know if Shadows feels in any way like a fresh start.

Thanks to colonisation, I have tangential family links with Japan on my Taiwanese mothers side.

But I find myself wishing that a fresh start came in the form of something more diverse.

At least Ghost of Tsushima, which Shadows will be endlessly compared to, dabbled in Mongol-Japanese relations.