Assassin’s Creed Shadows will bring players to feudal Japan when the game arrives early next year. As you might expect, swords and knives will be a big part of the arsenal for Shadows’ two main characters, Naoe and Yasuke. However, neither character will be solely reliant on their primary weapons to dish out death.
Ubisoft has shared a lengthy overview of combat in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which also reveals the tools that the lead characters will use in battle. According to Ubisoft, players’ choice of weapons and characters “dramatically alters combat” in this game. The first character, Naoe, is a shinobi/ninja, and she’ll have a katana, a ball-and-chain weapon known as a kusarigama, and a tanto dagger that allows her to make quick strikes and double assassinations.
The samurai Yasuke has a larger arsenal to work with, including a long katana, a naginata [a staff with a blade attached to the end], a kanabo (a spiked war club), a yumi bow, and a teppo flint rifle. Unlike Naoe, Yasuke can also switch between weapons mid-combo for some devastating attacks.
Yasuke’s weapons and strength make him well-suited for head-on combat, while Naoe’s speed and stealth make her ideal for more subtle assassinations or missions. Each character has their own light or heavy attacks, in addition to the ability to charge their offensive moves which the game calls posture attacks. Defense is also a key component of the combat, as certain techniques by Naoe and Yasuke can wear down an enemy’s guard and leave them vulnerable to a counterstrike.
Ubisoft also listed some of the most common enemies in the game:
- Outlaws
- Ashigaru soldiers
- Ronin
- Samurai
- Samurai Daisho
- Guardians
Each of those enemies has their own strengths and weaknesses, and some are going to be easier to defeat than others. The notes indicate that the Samurai Daisho are among the deadliest enemies in the game, but the rewards for their defeat are said to be worth it.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows was delayed to February 14, 2025 earlier this fall. It will introduce a new direction for the storyline set in modern times. Details about the game’s battle pass recently leaked online, and Ubisoft has stated that the rewards in the Animus Hub are free.