Summary
- Baldur’s Gate 3’s publishing director has praised Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ combat as the best the series has had in years.
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows hit over a million players on launch day and has surpassed its predecessors in concurrent player count.
- Overall reception to Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been positive despite controversies before launch and a few gameplay criticisms.
The Baldur’s Gate 3 publishing director has recently praised the combat of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Released earlier this week, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the latest entry in the popular franchise, and it managed to get a fairly positive reception from both players and critics after its launch.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the first game in the franchise to be set in Japan, and it was a high-profile release which was delayed twice before finally coming out. Despite being at the center of some controversies before release, Assassin’s Creed Shadows was a big hit, surpassing over one million players on launch day. While these numbers include gamers who purchased the title and the ones playing it over subscription services such as Ubisoft+, it indicates that Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been highly successful. Additionally, the title outperformed the peak number of concurrent players of its predecessors on platforms such as Steam, with 41,412 simultaneous gamers.
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Now, Baldur’s Gate 3’s publishing director, Michael “Cromwelp” Douse, has praised the combat of Assassin’s Creed Shadows as the best that the series has had in years. According to Douse, the combat “feels tight and deliberate,” and the director was also glad to see a clear counter system coming back to the series. While Douse did not share more details about his opinions, Assassin’s Creed Shadows features such as the dual protagonists Yasuke and Naoe are some of the main game-changers in combat, allowing gamers to pick between a silent, deadly character or a powerful, heavy frontline fighter.
Larian Studios’ Michael Douse Praises Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Combat
Most critics have given high scores to Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which currently has an average score of 81 on OpenCritic. Elements such as the game’s combat have often been praised, as well as the beautiful open-world version of Japan crafted by Ubisoft. However, some reviewers have criticized the title for being somewhat repetitive at times.
While Assassin’s Creed Shadows had a fairly successful launch, the game was not entirely free of controversy. One of the most recent problems surrounding the open-world RPG was concerning the player’s ability to destroy objects in shrines in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which was criticized as being disrespectful. After the backlash, Ubisoft has already patched the controversial content, removing the ability to destroy objects inside these holy places. In any case, everything points out to Assassin’s Creed Shadows being a high point in the series, considering how popular it currently seems to be.
- Released
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March 20, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language