Just like every long-running franchise, the Assassin’s Creed series has seen a lot of change over its dozens of entries. The gameplay has been drastically altered, the story has taken on numerous different forms, and each game has tried to make itself distinct from what has come before. With Assassin’s Creed Shadows, that continues to hold true as it brings with it a whole host of new additions to the formula, with one of its best being its new hideout feature.
The Assassin’s Creed series has been exploring the base-building concept for numerous entries, yet none of them quite nailed it down. Brotherhood gave players control over Monteriggioni, Assassin’s Creed 3 put them in charge of their very own homestead, and Valhalla had them manage an entire settlement. Assassin’s Creed Shadows includes a very similar feature, but this time, Ubisoft has taken it to new heights by giving fans unparalleled control over the hideout. Because of that, it may be the best iteration of base-building to date.
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Assassin’s Creed Shadows Has Taken Base Building to New Heights
AC Shadows Players Have Near-Complete Control Over Their Base’s Layout
One of the biggest highlights of Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ hideout is that players actually have almost limitless control over its look and feel. Instead of being locked down to specific building plots like they were in previous titles, Shadows‘ lets them place down buildings wherever they want within the hideout, as long as they have the required resources. As they progress further in the game, they will unlock even more buildings, decorations, and even pets that they can fill their personal hideout with.
When players first unlock their Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ hideout, they get a plot of land with a stable and a large building known as the Hiroma. While these buildings cannot be moved, nothing else is locked down. Players can build various buildings as extensions of the Hiroma, fill the land with numerous disconnected structures, or even focus their time on just building a massive field of dogs. Additionally, they can customize each building with a wide variety of cosmetics and plunge resources into their facilities to make them even more powerful. And if they do not like how their base looks, they can simply pick up and move buildings whenever they choose.
The Hideout Provides All Sorts of Great Features
Not only are they able to fully customize the look of their hideout, but said hideout also provides a wide variety of bonuses for those that want to spend the time building it. For starters, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has introduced a new scout system, which gives players a limited number of scouts that they can use each season to explore the world. Much like previous RPG-heavy Assassin’s Creed games, quest objectives often require players to spend time tracking down their prey rather than following a simple quest marker. With these scouts, they can actually have them scout out the area, in hopes that they will discover the location for them. And with more buildings, their scouts will gain even more functionality.
On top of that, players can build a forge to upgrade gear, create a dojo to upgrade their abilities, and add a wide assortment of smaller rooms to get further perks. Players can also recruit allies in Assassin’s Creed Shadows who will use the hideout as their home, some of whom can even go out on adventures with the player if they choose.
While some players may choose to ignore the hideout, those that want to spend time constructing their own little base have been given so many great tools to choose from. Plus, if Assassin’s Creed Shadows follows in the footsteps of Valhalla, then there may be even more hideout additions for players to look forward to in post-launch content. Even if not, this fully customizable base is still a fantastic addition that will hopefully be a part of the franchise for the foreseeable future.
- Released
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March 20, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language