Just like with pretty much any massive franchise, the Assassin’s Creed series has gone through numerous changes over the years. While each game has mostly maintained that core Assassin vs Templar story, much of the gameplay and mechanics have been altered, with the last couple of entries being the biggest changes to date. With Assassin’s Creed Shadows that continues to be true, and even though that makes for an exciting title, there is one feature that has sadly been left behind.
With Assassin’s Creed Origins, the franchise was completely overhauled from a standard action-adventure to a more RPG-like experience. With that change, Ubisoft also reinvented the franchise’s core Eagle Vision feature into an actual eagle companion. That concept has since been a staple of four titles; however, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has done away with it entirely. But, hopefully, the feature has not been left behind for good.
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Assassin’s Creed Shadows reviews are out, and while they’re not the be-all-end-all, they paint a good picture of what fans can expect from this entry.
Assassin’s Creed’s Bird Companion Should Have Stayed a Franchise Staple
Assassin’s Creed Has Let Players Scout the Area With Their Own Bird Friend
In Assassin’s Creed Origins, the game’s protagonist Bayek was given a bird companion known as Senu. Players could take control of this bird and use it to scout their surroundings before they went into battle. It could be used to tag enemies, locate mission objectives, and reveal useful resources like chests and crafting materials. As they progressed through the game, they could increase Senu’s perception, making her an extremely valuable ally for any assassin looking to rid the world of Templar influence.
The bird companion was then carried over to every subsequent entry, mostly unchanged. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey‘s Kassandra and Alexios had the eagle Ikaros, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla‘s Eivor had a raven named Synin, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage‘s Basim had an eagle known as Enkidu. All of these birds served as constant companions to the player, and while Ubisoft did give players even more ways to scout out the battlefield, these birds still felt like they would continue to be a staple of the franchise for years to come. However, that does not seem to be the case with the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
AC Shadows Has Replaced the Bird With a Whole New Feature
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has completely removed the bird in favor of a new feature known as Observe, This ability lets players tag enemies in their vicinity and discover resources from the viewpoint of Naoe or Yasuke. There is no bird flying overhead nor is there the standard glow of Eagle Vision from previous entries. Instead, players are simply scanning their surroundings as a normal person would. That makes for a far more realistic feeling system, but something seems to be missing.
While the bird companion was hardly a game-changer, it did feel like a nice addition to the formula. There was just something special about getting a bird’s eye view of the battlefield before going in. Not only did it give players a whole new perspective of the game world, but it was often just a beautiful sight to behold. So, hopefully, Ubisoft has plans to bring it back in some fashion in the future.
It is likely too late for a bird to be introduced in Assassin’s Creed Shadows unless it was added in a post-launch update. Instead, future Assassin’s Creed titles should really consider bringing it back. Even if its functionality was reduced, having a constant bird companion that players could call upon was just a fun addition to the formula. And if it cannot be a bird, then hopefully there is at least something more substantial than the Observe ability taking its place.
- Released
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March 20, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language