Assassin’s Creed Shadows has finally been released, and so far, it seems to be hitting all the right notes. Not only did it finally take the franchise to feudal Japan, but it has also elevated the RPG framework with a whole host of exciting changes. All of this has helped make it a fantastic adventure for fans, but there is one feature that really stands out among the crowd: its new dynamic seasons.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has taken seasons, expanded them immensely, and made them a core part of the actual gameplay loop. While previous entries have had weather effects, the last time seasons were a notable part of the series was back with Assassin’s Creed 3. Since then, Ubisoft has seemingly pulled away from the concept, but Shadows has once again made them an exciting part of the formula. And now that they are here, hopefully seasons will become a core part of the franchise going forward.
Related
How Assassin’s Creed Shadows Encourages Cautious Gameplay More Than Any Other Entry
Thanks to Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ AI overhaul, players are strongly encouraged to approach gameplay more cautiously than ever before in the series.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Has Injected New Life Into the Formula With Seasons
Assassin’s Creed 3 Dabbled in the Concept of Seasons
One of the big additions that came with Assassin’s Creed 3 was the new weather effects and seasonal changes that would change the way players approached the open-world. Unlike real life, there were only two seasons: summer and winter. In the summer, much of the game would play like how it did in past Assassin’s Creed titles, with the addition of occasional fog or rain. In the winter, the land would be coated in thick snow, which would reduce visibility and help to improve stealth. Additionally, Connor would have to trek through large snow drifts and leave a path wherever he went.
The seasons would change throughout the story, and once players finished Assassin’s Creed 3, they could change it whenever they wanted. While it was not really a game-changer, this feature did help give the game a bit more of a lifelike feel. However, Ubisoft chose not to significantly expand upon it in future entries. The weather effects may have been carried over, and some areas of the future open-worlds featured things like snow, but the actual seasonal transitions were nowhere to be found. Luckily, that seems to finally be changing with Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Has Expanded Seasons Immensely
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has once again taken on seasons, but this time around, they are drastically different. For starters, the seasonal change is now a core part of the gameplay loop. Each season is split up into two resets, which occur after a set amount of in-game time has passed. The first occurs at the middle of a season while the second occurs at the end, with the only major difference being that one ushers in a whole new season. With each reset, players get resources for their hideout, their scouts and areas on the map refresh, and new contracts appear. Additionally, alerts and local factions will also refresh. This gives players a largely clean slate, which is coupled by beautiful aesthetic changes.
Just like in the real-world, each of the four seasons features its own unique aesthetic for players to soak in. The colors of the leaves change, the vegetation dies or grows, animals emerge, and traversal can even be affected. Seasons also bring with them new hazards, hiding spots, and even some seasonal exclusive content in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. All of this makes for a pretty exciting feature that shapes each playthrough in highly meaningful ways.
Injecting this type of seasonal system into Assassin’s Creed Shadows has really helped make the entire experience far more lifelike. It’s gripping to watch the land change and have the changing weather actually affect the way the game is played a bit. Now that Ubisoft has reintroduced them, hopefully it has no plans to move away from seasons again.
- Released
-
March 20, 2025
- ESRB
-
Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language