Summary
- AC Shadows’ architecture depicts a bustling, dense feudal Japan with complex design and influence from the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
- AC Shadows offers a larger open world with changing seasons, contrasting Ghost of Tsushima in environmental design and scope.
- AC Shadows successfully differentiates itself through unique architecture and a more dynamic environment, distancing itself from comparisons.
By now, anyone with an ear to the ground in the gaming space has heard the relentless comparisons being drawn between Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima. To be fair, both games are set in feudal Japan, and Ghost of Tsushima left such a mark on the industry that any successor that is even remotely similar is subject to comparison. However, Assassin’s Creed Shadows possesses a number of defining qualities that arguably set it apart from Ghost of Tsushima, should its loudest critics be willing to admit those differences are there.
With Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Ghost of Tsushima being around three centuries apart from one another, there are bound to be plenty of differences in their architecture. Additionally, since both of these games come from different developers, their individual takes on the landscape and environments of feudal Japan are expected to contrast as well. As such, perhaps the many comparisons that have been made between Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Ghost of Tsushima aren’t as merited as they initially seemed to be and were instead largely based on the success and popularity of Sucker Punch’s action-adventure game that preceded Ubisoft’s latest.
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Comparing AC Shadows’ Feudal Japan to Ghost of Tsushima’s
Comparing the Architecture of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Ghost of Tsushima
One of the most noticeable differences between Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Ghost of Tsushima is in their architectural design. In Ghost of Tsushima, set during the late 13th century on Tsushima Island, architecture is more rural in its design, depicting Japanese villages that show the period’s emphasis on simplicity and tradition. These villages are defined by wooden structures and thatched roofs, as well as the Shinto shrines that can be found in the countryside surrounding said villages. Additionally, Japanese architecture during this period utilized negative space to ensure its buildings remained harmonious with nature, and this includes its minimally-decorated interiors.
With Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Ghost of Tsushima being around three centuries apart from one another, there are bound to be plenty of differences in their architecture.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows, on the other hand, is set in the late 16th century during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, which significantly alters its architectural design. The Azuchi-Momoyama period was a time of significant architectural evolution, which involved increased urbanization and foreign interactions, so it already outperforms one of Ghost of Tsushima‘s biggest flaws — its lifeless villages. Assassin’s Creed Shadows features bustling towns, dense samurai districts, and even ports reflecting the Portuguese and Jesuit influences of the time. All in all, this means that Assassin’s Creed Shadows features a busier, denser, and more complex depiction of feudal Japan than Ghost of Tsushima.
Comparing the Landscape and Environmental Design of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Ghost of Tsushima
The landscape and environments of feudal Japan wouldn’t have changed as drastically as architecture over the three centuries separating Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Ghost of Tsushima, but each game’s developer still designed their worlds in specific ways. Ghost of Tsushima‘s environments are more categorized by color and flora than anything else, whereas Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ biomes occur through its real-time annual cycle. Ghost of Tsushima does feature a weather system and diverse vistas, but Assassin’s Creed Shadows keeps its world feeling fresh by applying an ongoing shift in its appearance and mechanics.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ open world is also significantly larger than Ghost of Tsushima‘s, which allows it even more opportunity to incorporate environmental diversity.
Ultimately, while it’s natural to compare Assassin’s Creed Shadows to Ghost of Tsushima, such comparisons overlook the nuances separating these two unique depictions of feudal Japan. Assassin’s Creed Shadows successfully steps out of Ghost of Tsushima‘s shadow by offering players a busier, denser world driven by its changing seasons and complex architecture. Though AC Shadows will undoubtedly continue to succumb to these comparisons, its willingness to paint a fresh picture of feudal Japan nonetheless shows its commitment to individual identity.
- Released
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March 20, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
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