Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Flashbacks Are a Double-Edged Sword

Assassin’s Creed Shadows tells a familiar but compelling story. Naoe watches her father die at the hands of a small army of masked warriors that she eventually learns are part of a secret organization called the Shinbakufu. Alongside the samurai-turned-ronin Yasuke, Naoe hunts down the Shinbakufu members one by one, claiming revenge with each kill and searching for the missing artifact that her father asked her to keep safe.

There’s obviously a lot more to Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ story than that, however. Along the way, Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ dual protagonists meet a wealth of allies and enemies, some belonging to the various warring clans of Japan, some from further afield. And while most of AC Shadows‘ story takes place in the early 1580s, there are plenty of flashbacks littered throughout its story, an approach that has mixed results.

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The Upsides to Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Use of Flashbacks

The obvious benefit of Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ flashbacks is that they do a great job of fleshing out the game’s setting, character relationships, and character backstories. These flashbacks often contain some really touching moments between Naoe and her loved ones, and give key pieces of lore that fans won’t want to miss.

The Downsides to Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Use of Flashbacks

Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Flashbacks Can Be a Jarring Break in Pace

But while the material inside Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ flashbacks is generally worthwhile, their actual placement during the game’s story leaves a lot to be desired. Some of Shadows‘ most jarring flashbacks are those that reference story moments that players first witnessed only a few minutes ago. These sequences – no matter how brief – often feel as though the game is needlessly retreading old ground, which can become quite frustrating given Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ lengthy runtime.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ flashbacks also lack consistency in their placement in the timeline. During Shadows‘ opening hours, players will jump rapidly through time, seeing events that occurred several months, and then several years before the main events of the story. These frequent and sudden shifts can also be very jarring, and can feel like an unnecessary break in the game’s pacing.

Many of Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Flashbacks Feel Like They’re in the Wrong Place

Along with being a roadblock during Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ story, many of the game’s flashback sequences feel as though they would have benefited the overarching narrative much more if they were just presented chronologically. The backstories of both protagonists are the best examples of this.

Naoe’s backstory is a fairly interesting one, with her flashback sequences revolving around her shinobi training at the hands of her father, Nagato, and the real-world ninjutsu mentor, Momochi Sandayu. The problem is that these flashback sequences are tied to optional open-world activities, and if players don’t engage in all of them before certain main story missions, then some key moments aren’t going to have as much of an emotional impact.

For instance, if players don’t complete all of Naoe’s Kuji-kiri activities by the time she meets Yasuke, the revelation that he was the one who killed her mentor Momochi won’t hit players nearly as hard, as they’ve only seen the character once before that point.

Yasuke’s flashback sequences are similarly problematic. Ubisoft made the decision to withhold Yasuke’s backstory until the final few missions of the game, and given the lack of any major revelation, the decision feels rather odd. If Yasuke’s backstory was presented to players at the start of the game, it would make his fascination with the Assassins much more understandable, and make his quest for revenge feel more earned.

Game

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Released

March 20, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language