Assassin’s Creed Shadows Players Are Missing Some Features From Prior Games

Assassin’s Creed Shadows players are missing some features from prior entries in the franchise, including the ability to pass the time and auto-follow roads on a horse. While Ubisoft previously talked about some of these omissions, there’s still a chance—however small—for a few others to make their way to Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Developed by Ubisoft Quebec with assistance from 15 other sister studios, Assassin’s Creed Shadows released for PC and current-gen consoles on March 20. Over three million people played the newest entry in the long-running series during its launch week, according to Ubisoft’s latest update.

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While the game was largely lauded by fans and reviewers alike, some early adopters have lately been taking to social media to discuss what features they are missing from prior series entries. Meditation is one commonly mourned omission, with plenty of vocal players being disappointed that they can no longer control the in-game clock. The ability to pass the time was previously available in both Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Odyssey, as well as Origins, where it was locked behind the Dawn and Dusk skill. A similar mechanic was present in Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which allowed players to pass the time while sitting on benches.

Some Assassin’s Creed Shadows players are also missing the option to auto-follow a road while on a horse, which was present in all modern series entries up until now. The new game does still have a system for guiding the player to a custom map marker by drawing lines on the ground, so it’s possible that it wouldn’t be too much work for Ubisoft to build on that system by having the horse follow the same dotted path. On the other hand, the lack of social stealth that some players are disappointed by has no chance of being remedied, as the developer previously confirmed this was a deliberate omission from Assassin’s Creed Shadows, whose stealth is designed with a focus on sneaking around in a ninja-like fashion.

Some Assassin’s Creed Shadows players are also missing the bird companion from the recent games, which helped with scouting locations and enemy patrols. That said, Naoe’s Eagle Vision is extremely powerful, offering the ability to sense enemies through walls at great distances from the start of the game, so this particular omission was largely replaced.

Assassin’s Creed Features Fans Miss in AC Shadows

• Auto-follow road on horse function
• Bird companion for scouting
• Clearing fog of war by synchronizing viewpoints
• Meditation / the ability to pass the time
• More diverse side activities
• Social stealth

Some fans have also opined that they’re missing the way viewpoints used to clear the fog of war in the older games, thus being more rewarding to synchronize. Another occasionally repeated complaint concerns the game’s selection of side activities, which not everyone feels is diverse enough, especially compared to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. All of these grievances were only voiced by a small minority of the player base.

Released

March 20, 2025

ESRB

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