Is Assassin’s Creed Shadows Better Than LaD: Ishin?

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home April 3, 2025 17 Views 8 Min Read
Is Assassin's Creed Shadows Better Than LaD: Ishin?



Summary

  • Ishin prioritizes a gripping narrative with deeper characters over open-world exploration, unlike Shadows.
  • Shadows boasts impressive graphics with detailed environments, while Ishin focuses on cinematic presentation and character detail.
  • Ishin excels in game design, offering an engaging narrative experience with worthwhile side content, narrowly surpassing Shadows.

Historical Japan has always been a fascinating, fan-favorite setting for games thanks to its lore and atmosphere, and both Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Like a Dragon: Ishin take great advantage of it. While Shadows goes for a vast open-world experience, Ishin focuses more on a tighter narrative with deeper characters.

Split image of Assassin's Creed Shadows and Ghost of Tsushima.

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Assassin’s Creed Shadows Vs. Ghost Of Tsushima: Which Game Is Better?

Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Ghost of Tsushima have a lot of similarities, but which game is better?

They both have their strengths, but they also have very different priorities with their main focus on either story or gameplay. Both games have more than a few things in common, but when put side by side, which one really stands out?

7

Graphics

Winner – Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Naoe climbs the Nochiseyama Castle Scaffolding in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Shadows is a huge step up visually from previous Assassin’s Creed games. The Anvil engine takes full advantage of current-gen technologies, with incredibly detailed environments and realistic lighting. The foliage density, weather effects, and the way light interacts with the world all make the world look stunning.

On the other hand, Ishin also looks good, but since the original game came out in 2014 for PS3, and the 2023 remaster only improved upon the underlying technology, it understandably doesn’t quite reach the same level. It focuses more on cinematic presentation and character detail rather than open-world realism.

6

Narrative

Winner: Like A Dragon: Ishin

Image of Okita Soji in Yakuza Ishin.

This is one area where Ishin completely outshines Shadows, as with other Like a Dragon games, the narrative is the absolute main focus. The game includes a reimagining of historical figures but uses the same voice actors and character models from the mainline series, making it feel fanservice-y, but the new characters still hold up on their own.

Meanwhile, Shadows is more focused on exploration and gameplay rather than storytelling. While the game has an interesting premise, it doesn’t match the depth and character-driven storytelling of Ishin. Like a Dragon: Ishin is simply more engaging from start to finish, making this an easy win for it.

5

Immersion

Winner: Tie

Naoe stands in front of the entrance to a shrine in the snow in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Both games do a great job of recreating their respective Feudal Japan time periods in different ways. Shadows takes place in 1579 and has a massive, detailed world with dozens of cities. The world is big, but like recent Assassin’s Creed games, the activities can feel a bit repetitive. There’s plenty to do, but a lot of it follows the same formula.

Naoe on top of a tree, Naoe performing a double assassination, and a bell, from Assassin's Creed Shadows.

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Beyond a shadow of a doubt

Ishin, which is set in the 1860s, is much smaller in scale. Its one main city isn’t meant to be an open-world sandbox but rather a backdrop for the story and characters. It’s not about exploration as much as it is about immersing players in its historical drama. Both games are good in this aspect, and it really comes down to what kind of experience you prefer.

4

Game Design

Winner: Like A Dragon: Ishin

Like A Dragon Ishin, Ryoma clashing swords with Takechi.

Shadows follows the same action RPG and exploration formula as recent entries in the series. There’s a big focus on gear, skill points, leveling up, and getting better equipment, which means a lot of time spent on menus and checklists. While this system certainly has its fans, it can sometimes take away from the core gameplay experience.

Ishin is much more focused. It doesn’t overload you with too much side content or a massive world just for the sake of being an open-world game. It focuses a lot more on having an engaging main narrative experience with plenty of worthwhile side-content such as substories and minigames like gambling, farming, and karaoke. Thankfully, it never feels bloated. Because of this, Ishin narrowly wins when it comes to overall game design.

3

Exploration

Winner: Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe looking out to the forests of Japan.

Shadows has much better exploration. The game’s world is much, much bigger, giving players a lot to see and do. There are dozens of towns, cities, temples, and castles to explore. There’s also a lot of verticality in the level design thanks to its parkour and stealth systems, and these add variety to movement and exploration.

Ishin, while still detailed, is far more linear and focused. The game world serves as a setting for the story rather than a place to freely explore and wander around, much like other Like a Dragon entries. Everything you do come across is worthwhile, but if you prefer more freedom of exploration, you might be a little disappointed. Hence, Shadows wins in this category.

2

Combat

Winner: Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Naoe Assassinating The River Yamabushi in AC Shadows.

Both games have interesting combat systems, but they still feel very different. Shadows features two protagonists with different fighting styles and weapon types, and the variety in its combat systems, especially with parkour and stealth thrown in, keeps the combat engaging throughout.

Bloodborne, Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

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These games offer plenty to enjoy after Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Ishin offers four different fighting styles – Swordsman with a katana, Gunman with a firearm, Brawler with its hand-to-hand combat, and Wild Dancer with a combo of katana and firearm. The variety is great, but the combat leans more into an arcadey feel. Enemy variety isn’t as strong, and a lot of combat encounters can feel very similar. Shadows has much more depth and variety, making it the winner here.

1

Verdict

Winner: Tie

Like A Dragon Ishin, Ryoma clashing swords with Izo.

Ultimately, both games are great, but they certainly cater to different types of players, and your personal preferences will greatly nudge you towards either of these games. If you prefer an open-world experience with a lot more freedom for exploration, Assassin’s Creed Shadows would be a better choice. It’s visually stunning and packed with things to do.

However, if you want a gripping, character-driven narrative with great character development and plot twists, Like a Dragon: Ishin will likely leave a stronger impression with its amazing storytelling, which makes up for all the other aspects of the game.

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