Assassin’s Creed Shadows Fans Debate Guaranteed Assassination Feature

It’s been a few weeks since Ubisoft released Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and as more and more players beyond the reported two million jump into the game, they are being met with a critical decision early.

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Specifically, players are asked whether they’d like to turn on “Guaranteed Assassinations.” The toggle makes the game like the original Assassin’s Creed titles in that, with a simple press of the button, you’ll instantly kill your target. Otherwise, it’ll reflect the game’s current RPG-like elements in needing to upgrade your stats and levels to be able to do that.

Taking to Reddit, fans of Assassin’s Creed debated which approach is best. There are valid points on both sides, making the discussion particularly interesting.

It’s Called Assassin’s Creed For A Reason

Right from the start, one user made a very valid assessment. “I don’t care how much armor someone has on, if I stab them in the neck or slice their throat, they’re dead,” they wrote in defense of turning on the feature.

They’re obviously not wrong. Slicing someone’s throat will in fact kill them and not simply shave off a bar of health due to being underleveled.

“I want to feel like I’m getting stronger,” one commenter wrote in response. “It feels like progression when I’m no longer afraid of the big scary dudes. I loved early game when I had to plan routes around the big guys, picking off the smaller dudes first, isolating then going for it. Now, I’m more experienced, more skilled, they don’t phase Naoe.”

That’s a valid point, especially considering Naoe is still very inexperienced at the beginning of the game. Slowly upgrading your skills does tie in to the story.

“It’s Assassin’s Creed, I want to be able to assassinate people,” another person wrote. That is correct, though the series has expanded past its rather limited gameplay in the years since the original trilogy.

From a rather interesting point of view, one gamer shared why they turned it on, and it has nothing to do with the game’s name. “It’s not that I want to. I’m only planning to buy 1 month (of) Ubisoft+, and I have limited time to play due to job and kids. I turn on canon mode for the same reason,” they wrote.

Personally, I’ve turned on the feature in my own playthrough. In some ways, the ability to guarantee a kill forces me to be more stealthy with Naoe in order to make it happen, and when all hell breaks loose because I was spotted, then it was my mistake. That said, both points of view are valid, and the entire thread is worth checking out to better understand why gamers play the way they do.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Released

March 20, 2025

ESRB

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

Developer(s)

Ubisoft Quebec

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