20 hours Ago By Justin Joy
Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series has been around for ages, with numerous settings and characters, but one has eluded fans for years, feudal Japan. This long requested location will finally become a playground for fans in the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows . Ubisoft appears to be pulling out all the stops for the next mainline Assassin’s Creed game too, including revamping the most important aspects of the game: parkour and movement .
With two different characters and two different playstyles, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has its work cut out for differentiating the two while maintaining a balanced system that feels cohesive to both Naoe and Yasuke’s playstyles. Ubisoft is up to the challenge, reworking the parkour and movement system for Assassin’s Creed Shadows . Speaking in a new blog post about the game, Simon Lemay-Comtois, an Associate Game Director for Shadows , revealed: “This means we had to be more thoughtful about creating interesting parkour highways and afforded us more control about where Naoe can go, and where Yasuke can’t, making our two playstyles even more contrasted.
” One of the most notable changes to accomplish this was altering the crouch and dodge buttons on the controller, allowing for the dodge mechanics that lead into parkour. RELATED: Assassin’s Creed Shadows Reveals Downgrade From Odyssey Lemay-Comtois calls Naoe a “true parkour master” and it shows in her movement. Naoe can jump further and higher thanks to her nimble abilities, allowing her to effortlessly navigate rooftops, climb walls, and escape pursuers.
Yasuke can use similar abilities to Naoe, but he is a bit slower and less elegant in his movements. Another big change is how players can approach stealth and parkour. For example, Lemay-Comtois highlights the difference between drop vs climb down.
Players are used to using the parkour button to climb down and hold onto a ledge, allowing for further climbing. In Assassin’s Creed Shadows , players can also perform flashy acrobatic moves to dodge over and down ledges. Sprinting has also seen some tweaks.
Naoe has the unique ability to perform a sprint dodge, allowing her to dive and roll over objects such as fences, crates, guardrails, windowsills, and more. Naoe’s sprint dodge is effective at dodging arrows and allowing her to put more distance between herself and her pursuers. In contrast, Yasuke can use his heavier frame to perform an automatic shoulder tackle while sprinting, removing destructible objects and enemies from his path.
One of the most interesting and appealing additions is the grappling hook. According to Lemay-Comtois: “Any proper shinobi game needs its grappling hook.” Naoe’s grappling hook allows her to reach greater heights and even swing across grapple points.
She can even combine wall-running and the grappling hook to reach a ledge normally out of reach. Fans will likely even more creative ways to implement this delightful tool. More changes and features of Assassin’s Creed Shadows are detailed in Ubisoft’s new blog , but Assassin’s Creed Shadows looks to be one of the most agile games in the series, especially with Naoe’s capabilities.
That said, Lemay-Comtois did point out that the team has made it impossible for Yasuke or Naoe to climb any surface without physical handholds, meaning players will need to be careful when planning routes. They did reassure fans much of what is seen in-game will be climbable, allowing players to become ultimate assassins in Japan..
