Assassin’s Creed Shadows would be out by now if things had gone differently behind the scenes, but Ubisoft has decided to take additional time to polish the game and release it in the best possible state. Expectations from every part of the experience will be particularly high when it launches a handful of months from now- especially in terms of how the game handles its stealth mechanics, something that has always been a crucial part of the Assassin’s Creed series.
Ubisoft has released a detailed overview that offers new information on Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ stealth mechanics, which definitely seems to be pointing to a refocusing on stealth with the upcoming open world action RPG, particularly when playing as Naoe the shinobi- though some mechanics will, of course, be available to Yasuke the samurai as well, who’s the game’s other main protagonist.
Both characters will have access to the new Observe mechanics, using which players will be able to highlight, identify, and tag targets, enemies, loot, collectibles, and quest objectives. Meanwhile, though Assassin’s Creed Shadows won’t have an eagle companion that players will be able to take control of and fly around as like in past games, when playing as Naoe, you will have access to Eagle Vision.
Making a return from classic Assassin’s Creed titles, Eagle Vision will function separately from Observe, and is described as “a more dedicated stealth mechanic” that will allow Naoe to “slow down and take a moment to better visualize her enemies and relevant gameplay objects – including hiding spots”. Naoe cam also combine Eagle Vision and the Observe mechanic to reveal and tag enemies through walls.
Meanwhile, as Naoe, players will have access to an even more expansive moveset dedicated to being as stealthy as possible. Known as shinobi moves, these will include being able to hide in the shadows, creating shadows by destroying light sources with shuriken, being able to move around while crouching to make less noise (especially when walking on creaking indoor floors), and being able to go prone and crawl around.
Naoe will also have four unique shinobi and assassin tools at her disposal. There’s smoke bombs, which do exactly what you think; kunai knives, which can land one-hit kills when aimed properly; shuriken, which can both stun foes and be used as environmental distractions; and shinobi bells, which can be thrown to lure and distract enemies.
Other moves and abilities that Naoe has access to include being able to squeeze through cracks, hide in tiny spaces and boxes, briefly grab enemies from behind and drag them before killing them or dealing with them non-lethally, and of course, double assassinations.
Yasuke will obviously have a much more limited stealth moveset (being more focused on combat as he is), but his unique abilities will include using a bow for ranged and silent kills, and also being able to use his melee weapons for assassinations should he be able to quietly get up close to enemies without alerting them.
Meanwhile, Ubisoft has also revealed details on how enemies in Assassin’s Creed Shadows will deal with players during stealth sections in particular. Read more on that through here.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is due out on February 14, 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.