It’s no secret that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a make-or-break title for Ubisoft, with the studio making every effort to ensure that the latest addition to its flagship franchise meets the high expectations of its fans and investors.
To that end, Ubisoft has created a rendition of feudal Japan that is slated to bring fresh new features to the traditional Assassin’s Creed experience while also bringing the best of other titles in the franchise to the table to make Shadows its best entry to the franchise in its long history.
Ubisoft Takes Advantage of Its Proprietary Anvil Engine
Ubisoft’s Anvil Engine has long been the driving force behind the gorgeous renditions of various cities set in differing periods throughout history, which the Assassins explore and even use to their advantage in each installment’s narrative. An important factor in the franchise’s excellent environments, it seems that the Anvil Engine is all set to take things up a notch in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
With the game slated to offer a ton of options to players on both consoles and PCs in terms of the visuals they would like to see in-game, Ubisoft has been very excited to elaborate on how it has blended its stunning vistas with its gameplay mechanics to add a layer of improvisation for its players that works well with its decision to give players the option of approaching missions as either a Shinobi or a Samurai.
Naoe and Yasuke are set to bring their own deadly brands of justice to a Japanese populace under oppression by the Shogunate in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. However, their approaches to taking on the Shogun’s forces will have to account for a new dynamic weather system that could either make their task easier or harder based on what they are trying to achieve at any given moment.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Unique Blend of Graphics and Gameplay Is a Franchise First for Ubisoft
A recent Q&A session that Ubisoft held in order to answer questions from an excited community of players reveals that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is poised to feature a weather system that dynamically changes and forces the game’s world to change with it. These changes would mean that the weather at any given time is an added wrinkle for the Assassins to consider as they hunt down members of the Templar Order.
Answering players who expressed their curiosity about how the dynamically changing weather patterns would affect gameplay, Pierre F, the Technology Director of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, enthusiastically explained that the new weather system would require that players rethink their approach to infiltrating Templar strongholds with new opportunities for stealth, presenting themselves based on whether it was raining or snowing.
“When it’s raining, the sound covers your footsteps, so you can move without being heard as much. It also changes enemy patrol, as the higher social classes go under roofs to be protected from rain.
Seasons have even more impact, such as how some bushes/vegetation are simply gone in the winter months. Agriculture changes over different seasons, creating new hiding spots, and snow can slow down Naoe, but not Yasuke.
Lastly, icicles can fall off roofs, creating noise distractions that enemies actually hear and react to.”
Coupled with an improved Atmos tool that allows clouds to change according to the weather dynamically, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is taking advantage of being the franchise’s first title to be exclusive to current-gen systems, pushing the boundaries of what they can achieve in a way that even Assassin’s Creed Valhalla could not achieve with its gorgeous vistas that were largely static in terms of how they impacted Eivor’s ability to take on literal armies of Templars.
With Connor being the last Assassin who had to contend with bad weather way back in Assassin’s Creed III, it is very clear that Ubisoft has taken every measure to make Naoe and Yasuke’s upcoming adventure the definitive stealth-action experience for fans of the franchise while also ensuring that players get the choice of choosing either combat or stealth when taking on new missions in Shadows.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows releases on March 20th, 2025, barring another delay, and is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Mac.
For more Thumb Wars Gaming coverage, check out how Ubisoft’s first DLC for Assassin’s Creed Shadows features an interesting callback to a franchise favorite, or our guide on how long you will need to complete Lost Records: Bloom and Rage.
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With a passion for gaming that is equaled only by his love for writing, Varun has either a controller, keyboard, or a guitar in his hands when he is not out exploring the middle of nowhere on a motorcycle. Soulslikes, RPGs, and action-adventure titles keep him awake at night and get him out of bed in the morning. He will never stop lamenting the lack of a Bloodborne sequel even as he spends another couple of hours exploring the Lands Between in Elden Ring.
