Ubisoft has shared an exciting new preview for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, that’s clearly signaling to those lapsed players to come back with this one.
Earlier today they shared a small gameplay preview showing one of the game’s deuteragonists, Fujibayashi Naoe, with this caption:
“Grappling hook, flips… Move swiftly across rooftops with Naoe’s new parkour moves. #AssassinsCreedShadows”
The trailer shows our kunoichi moving, not so much like a ninja as much as an Ubisoft Assassin. Of course, the franchise’s lore would have it so that Naoe is essentially both, but we want to bring focus on how this is relevant to us gameplay wise.
Naoe’s flips indicate a certain flair, that isn’t really appropriate for a spy whose specialty is supposed to be an expert in espionage and discreet military tactics. But, it’s fun to watch. Much more than that, though, it seems to indicate that Naoe doesn’t need that much space when doing her leaps and jumps. If you remember how Arno used to spin in Assassin’s Creed Unity, Naoe moves with a different cadence, perhaps one better suited for the setting she is placed in, and particularly, the architecture of her milieu.
We also see Naoe demonstrate her grappling hook, and it’s clear here that she doesn’t have the same freedom to use it as, say, Spider-Man. The preview makes it clear that you would have to be certain there was a roof or tree branch above Naoe for her to use the hook successfully. It may mean you will have to plan out your approach in certain situations.
The preview ends with Naoe getting on the ground and skulking low, like we expect a ninja too. But then she suddenly pulls her hook out again to get onto the small roof. This preview seems to imply that Naoe’s movements won’t be detected by enemies so easily. So it looks like Ubisoft is not tied to a hardcore ninja stealth system like Tenchu. We are sure fans will figure out the ins and outs of how Naoe can move around so quickly and remain undetected.
It certainly raises the question, if Naoe can go jumping around like that, how does it make sense that the player can switch freely between her and Yasuke? But we’re guessing, when you do the character flip, that Yasuke is nearby, but not at the same place she is. We certainly expect Ubisoft to show us more in the coming weeks to its release.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be releasing on November 12, 2024, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows on Ubisoft Connect. We just reported on a new rumor, that it might also be a launch title for Nintendo’s Switch 2.
In the meantime, you can watch Ubisoft’s teaser trailer below.
