Poll: Are You Playing Assassin's Creed Shadows?

I have bought it and it's next on my list to play. Just finishing off Uncharted Lost Legacy first. And can't wait to crack on with it.

Just waiting for it to download, played every assassin's creed game since 2007, ubisoft fan since Rayman on the ps1

I ordered it yesterday on CEX as had £57 in vouchers so it's on its way.

Looking forward to getting stuck into it

Big AC fan, still own all the games, but haven't bought this one. I think I'll probably get it when its 20€ or get a second hand copy, not going to give Ubi any more of my money.

I will get it this year. The thing is that I must save some money for my personal projects, But AC Shadows is one of my priority games of 2025, as Asassin's Creed is one of my top franchises. I played almost all mainline games already, only missing AC1, and Shadows now.

Altaïr is still my favorite character from the series. I tried the second one and Black Flag but couldn't get into either of them. I think I spent a good 10 to 12 hours on Odyssey. Neat at first, but terribly repetitive. With this one, I think all it's going to do is make me wish I was playing Ghost of Tsushima or Tenchu instead.

The last AC game I played in release was Syndicate, and only because I was reviewing it during my game journalist days. I'll get Shadows when it will get complete edition and discount. And a question for those who are playing:
Can you change controls so the attacks are face buttons and parkour is R1/R2? It was possible in Odyssey and not in Valhalla for some reason.
Is there still "all good guys are assassins and bad are templars" bullcrap going on?

Bought it but busy playing KCD2. I'm tempted to see how it looks on the Pro, but I must resist for now.

I’m not playing the game yet, but it is most definitely on my list of upcoming games. XCX released today, so that’s going to be my primary focus for the foreseeable future.

Even if you want it, just wait three or so months and it'll be on steep discount like most Ubisoft games wind up being.

I’ll get it in a couple of months.

Let it be patched, updated and down to £30.

Same as I do with every AC

It’s pretty good! The game is stunning (playing on PS5 pro). This is my first AC, but im definitely going back and checking the earlier entries after i beat Shadows.

Liked AC2, tried Valhalla but didn’t like it. Not bothering with this one.

Playing it on Ps5 pro in balanced mode 40 FPS looks great plays smooth.Only a few hours in but enjoying it decided too play in Japanese English subs story seems good and stealth/combat seems fun.

@Johnnycide Valhalla was definitely the worst AC game.

The game looks gorgeous, and I like big open worlds so I’m definitely going to play it. I’ve got to get through KCD2 first, though

I had shadows preordered but I cancelled the preorder, I’m just not in the mood for an open world game right now. Will buy shadows when I am in the right headspace which will hopefully be when it’s on sale.

I'll definitely be playing this as soon as I can finish the games I'm playing.
I like ubi open worlds, I like long games and I like the AC games. I know that's not 'cool' especially among reviewers who have to finish a game in record time, but I know what I like and if I'm gonna spend £70 Im glad to get more hours.
I'm fortunate enough to have a pro, so I know this game will look sublime, but it looks pretty great on OG ps5 too!

Had a voucher from work so treated myself. Arrived today and installed but I just started lego horizon so want to get that done first.

I adored valhalla, and just played through mirage and still get a lot of enjoyment from creed. I also love japanese settings and this will tide me over until ghost of yotei

Not yet. I'm glad the game turned out well, but this was always going to be, at best, a warm-up for Ghost of Yotei.
I'm still more interested in this than pretty much any other AC game, but it's still a back burner game for me at the end of the day.

I'm going to wait for a sale, mostly cuz I'm trying to spend less and actually finish the backlog lol

I own the older games, I did enjoy Mirage.

Looks like a five-course burger menu to me. One burger is great, and a fine five-course menu is fantastic. But please not in this combination for me!

I want to badly and probably would’ve in normal situations. But I’m on surgery protocols and can’t stay in my room with my OLED because the sitting arrangement would break them. So I’m stuck downstairs just chillin’. Been replaying Valhalla to cope with this though. It’s probably for the best as the game will get a ton of patches and possibly some DLC whenever I get to it

Haven't supported Ubisoft in a long time and definitely wont with this game either.

Nope. I'm not even done with my Monster Hunter Wilds playthrough yet.

Had the DE pre-ordered and yeah i'm a massive AC fan. So far put in around 10 hours and i'm really enjoying it. Visually it looks fantastic and the stealth is the best its been in ages in the series.

Nah. It'll be 20 bucks in a few months and then I may consider it

Surprised I'm in a minority for preferring the RPG's.

The best bit for me in Mirage was going out of town in the desert...

Honestly, I think Ubisoft do "their thing" better than critically acclaimed "clones" like Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon, Shadow of Mordor etc do.

I even found Aloy and Jin less likeable and interesting than a number of AC protagonists.

My main meh point that made me umm and aahh over buying Shadows is that I really don't like the Japanese setting. It's just not a time and place that I vibe with.

Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla had the most amazing worlds. Even those who don't like the games can surely concede that the worlds and graphics were excellent.

The fact that this mediocrity was rewarded with an 8 and called "a cut above" makes me really sad, standards really are low.
I will die on the hill that any game that is designed around X ray vision doing the work for you is fundamentally bad, and that's not even touching all the other issues these games have, or how one of the two protagonists is completely broken and superfluous from a gameplay standpoint, despite him being such an interesting character to focus on.

Last AC games that i played was Syndicate and China Chronicles. I enjoyed both games but it feels like the series doesn't have important main story to tell anymore.

I mean, when's this diving up into older era and different country / continent gonna lead to a major story conclusion, like what's the endgame?
I remember Desmond has a solid reason to flashback his ancestor lives in order to beat the Templar and some alien race. But after AC 3, it feels like that story plot is just kinda finished and then abandoned?
So is there some major story plot that Shadows gonna tell or it's like a filler?

But no, i think i'm not gonna play Shadows. So i hope people who played the game will enjoyed it. Cheers 🍻

@Titntin
Been playing today, if you like AC and Ubi open worlds you gonna love it.
Really enjoying it so far, great game and a great looker as well, on Pro at 60fps.

Once it let my hand go and released me into the open world it got great.

Played most of them. This one isn't for me. I'm waiting for the Black Flag remake.

Yes, im lovin it so far. Graphics are some of the best out there, the hair physics is on point man. I'm playing with japanese voices as i did with ghost of tsushima, makes for a better experience. This is a solid one folks, dont listen to the noice.

Loving it so far! There's some really good and intense story moments (I cried once already) and the combat is really good.

@IntrepidWombat yeah but it doesn't at all make you want to play Ghost or tenchu, the only thing in common between all 3 is location,.other than that they are very different

@Scarface82G1 @Johnnycide It's always interesting to see different people's takes on a long series like AC. Opinions always seem so split on specific entries.

For what it's worth, I really like Valhalla but I can totally understand why others might not. Falls into the Odyssey camp for me, where it's barely an AC game but I think it's a rock solid historical open world adventure.

Very tempted, but gonna wait and get it cheaper down the road. I’m definitely excited to play as a samurai/shinobi assassin though, and that historical Japanese setting is callin’ my name. Too many games though…

I played Origins for a bit, really liked it, but then got distracted and onto something else.

@Cornpop76 For all the negativity Ubisoft gets (and don't get me wrong, some of it is deserved) the devs always do an amazing job with the actual open worlds in the new AC games. Stunning realisations, and they often get overlooked because of the objective markers.

@Bentleyma I mean that these games are so focused on being pretty over having any substantive level design that they literally have a scan/X ray vision mode highlighting what's interactive in the world.
No level design, no complexity, no thought required, no skill involved...nothing.
If the world was designed well, the game wouldn't need that kind of crutch to show you the way forward.

@ShogunRok and rightly so.
What's the point of being open if at no point my curiosity is stimulated?
These games might be stunning to look at, yes, but just like GTA, Horizon and many of their ilk are incredibly shallow design wise.

@Scarface82G1 both good choices, 40fps option is great for console. I played through Ghost of Tsushima in Japanese with English subs. Definitely adds to the experience.

Playing Persona 5 currently, by the time I'm finished AC will only be £30 so I'll grab it then

Playing on PS5 Pro and, my God, this is a beautiful looking game. I’m maybe four hours in and not even got to my first proper in-game mission destination – it’s all been prologue and tutorial stuff, but all thoroughly engaging. I now have to sit through crappy evening TV my other half wants to watch when I should be hacking my through feudal Japan. Sigh.

I've commented a few times on it, but I haven't played an AC since Origins and I bought Shadows. I'm waiting for it to download but I'm looking forward to playing an AC game again after 8 years.

I enjoy assassin's creed games.but I'm chilling with my backlogs of video games.i will definitely get it.word up son

@clvr You played it? No? Then you can't criticise those that have and how they felt about the game.

I haven't played one since Odyssey, so I might play this eventually? But I have to admit I'm not impressed with the reviews, and the fact there's Ghost of Yotei on the horizon...

Jump off the roof, stab someone... cinematic, jump off the roof stab someone....
Nah I'm good thanks

@DennisReynolds what a tired rebuttal.
As if this game was something new or unprecedented (it absolutely isn't), or as if there weren't any other critiques out there (there are plenty).
Also I stated clearly what my main gripe with this kind of game is and this doesn't deviate from that, so am I not allowed to criticise a mechanic that is actually in the game?

Hello there fellow gamers.
Yes, I´m playing AC Shadows and I really enjoy the series as a whole ever since AC1.
This has been the setting and time period I´ve been waiting since AC2, and I´m having a blast just exploring, fighting fools and sneak my way into castles.
Once again, Ubisoft nails the open world design and it´s such a beautiful game to boot.
Have like 7 hours or so and I´m really enjoying it so far.
As long as I´m having fun playing a game, that´s all that matters.
Cheers and happy gaming

Been on it most of the day. Looks phenomenal on the Pro and I'm having a great time with it thus far. Couple crazy bugs but has been pretty solid stability wise overall

Haven't seriously played an AC since Revelations. Tried Origins but it didn't click with me by the end of the tutorial missions so I put it down. I guess I didn't give it a real chance but I'm afraid my nostalgia bias for the Ezio and Altair games is too strong to make me try again. Hope this does well for Ubisoft's sake. Then again, if not, maybe they'll put the IP up for sale and someone can redeem it. Who knows.

@clvr You're complaining that people who have played the game are giving it good reviews or thoughts while you yourself haven't played it at all. Just think about that sentence.

I’ve only ever played Odyssey (to 100% completion on the trophy stack) and AC III on the Vita so I’m not a big fan of the series but I’m definitely looking forward to picking this one up at some point. There’s just something about this setting that clicks w/ the AC series for me so I’ll be picking this up at some point.

@DennisReynolds I have and I have replied to your point elaborating on my opinion; could you kindly do the same or will you keep parroting "but you haven't played it"?
If that's the second, I honestly see no point in continuing this discussion.

I've played every AC through Valhalla. I can't take another giant RPG collectathon. I WANT to play an AC game - but not like this anymore. Especially with NO modern day to speak of.

I did buy it, just have some other games lined up first. My last AC game was Black Flag, so Im excited to see what the fuss is about with those RPGs

I wanna play it and would like to buy it, but I’ve just got too many games that take forever to beat.

I just finished Avowed this past week and that took right at 50 hours. I’m also in the middle of playing cyberpunk. I also have Final Fantasy 16 and the new dragons age that I got cheap that I haven’t even started yet.

I understand wanting to get your moneys worth for games, but these games are so huge that I just don’t have the time for it.

@DETfaninATL Its very much like Odyssey as well so if you enjoyed that i think you will enjoy this.

I got it today, simply because I want to support Ubisoft and I hope they survive, and the game becomes a success that can send a message, in the currently extremely hateful political climate. I don’t think I’m going to like the game.

I am all for DEI in gaming, and think it is objectively unethical to be against it, but I think the intentions of Ubisoft even caring about inclusivity is only because of greed, which makes it a double edged sword - however, I would rather let them win, because that would still be a win for inclusivity, than giving the victory to this new wave of nazi ideology that’s spreading like wildfire

Nope ubisoft should pay me to plsy their games, i consider it harassment by yves for how many ads i get of this game.

@MathiasBS sighs heavily

No (no no no because it needs more words... Stupid restriction)

@PuppetMaster - From what I understand (haven’t finished many AC games post III, but have dabbled in all of them) after III, the present day story got put on the back burner; stuff still happened in them, but they weren’t as important and I don’t think even did a whole lot to move the overall story forward. Then, Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla attempted to actual do something with the present day setting by giving you a new character in Layla, who is given a story spanning those three games, but from what I’ve read, her story ends in Valhalla in much the same way Desmonds did (sacrificing herself to stop some big disaster from occurring). Mirage, being a DLC expansion originally, doesn’t have a present day story segment at all, so where this stuff is at now is dependent on what Shadows is doing with it, but considering Ubisoft want to continue making these games until the end of time, I would guess the “main story” (as in, the conflict between Assassins and Templars in the present day) to be something that just continues until the series dies (and considering most play these games for the historical part, I wouldn’t be surprised if they just ditched it entirely at one point).
—————
Bought the game online yesterday, waiting for it to arrive. Interested in seeing how it goes, though disappointed that the RPG stats are apparently still a thing (one thing I loved about Mirage).

I will not play it because I'm burned out of this kind of gameplay formula. I'm not against Ubisoft or AC, it's just that I have played so much of this kind of game that I don't see the point of spending time in another one. I want to be surprised, like I was with Elden Ring or SMTV.

Waiting on the install/update to finish. Putting my statue in its display case to pass the time.

Didn’t realize it was gonna be two discs.

As this will be my swan’s song AC I went all out. Just bought the collector’s edition guide.

Woo absolutely loving this so far. Loving the cinematic direction they have taken. Already gushed in another comment section about it.

@clvr Definitely gets me more interested in playing Hell is Loose!

Will probably check it out later in the year when it inevitably comes to Ubisoft's lower tier of Ubisoft plus. The last assassin’s creed I played was Valhalla - enjoyed my time with it but was burnt out after about 60 hours so never saw the ending.

I suspect I’ll have a similar experience with shadows so happy to just rent it and get my fill that way. I’ll probably end up playing when gta6 launches, as I can’t imagine there’ll be much else launching at that time.

I’m happy to wait for the pc version of gta, it’s been 13 years since 5 launched - I’ll wait a little longer to play the game on my platform of choice. I won’t be double dipping, especially given some rumours that rockstar are considering raising pricing from the current £70 standard.

@Fishnpeas You have sales numbers after only 24 hours of release? Seriously why do you lot lie all the time?

Nah. I'll buy it when it's $20. Ubisoft has taught me to never buy a game from them day one.

I'm probably wait to get AC Shadows just started playing Odyssey this month. I own Valhalla too heard both of these games are long

Of course I'm playing it! Absolutely loving it too so far. Granted I'm only 5 hours in but yeah, so far, so very good indeed.

Eagerly waiting for my copy to show up in the mail. Its been a long five year wait since the last real game!

@FullMetalWesker Ok from your explanation, i think i get the better picture of how Ubisoft treated the main story and what direction AC series headed. But thanks for your explantion 🍻

I played the first two games terrible. I played Syndacite and its still mediocre the best thing about the series was Evie.

I'm interested, but the launcher and mtx has solidified it as a deep sale buy for me. I picked up Outlaws for $34.99, and I'm pretty surprised that is kind of ugly and boring at the outset, so that probably didn't help.
Edit: Also, come on...Xenoblade Chronicles X is out. I've bought all of them and only really gelled with the first (the combat never clicked, but I am hoping it will this time). I'm going on a vacation that is longer than three nights for the first time in over ten years (because America). I'm hoping I can just disappear into that for a week.

@ShogunRok It doesnt really matter how good the open world looks if its deep as a puddle with either nothing to do in it or pointless busy work.

For me the Ubi formula got stale in Far Cry 3 and it havent change much :/

I have fond memories of AC1,2 and black flag, but who knows? Maybe going back today would bore me as well. The “new” ACs dont interest me in the slightest.

@RaZieLDaNtE Now that's the spirit! Glad you're enjoying the game mate. I'm also having a blast! Can't wait until i can start adding all the furry animals to my hideout, apparently just petting animals saves them to your hideout later Cheers!

I will definitely, my copy arrived yesterday. And I'm really excited for it, but I will play Indiana Jones first and than play AC Shadows.

@DennisReynolds only for Steam, and everyone has them because Steam ldb has an API connection to Steam.

The Internet is a wonderful place of information...

FYI they are half the sales of DAV and we know how that turned out.

I've been convinced to get this very soon. It'll be the first release of this year that I play. Also the first full-priced game I've purchased since BG3.

@ShogunRok there’s definitely a market for it, and it’s more a personal taste thing. I just find that Ubisoft games put me off due to the overly busy map and the onslaught of ads for mtx and dlc as soon as you boot the game up. If anything I’ve been playing more stuff like Balatro and Returnal lately, just because I can start the game and be doing something fun within 20 seconds.

I’d like to play it but I’m committed to kingdom come 2 at the moment and I don’t know if I’ll have it me to play another big open world game after lol. Looks really good though!

Well i was going to purchase a physical copy. I play physical games completely offline but with it having a requires internet connection on the box it put me off from buying. This artificial block is away for users not to access the game of the when the servers eventually go offline. I'm so sick of this practice of requiring a internet connection for a single player game. Yes i do have internet at home it's full fibre WiFi, but the fact is why should i connect to internet to verify my physical purchase. A physical game with the connection requirement or digital copy you don't own it at all. One more thing a game with a internet connection on the box isn't a true physical game. So UbiSoft it's no purchase for me.

I’m playing. Best AC game I’ve played so far, it’s right on the money.

Not yet, picked up xenoblade on switch and really trying to not double up like I always do.

This one is a definite buy though for me. I completely skipped last years because it was done in the old style, no interest in that. The series for me got good at unity and has been excellent since minus the remakes of older ones and the aforementioned mirage. (Best = Valhalla, Worst = Black Flag)

Nope. Only tried a couple of these games in the past, and I didn't like them when I did.

The setting is fun, but I also have a historical Japanese game in my backlog that I still need to beat (Ghost of Tsushima), so... yeah.

Also, I'm not inclined to give Ubisoft any money after they disbanded the Rayman Legends team.

This is the first AC game that I've been interested in since Origins.

I'll definitely purchase this (and Origins) in the future if I ever get the free time to do so.

The last AC game I played was AC 3 back in 2014, so it's been more than 10 years since I've played an AC game and I feel like Shadows will be a great way to return to the franchise.

I pre-ordered off Amazon for day release, just to get Xbox copy instead of ps5 😭

Nope, but I have fun watching the youtube video about the game. For example, I just found out the woman that yasuke can romance in the game is famous in japan as a very loyal wife that choose to be killed with his husband when they lose the war, of course ubisoft make that woman (lady oichi) make out with yasuke 😂

At this point I think ubisoft really hate japan and that the game story is just some fantasy of the writer lol.

Yeah playing it.

But I now play it via Ubi+ subscription instead of buying it.

Wasn't going to touch it but certain positive reviews and the fact it is some way related to the Odyssey team (whoever is left) changed my mind. AC2 fans be damned, Odyssey is the peak of the franchise. Been playing since the first one on PS3 and I don't get how people keep overrating 2.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner This is the right way to play any Ubisoft game nowadays.

@JohntheRaptor Your username kinda suggests that you're in to this franchise

I fall into the same trap every time an Assassin's game is released. I remember how I get urked by the enemies you have no chance of beating, unless you grind levels for an extra twenty hours - then I still buy it anyway. Gonna play it on story mode I think.

Never cared about Assassins Creed and I don't like open world games, so I'm sitting this one out.

I'm still playing AC Origins, on the 2nd DLC. I have the complete versions of both AC Odyssey and AC Valhalla to start afterwards. I'm a few years away from playing AC Shadows.

I'll let others pay the 70 dollar PS5 tax, and I will get it later.

Does look good (but I still haven't go round to playing Mirage) I usually wait at least 6 months before starting any new game so they've time to sort everything out.

I started playing it as soon as it released on the 19th and put 12 hours in so far. The gameplay has been solid so far and the cutscenes are a step above Mirage. There's some minor bugs but overall I'm enjoying it a lot over Valhalla since I skipped Mirage. Ubisoft really did a great job with this game and the 2 delays were worth the wait. Immersion mode is also good since I loved the Japanese VAs with some portuguese. I turned off canon mode because I didn't really mind having dialogue choices.

I'll buy it once the eventual complete edition with future expansions comes out, or when it's on sale/on PS Plus.

Any chance of just “Yes” option?!. My brother always says Of Course like everything is some common knowledge.

He also says which? instead of what? ..which, as you’d imagine is quite often leaving many a female doing a double take…….

Bought it today. First three hours have been rather tedious and directionless.