Assassin’s Creed Shadows fans call it a “huge improvement” over Valhalla & Odyssey

Assassin’s Creed players believe Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ gameplay is a “huge improvement” over Valhalla & Odyssey. 

Assassin’s Creed Shadows fans were “quietly optimistic” following the Xbox Games Showcase, which gave us a sneak peek into the game’s world. However, the Ubisoft Forward gameplay trailer has the community even more hyped. 

During the presentation, the devs delved deeper into the game’s two protagonists, Yasuke and Naoe – showcasing the weighty combat system and deadly stealth mechanics. We even got a glimpse at how certain weapons like the Kanabo and Kusarigama function. 

While Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ November 15 release may be a while away, players already believe the game is a “huge improvement” over Valhalla & Odyssey. 

“Not gonna lie looks great and an improvement on Valhalla,” wrote one player on the official Assassin’s Creed Reddit. “Facial animations in dialogue scenes also seem to be an improvement over Odyssey and Valhalla. Also, I’m not too worried about the voice acting for now since most of the dialogue in this AC gameplay walkthrough isn’t that good.” 

As a ‘work in progress’, the combat looks leagues better than Origins, Syndicate, Valhalla, and even Mirage,” another comment agreed. “I know people liked Origins but even that went a little floaty. I just could never enjoy how ‘plasticky’ it felt there.”

“I watched the entire gameplay and it really looks like a big improvement. Movement, combat, stealth. Everything looks dope as f*ck. They really cooked with this one!”

One area many fans were keen to highlight was just how good the game’s animations looked compared to previous games in the series. This was especially true when it came to Naoe’s stealthy takedowns and parkour sections. 

One player explained: “Naoe seems to have smooth animations, I like that she blends with the darkness and the crawling looks interesting, same for the grappling hook, glad it’s not just an instant climb/traverse and that you can do air assassinations while swinging, overall the stealth was very interesting.”

Fans even noted just how weighty Yasuke’s combat felt, particularly when using the Kanabo, a two-handed club that can crush armored samurai. “I absolutely love how the armor gets broken in real-time during the combat,” replied one commenter. 

“Overall it is still a huge improvement over the previous games. the stealth however looks very engaging and well done. The game world is very beautiful as well.”

If you’re still itching for more Assassin’s Creed Shadows information, then check out our interview, where we got to speak with the game’s director about the game’s dual protagonists, setting, and more.