After a Year, Assassin's Creed Shadows Remains One of the Most Divisive AC Games

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One Year Later, Assassin's Creed Shadows Remains One of the Most Divisive AC Games

Published Mar 19, 2026, 3:55 PM EDT

Eric Warner is a Journalist and Multimedia Producer based in New England with over seven years of experience producing stories for multiple print, online, radio, and video publications.

Eric has been a gaming fan ever since getting an original Xbox for Christmas in the early 2000's. From then on, he has become enthralled in the gaming world, spending thousands of hours in Halo multiplayer matches, climbing dozens of towers across the Assassin's Creed games, and 100% perfecting every single Horizon game to date.

When not writing for DualShockers Eric can typically be found playing games on his PS5, PC, and Xbox or reading sci-fi, horror, and fantasy books/comics.

On March 20th, 2025, after several delays, Ubisoft Quebec launched the latest entry in the nearly 20-year-old Assassin's Creed franchise with the feudal Japan-set Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Ever since Assassin's Creed 2 showcased the potential of AC games set in different historical eras and locations, fans long dreamt to see an AC game set in feudal Japan and, when Shadows was initially revealed as Assassin's Creed: Codename Red, many thought this vision was finally coming true.

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However, as more details were revealed about Shadows leading up to its debut, the game quickly turned out not be the universally beloved Japanese AC game most of the fanbase envisioned, with many fans decrying its protagonists, narrative, and world design.

With Ubisoft celebrating Shadows' one-year anniversary and beginning to sunset development on the game's content updates, it's a perfect time to reflect on Shadows' legacy within the AC franchise.

Assassin's Creed Shadows' History of Controversies

Assassin's Creed Shadows' history with controversies began as soon as the game started development at Ubisoft Quebec as that division of Ubisoft is famous for creating some of the most polarizing AC games, such as Assassin's Creed Syndicate and Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

Both of those games have their good share of fans, but many in the AC community saw Syndicate's gameplay and story as major steps back for the franchise, while Odyssey was full of controversial features such as dialogue options, undefined protagonists, god-like powers, multiple endings, and notably not featuring Assassins at all.

This caused Shadows to face an uphill battle from the get-go to truly deliver a Japanese AC game that would please most fans, but as soon as Ubisoft revealed the protagonists to be the African samurai Yasuke and the shinobi Fujibayashi Naoe, a significant portion of fans began harshly criticizing the game for becoming "woke" and historically inaccurate.

Many fans even became so infuriated that they threatened developers online, but upset fans weren't the only fans discouraged by Shadows, as early gameplay showcases depicted characters destroying shrines, altars, and torii, prompting the Japanese government to submit official complaints to reverse those gameplay options.

Assassin's Creed Shadows' history with controversies began as soon as the game started development at Ubisoft Quebec...

These complaints about Shadows in the lead up to its debut even caused Ubisoft to cancel an AC game set in the United States' Reconstruction era, centering on an African American Assassin fighting Templar and KKK members, due to the U.S. increasingly tense political climate in particular.

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By the time players actually got their hands on Shadows, many were disappointed by Naoe's journey and considered the game to be rather bloated with too many insignificant targets to assassinate that did little to progress the story or impact the protagonists.

This disappointment was supported by Shadows' abrupt ending, forcing players to purchase the Claws of Awaji DLC to see Shadows' major plot threads be concluded, as well as its post-launch content with other franchises such as the infamously brief and bizarre inclusion of characters from Attack on Titan.

Everything Assassin's Creed Shadows Did Well

Despite all of the controversies and complaints, many AC fans still had a great time with Shadows and most of its post-launch content, with many particularly praising Yasuke's character-specific quests and journey from being a slave to Oda Nobunaga's loyal samurai and later as a founding member of a new Assassin Brotherhood dedicated to stopping the Templars.

Shadows was additionally praised for its gameplay divided between Naoe and Yasuke, with both featuring fun but distinct abilities and weapons, with Naoe's stealth maneuvers and Yasuke's raw strength being specific highlights.

The introduction of recruitable allies in Shadows was also a notable positive for many players, as their side quests were some of the best in the game, while the ability to instantly call them to aid in battle or stealth operations felt like a perfect evolution of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood's Assassin's Guild.

Claws of Awaji, while not as large as other Assassin's Creed DLCs, still managed to include some highly memorable sequences and boss fights, notably seen with the 2D introduction to Awaji and Yukari and the fight against the teppo-wielding shinobi Nowaki, which further showcased Ubisoft Bordeaux's prowess at making great AC content.

Shadows had very little content surrounding the ancient Isu or the conflict between modern day Assassins and Templars, but it did expand the history of past Assassins and Templars in intriguing ways, such as the Japanese Brotherhood being founded by the dishonored Spanish Assassin Alvaro Catarribera and the Portuguese Templars being a small branch of the Templar Order.

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The environment of Shadows' was additionally praised for its dynamic weather between seasons, often impacting gaming in several ways, such as spring rain showers making it easier to stealthily take out enemies, while the winter can freeze ponds and lakes, taking away the player's ability to safely leap from dangerous heights.

In a way, Shadows can be seen as a game that showcases the Assassin part of Assassin's Creed in its purest form with no modern day interruptions or fantastical Isu technology breaking immersion from life in Sengoku period Japan.

What Assassin's Creed Can Learn and Apply to Future Games After Shadows

While Assassin's Creed Shadows may have been a far more controversial game than Ubisoft intended it to be, it still delivered numerous memorable narrative and gameplay moments to become a major step in the evolution of Assassin's Creed as a franchise.

However, there are still ways Ubisoft Quebec and other Ubisoft branches can learn from Shadows' strengths and faults to make future AC titles even better.

For example, the combat, stealth, and environment of Shadows were all well-received, to the point that Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is rumored to be implementing a similar dynamic weather system, so Assassin's Creed: Codename Hexe and other open world AC titles should strive to replicate those Shadows aspects.

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The next AC game should strive to streamline its narrative as one of Assassin's Creed Shadows' major flaws was the vast number of targets players had to assassinate that had little to no impact on Naoe or Yasuke's character.

Additionally, Ubisoft really needs to work on its post-launch content as Shadows had a second expansion that was planned but canceled, and the collab updates really hurt Shadows' reputation in the long run more than it helped.

If the next AC game is going to collaborate with other franchises, Ubisoft should strive to collab with IPs that make sense for a historical and mythological-focused franchise like AC, such as a crossover with Kingdom Come: Deliverance instead of with a series that would introduce canon-breaking monsters like AOC.