Summary
Assassin’s Creed Shadowslooks to be breaking a lot of new ground for the long-running stealth and action-RPG series, but its dynamic weather and seasons are going to have far-reaching effects on gameplay. This latestACis finally taking players to the highly anticipatedsetting of feudal Japan, beginning in 1579, and will feature dual protagonists – Naoe, a shinobi, andYasuke, a real samurai. While these two will certainly provide plenty of variety for the player, unpredictable weather and changing seasons in-game will giveAssassin’s Creed Shadowsa significant number of new variables.
In an interview withScreen Rant,Assassin’s Creed Shadowsproducer Karl Onnée discussed howdynamic weather and seasons will influence AI behavior and open up new opportunities. Rain will have an influence on guards – they won’t stay in their usual spots, opting not to get wet by heading inside. And in winter, for instance, “enemies are going to be cold, so they’re going to tend to go closer to fires.” Gameplay during winter will contrast with that in summer: “a pond [is now going] to be frozen. The tall grass is going to disappear. The icicles are going to form. If you walk and you go too fast, it falls and the guard’s going to hear it.”
Assassin’s Creed Shadows' Dynamic Weather & Seasons Will Make Each Playthrough Unique
Different Gameplay Opportunities From A Dynamic World
Combined with the two protagonists, which offer players a choice between a stealth- or action-based approach, the weather inAC Shadowsis designed to give each player a unique experience. Continuing their discussion of guards seeking warmth in the winter, Onnée says, “Places where they would stand in the summer are no longer there [in winter]. They go to other places, which means thatyou do a playthrough, I do another one, and depending on what character we play and depending on the season, depending on time of day, it’s very different.”
This leans heavily into the sandbox nature of the more recentAssassin’s Creedgames, but also helpsmerge the two eras of theAssassin’s Creedfranchiseby introducing a new layer to the classic stealth gameplay. This may help mitigate players growing weary with exploration in the notably expansiveOdysseyandValhallamaps.Changing seasons and constantly fluctuating weather may provide enough variety to keep the game fresh, especially the former, if all four seasons are expected to be as unique as summer and winter are said to be.
It does, of course, remain to be seen just how effective these dynamic elements are, which may largely depend on how sophisticatedShadows' enemy AI is. Much of what’s been revealed about the weather systems also seems negligible for those who opt to play primarily as Yasuke, since most of the changes discussed so far tend to have ramifications on stealth, rather than Yasuke’s open combat strategy. Regardless, dynamic weather being for more than just show is an exciting step forAssassin’s Creed Shadows, and shows that even a legacy franchise like this still has room to improve.
