Because, honestly, I think this game is pretty awesome. Also, it’s a vast sprawling open-world experience. Story SPOILERS follow.

STORY
1. Answers the question, “Weren’t ALL the Assassin’s Creed games kind of about ninjas anyway?”
2, The long-running Ubisoft franchise previously has been set in Europe, the Middle East, and, uh, Boston.
3. The protagonist, generally, is a hooded dude striking from the shadows with archaic weapons. Hmm, what known pop-culture warrior archetype does that sound like?
4. So really, why not have one set in 16th-century feudal Japan?
5. You can play as Naoe the ninja (shinobi) or Yasuke the samurai, and that choice is as awesome as it sounds.
6. There’s lengthy story setup for both playable characters, but eventually it becomes an extended ninja-samurai buddy movie, as the unlikely pair seeks to pick a swordfight with every person in southern-central Japan.
7. You assassinate many many people, I assumed that’s inferable from the title.
8. If you’re a person who enjoys the rain-soaked battle scenes in Seven Samurai or Rashomon, you may like this game a lot.
9. Naoe has a retractable wrist-mounted blade weapon. Snikt.
10. Early on in the game, someone asks her: “Do you feel better now that you’ve destroyed something?”
11. As the player, I can confidently reply, “Yes, I DO feel a lot better having just destroyed a dozen marauding bandits with this nifty hidden bracelet-knife. Thanks for asking!”
12. But the escapist catharsis is not achieved only through the game’s extraordinary violence; you also get to meditate on serene cliffsides.
13. (The meditations are also rhythmic mini-games which are strangely relaxing.)
14. The two main voice actors, MASUMI and Tongayi Chirisa, are excellent.
15. Yasuke is the “Black Samurai,” based on a real historical figure, portrayed in various media; a Black man from an unidentified African region conveyed to Japan by Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century.
16. Naoe is not based on a real person that I know of, but she comes off as a composite of the princess in Hidden Fortress and Akira in John Wick 4.
17. Naoe’s story is also a little bit Star Wars, in a good way.
18. She’s also a musician, as MASUMI is in real life, which adds a nice dimension to the character.
19. Back to Yasuke, who may’ve been considered an audacious choice to co-lead this epic adventure, but as it turns out, awesome choice.
20. As a stranger in a strange land, Yasuke (originally named Diogo) faces heart-rending predicaments on the path to learning the culture and finding himself.
21. His very first dialogue choice, to reveal that he understands the local language, or to say nothing, reflects his basic internal conflict.
22. The flashback mission where he learns the samurai arts and takes the name Yasuke is both harrowing and moving.
23. He’s less traditional as far as Assassin’s Creed characters go, in that his specialty is brute force and not lurking, but it turns out to be a great option to have.
24. E.g., his “leap of faith” from the fast-travel points is more of a funny plummet, played for comic relief.
25. What really makes the game sing is the yin-yang choice of playstyles.
26. Naoe sneaks around, parkours gracefully, attacks targets silently.
27. Yasuke is optimized for fighting guys head-on, gorily dismembering fools like it’s cool.
28. And then they have a nice dialogue moment where they talk about sailing the world.
29. Moreso than a lot of recent RPGs, I found that choices in Shadows had meaningful impact.
30. E.g., there are branch points where you can let an important character die, or not.
31. (And I only mention that because later you might want to make out on the beach with that foxy sniper character.)
32. The obvious comp among recent games is Ghosts of Tsushima, also excellent, but I prefer Shadows.
33. Ghosts is more a fussy historical piece, Shadows has that science-fiction layer with the Animus and Templars and all that, they’re both great.
34. Shadows does have fun guest appearances by notable historical characters.
35. There’s Hattori Hanzō, renowned swordfighter of the Sengoku period, trained as both samurai and ninja, subject of many popular fictional interpretations.
36. Tokugawa Ieyasu himself appears, foreshadowing the eventual unification of Japan in the Edo period.
37. Also, you could skip by all this stuff and just enjoy storming umpteen castles.

GAMEPLAY
38. With the two contrasting playstyles established, you get to do you, using the shadows or charging through, depending on how hard or soft the tasks are.
39. Yasuke is a tank, well-suited to fight crowds, not as nimble at the infiltration stuff.
40. Naoe is better for stealthing and climbing, but takes more damage in open combat.
41. Yasuke’s weapon choices include the katana, the samurai’s iconic long sword, in a zillion different variations.
42. The naginata, a bladed polearm, close to a halberd, good for crowd control.
43. The kanabō, a heavy war club, uncomfortably like Negan’s Lucille in The Walking Dead.
44. The good ol’ bow and arrow, which you can use on horseback if you are fancy.
45. The teppō, a basic flint rifle, which does the gun thing but is loud.
46. Apparently, Portuguese traders brought an early firearm called the arquebus to Japan in 1543, which evolved into the teppō (#HistoryLearnedFromVideoGames).
47. Yasuke doesn’t even assassinate stealthily, he loudly announces his presence to his target and then stabs him. It’s a power move.
48. Meanwhile, gearing up with Naoe is as awesome for the TMNT fan as you’d think it is.
49. In addition to katana, she’s got a tantō, a short sword she can pair with her retractable blade for double assassinations.
50. The kusarigama is a weighted chain with a sickle blade, her best-ranged melee weapon.
51. Also, you can ensnare people with the chain and throw them around, which is a gas.
52. Hm, kunai or shuriken for the ranged weapon? Por qué no los dos?
53. The costumes/armors are gorgeous.
54. I usually don’t spend much time on the outfits, but in Shadows am doing a lot of, “Which scary Noh mask speaks to me? Decisions, decisions.”

55. The stealth aspect is far more engaging than in the recent Star Wars Outlaws, admittedly not the highest of bars.
56. Sentries detect you with varying sensitivity; cloaking yourself in rain is an effective workaround.
57. Really appreciated the variety of assassination animations, from elegant to brutal.
58. Most quests involve some light mystery-solving from context clues, so your progress doesn’t feel too spoon-fed.
59. Besides meditation, there’s a variety of serene side activities, like praying at shrines (okay, it’s for attribute points).
60. There’s also sneaking up on cute animals (monkeys, tanuki) and painting them.
61. Yasuke can practice kata with his weapons, by way of another oddly-soothing rhythm minigame.
62. There are kofun, which are like labyrinthine underground puzzle rooms.
63. Friendly tip: make use of the candles to mark your path.
64. The freedom of exploration across the vast open world is, as ever, a thrill.
65. As per Japan’s geography, a lot of mountains, endless steep steps to reach temples, giving this map great verticality and spectacle.
66. Personally, I like opening up the map without objectives, so I’ll take extra minutes to trudge up a snow-covered mountain on foot and slide down the other side, ’cause you know who can’t do that in real life?
67. Me. I can’t do that in real life. Fatigue poisons.
68. There’s no eagle/drone in this one for aerial recon, but I got used to it.
69. Naoe does have an x-ray vision ability (called “Eagle Vision”). Yasuke doesn’t have x-ray vision. He’s not quite a perfect man, he’s JUST A MAN.

70. Naoe has a grappling hook, super-important for scaling the complex roof overhangs.
71. If you like, you can hang out in Obama, a laid-back fishing community (on its surface).
72. Subtle touches: Yasuke is more welcomed at the castles, Naoe more accepted by the village folk, which seems realistic.
73. As you gain allies, you form a League. Like a Justice League. Of Shadows.
74. There’s Junjiro, an artsy kid with a fond attachment to Naoe.
75. There’s Oni-yuri, a grating/charming young lass who non-lethally sedates foes from a distance.
76. There’s Yaya, a Buddhist monk/tank with some really fun pummeling animations.
77. The leveling grind is fairly intuitive as you unlock the zillion sub-circles of foes to assasinate.
78. But the main mission is, you’re trying to get a crew of masked nasties called the Shinbakufu.
79. Perhaps most importantly, you can pet the cats and dogs you find wandering around the world.
80. Also, you can go to Aoshima, Japan’s famed “Cat Island,” and hang out with all the cats, with no leveling incentive.
81. Also, dogs. Lots of dogs, many breeds. There’s a dog-centric side mission. It’s delightful.

CULTURAL CONTEXT
82. There were controversies and pain points regarding the development of Shadows, while also arguably being the most highly-anticipated Assassin’s Creed game.
83. I only skimmed, but understand the concerns about the portrayal of feudal Japan and the choice to feature Yasuke the Black samurai.
84. I opine the latter choice is a bold and inspiring one.
85. It’s much more a romanticized cinematic homage than, “you are immersed in actual Japanese history.” History is messed with and mashed-up for dramatic purposes.
86. I’m not an expert on Japanese anything. But, as in other Assassin’s Creed games, I accidentally learned a lot of geography from the codex.
87. As to authenticity, I couldn’t say, but please, just be curious and don’t be a jerk.
88. Apparently, a day one patch lessened the player’s ability to destroy environments and draw blood while within shrines and temples, which seems perfectly reasonable.
89. Your character will de-sync (die) if you cause “excessive civilian casualties.” Again, really reasonable, because that’s a dumb way to play the game.
90. I have a strong preference for games where you can play as a phenotype besides the macho white dude, and in this respect Shadows really shines.
91. The option to play as the Black samurai guy is a little different, and supercool.
92. The option to play as a woman is always cool.
93. Having the male-female playable choice has existed in ACs Syndicate, Odyssey, and Valhalla, and, short of a fully customizable character a la Saints Row, it’s a great option to have.
94. In this case, the ever-present otherness of the two leads perfectly serve the story, which is pretty interesting, if dense with 16th-century Japanese feudal politics and palace intrigue.
95. “In a room of gossiping men, there is much an overlooked woman can learn,” Lady Oichi confides in Yasuke.
96. “The same was true for a slave among Christians,” Yasuke notes.
97. So there are elephants in the room addressed, and that hooked me into the world in a way that other recent big games haven’t.
98. Many of the Portuguese missionaries and merchants are portrayed as villains, several are slave traders.
99. Cultural exchange happens on other fronts: Yasuke seeks counsel from the benevolent Jesuit missionary Luís Fróis, and there are ubiquitous Portuguese vendors who are, at worst, dopey.
100. As with most RPGs, you can choose violence/aggression at any branching point, or you can be diplomatic/deferent.
101. I erred toward diplomacy, or, when available, sarcasm. This may be an Asian-American thing.
102. There’s a bizarre love triangle subplot which probably takes the most liberties with actual historical figures, but to be fair it’s revealed late in the game when all kindsa crazy stuff has already happened.
103. The modern anachronistic touches may be jarring to some, I think they add flair.
104. For example. an exciting cutscene of shinobi ambushing samurai on a bridge is set to TEKE::TEKE’s “Michi,” a groovy psychedelic surf-rock track.

105. Punk rock flourishes and swoony pop songs help pump up the soundtrack, composed by The Flight in collaboration with Thunderdrum and Tiggs Da Author.
106. The propulsive music helps sell the overarching story about uniting the people against cruel warlords, which I only half-understood, but it sure sounded good.
107. When in doubt, protect the little kid.
108. Naoe has to learn tea ceremony customs for one undercover mission; it’s funner than it sounds.
109. There’s a food sidequest where you sample nattō, narezushi, and other regional delicacies.
110. The changing seasons are a character in themselves; the sandbox becomes a snowbox, affecting your traversal in subtle and surprising ways.

MOMENTS OF MONO NO AWARE
111. On any level, Shadows is violently beautiful and unexpectedly moving.
112. There are crafted moments of transient beauty that really throw the whole violence-serenity dialectic into perspective.
113. A burning temple on a snowy mountain peak.
114. A sniper duel with teppō amidst tall bamboo.
115. Hong, the Chinese chef, grunting as he talks about noodles and vengeance.
116. These above gave me little chills. Your moments may vary.
117. Lighthearted comic relief also exists, akin to the Socrates and Olympics bits in Odyssey.
118. MASUMI really kills it with Naoe’s slightly sardonic voice and dry delivery. (Miyuri Shimabukuro is her voice for the Japanese language option.)
119. The “Yokai” missions are especially hilarious for their weirdly-subverted supernatural tropes.
120. Yasuke’s romantic relationships veer toward awkward romantic comedy (as opposed to conquest) and it’s pretty charming.
121. At the core of Shadows, the dual character journeys resonate with familiar themes of revenge and redemption.
122. Naoe’s basically doing all this for her father, voiced with gravitas by Peter Shinkoda.
123. The flashback exposition with young Naoe and her dad riding through the night on horseback recalls the Coen Brothers’ True Grit, and it’s great.
124. Yasuke, more dislocated from his past, is in it for honor. (The brutal details of his passage to Japan are revealed toward the end of the main story.)
125. The samurai code of courtesy, benevolence, and wisdom is frequently referenced, but Yasuke can choose to deviate at select moments.
126. Do as many missions as you can in the rain, man. Wicked cool.
127. The ability tree has some clever unlockables for customizing your stealth, such as breathing through a reed in shallow water.
128. That said, a small gripe: Supposedly Naoe can strike people through shoji screens with a katana, but this keeps not prompting for me. Yet I upgrade my “Silver Ace” sword regularly in the hopes that it will at some point see through thin walls.
129. Shadows is a really good pairing with Andor, if perhaps you think that show didn’t have enough swordfights.
130. E.g., there’s a pretty thrilling tag-team fight vs. a top boss which maximizes both Naoe and Yasuke’s skillsets.
131. Again, it’s an immersive movie, not a history sim. My fandom for Kurosawa-esque operatic drama was well-served.
132. Point of personal privilege, I loved that Naoe’s horse is named Kiri.

REVIEW SCORE (1-10)
133. Story: 10
134. Gameplay: 9
135. Technical: 9 (I played on a PS5, smooth sailing so far)
136. Vibes: 10 (The ambitiousness probably merited the extra time to polish)
137. Cats, Dogs, Cute Animals: 10
138. Overall: 10. A superior adventure, beautiful to look at, with epic breadth and emotional content.