Assassin’s Creed is one of the most popular franchises in the gaming world. Be it the crowded streets of Renaissance Italy, the sun soaked islands of ancient Greece, or even the icy plains of Viking England, the series has spent years blending history with fiction, delivering games built around stealth, combat, and conspiracy. Each new entry comes with a fresh setting, sprawling open world, and hours of content. The latest game to arrive in the Assassin’s Creed franchise this year was Shadows.
When the game launched, the response from players was complicated. While its world design and atmosphere were widely praised, familiar criticisms around repetition, pacing, and franchise fatigue surfaced. Set in feudal Japan, expectations from the games were quite high when it arrived and it also drew enormous comparisons with Sucker Punch Productions’ Ghost of Tsushima. Now that the game is available at nearly half its original price on Epic Games Store, the question is should you buy it or skip it. Let’s try and answer that today.
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Let us start with the biggest reason anyone would consider buying Assassin’s Creed Shadows in the first place- Japan.
Feudal Japan feels tailor made for Assassin’s Creed. Dense forests, mountain paths, wooden villages, bustling towns, castles perched on cliffs, and quiet shrines hidden away from the world. Shadows absolutely delivers on this fantasy. The world is vast, detailed, and often genuinely beautiful. Sunrise through bamboo groves, snowfall settling on rooftops, rain soaked roads reflecting lantern light, and much more- Ubisoft’s world building team is still one of the best in the industry, and Shadows is proof of that.
If you are someone who enjoys exploration for its own sake, AC Shadows can be deeply satisfying. There is a calm rhythm to moving through the world, climbing rooftops, syncing viewpoints, and slowly uncovering the map. It is familiar Assassin’s Creed design, yes, but in a setting that finally feels fresh for the franchise.
For long-time fans, simply existing in this version of Japan is enough to carry the experience for several hours. Sneaking through enemy camps, scaling fortresses, and planning assassinations feels thematically right here in a way that some previous locations did not.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows does not reinvent the formula. This is important to say upfront.
If you enjoyed recent entries like Valhalla or Mirage, you will know exactly what you are getting. A massive open world, skill trees, gear upgrades, stealth mixed with combat, and a story that unfolds slowly over dozens of hours. Shadows follows this structure closely.
The problem is that the repetition is impossible to ignore. Side quests start to blur together after a point. Enemy camps feel familiar, objectives often boil down to infiltrate, eliminate, loot, repeat. This is not necessarily bad, but it does demand a certain mindset. Shadows is not a tightly paced narrative experience. It is a game you dip into, wander around, and gradually chip away at.
At full price, this repetition felt harder to justify. At a heavy discount, it becomes easier to accept. When you are paying less, expectations naturally soften. The game no longer needs to be revolutionary. It just needs to be enjoyable.
This is where the conversation really shifts.
At half price, Assassin’s Creed Shadows becomes much easier to recommend. The biggest barrier for many players was the launch price, especially given how large and time consuming modern Assassin’s Creed games have become. Not everyone wants to commit both money and time to a 60 plus hour experience.
With this discount, Shadows turns into a low risk purchase. If you play it for 15 or 20 hours, explore the world, enjoy the setting, and move on, it still feels like money well spent. You do not need to finish everything but can treat it as an experience. For players who skipped the game initially due to reviews, franchise fatigue, or price concerns, this is the best time to jump in.
Despite the discount, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is not for everyone.
If you are burnt out on Ubisoft style open worlds, this game will not change your mind. The structure is familiar, sometimes overly so. If you are looking for innovation or a bold reinvention of the franchise, Shadows plays it safe more often than not.
Moreover, players who prefer shorter, tightly designed games may also struggle. Shadows demands time and patience. It rewards slow exploration, not quick sessions. If your backlog is already overflowing, adding another massive open world game might feel overwhelming rather than exciting.
Lastly, if you are someone who expects every Assassin’s Creed to surpass the last, Shadows may feel like a comfortable step rather than a leap forward.
At full price, Assassin’s Creed Shadows was a tough sell. At half price, it becomes a very reasonable recommendation for the right audience.
Buy it if you are a fan of the franchise, have always wanted an Assassin’s Creed set in Japan, enjoy open world exploration, and are looking for a game you can sink into over weeks rather than days. The discount makes its flaws easier to forgive and its strengths easier to appreciate.
Skip it if you are exhausted by open world design, want something tightly paced, or are hoping for a dramatic evolution of the Assassin’s Creed formula.
With that being said, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is not the definitive Assassin’s Creed experience some fans dreamed of, but it is a solid one. And at this price, solid might just be enough.
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