Assassin’s Creed Shadows: The Latest Game in the Dark Series – Bringing Many Bright Highlights, Especially with a Dual Character System
However, alongside the bright spots, many games still face numerous issues that need improvement. Notably, with a price tag nearing 1.2 million VND, this title feels “too easy,” lacking the challenge needed for players.
In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, players will control two main characters: Naoe – the swift female shinobi, and Yasuke – the powerful samurai, embodying a fighting style that emphasizes strategy.
The main storyline allows players to choose one of the two characters to complete missions, even during boss battles. However, the significant differences in playstyle between the two characters unintentionally create a severe imbalance, affecting the overall experience during boss fights, which should ideally be the pinnacle of the game. With overwhelming physical strength, Yasuke can easily “crush” most enemies – while this sounds appealing, it renders boss battles excessively easy and lacks engagement. On the higher difficulty settings, fights with Yasuke tend to conclude quickly after a few swings of his kanabo – an unwieldy club. These moments can feel constructed to create a climactic experience, as the game may reduce itself to a series of rapid cuts.
Increasing the difficulty could help balance the gameplay; however, this approach seems to only exacerbate issues for Yasuke, making Naoe feel left behind. While she can certainly hold her own, there’s no difficulty level that makes boss battles feel fair and engaging for both characters. The most obvious way to resolve this is to adjust the mechanics of the boss fights. Yasuke tends to be more aggressive than Naoe, but he rarely feels like he’s disadvantaged in terms of speed against bosses. If bosses can attack faster (but not necessarily deal significantly more damage), Yasuke will need to be more cautious rather than relying solely on brute force, which simultaneously does not affect Naoe’s evasive playstyle.
In fact, it will be quite challenging to expect Assassin’s Creed Shadows to fully refine its boss system at this point. For players who seek more difficulty when controlling Yasuke, they could potentially limit themselves by equipping weaker gear or seeking out tougher enemies.
