Ubisoft clarified that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will not include the long-known game mechanic, social stealth…

Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will ditch social stealth, a gameplay mechanic that has been a significant part of most games since the franchise’s inception. As expected, ACS spent much time in the spotlight this month, appearing at both the Xbox Games Showcase and Ubisoft Forward. Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes inspiration from Ubisoft Quebec’s 2015 game, in which players can choose between two different protagonists, each with their own unique playstyle.

Fans were able to see this perspective in full in an in-depth gameplay trailer that showcased both characters and what they bring to the game.

The historical character of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Yasuke, is more of the fighting type. The samurai takes a more direct and combative approach to solving most problems. On the other hand, Naoe, who represents the shinobi, relies heavily on stealth to get through the levels. However, Ubisoft has confirmed that one of the stealth gameplay mechanics won’t be available, making longtime fans slightly angry.

Why is social stealth missing from Assassin’s Creed Shadows?

After the Ubisoft Forward reveal, the studio clarified that the social stealth mechanic will not be present in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. In previous games, players could blend into crowds or groups, seemingly invisible to patrolling guards. In the case of a character like Yasuke, who, according to Ubisoft, there is absolutely no point in mixing, Naoe will not be able to take advantage of it either.

Instead, Naoe is inconspicuous and mainly invisible to military NPCs in the open world as long as he doesn’t do anything conspicuous, such as climb a building or perform illegal actions like drawing his sword.

Reactions to Stephen Totilo’s highlighted admission were quite mixed. While Naoe certainly has other stealth options to turn to, the complete removal of social stealth seems to have disappointed longtime fans. As one user pointed out, the feature appears to have been streamlined. It now works automatically instead of players having to manage or search for it. Many responded by voicing their disappointment, calling it bad news ahead of the game’s November release.

Others lamented that Assassin’s Creed Mirage handled stealth very well, only to remove the feature in the next game promptly.

While Social Stealth has been a big part of the franchise since the first game in 2007, it’s certainly not the only stealth option available to players. As the gameplay demo showed, Naoe certainly has several options when it comes to infiltrating locations. For example, hiding in grass, under water or in dark places. What’s more, ACS seems to take a bit of inspiration from Ubisoft’s other big stealth action franchise, Splinter Cell. After all, the game also features a user interface that shows how much the character is exposed to light sources. Thanks to the new global lighting system in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, players can also manipulate the lighting of their area by taking out torches or other lighting sources to add more darkness, making it much harder for enemy factions to spot.

Source: X

Seeing a lot of mixed reactions to this!

Some broader context: In the demo shown in LA, Naoe is knocking out lights and using shadows, so she's stealthy in other ways

Even broader context: Ubi Quebec tends to deviate more from AC standards, but/and makes fun ACs

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 14, 2024