Assassin's Creed Shadows Confirms Removal of Popular Feature

Ubisoft confirms that Assassin's Creed Shadows is ditching social stealth, a gameplay mechanic that has been a large part of most games in the franchise since it began. As expected, Assassin's Creed Shadows got plenty of time in the spotlight this month, as it was featured in both the Xbox Games Showcase as well as Ubisoft Forward. Assassin's Creed Shadows takes cues from Ubisoft Quebec's 2015 game, where players can pick between two different protagonists, each one with their own specific playstyle. Fans saw this perspective on full display through a deep-dive gameplay trailer featuring both characters and what they bring to the table.

Assassin's Creed Shadows Devs Talk All Things Character Design and Setting

The Assassin's Creed Shadows development team discusses the game's feudal Japan setting, its two different but complementary protagonists, and more.

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By Katelyn Mitchell Jewett

Following the Ubisoft Forward reveal, the studio clarified that the social stealth mechanic will not be featured in Assassin's Creed Shadows. In previous games, players could blend in with crowds or groups, seemingly becoming invisible to patrolling guards. While it wouldn't make sense for a character like Yasuke, who Ubisoft says is unable to blend in at all, Naoe won't be able to utilize it either. Instead, Naoe is unnoticeable and largely invisible by military NPCs in the open world as long as she doesn't do anything that draws attention, such as climbing a building or performing any illegal actions like drawing her sword.

Responses to the admission highlighted by Stephen Totilo have been pretty mixed. While Naoe certainly has other stealth options she can turn to, the removal of social stealth entirely has seemingly left longtime fans disappointed. As one user pointed out, it seems that the feature has been streamlined, as it is now automatic instead of being something that players need to manage or seek out. Many replied by expressing their disappointment, calling it bad news ahead of the game's launch in November. Others lamented the fact that Assassin's Creed Mirage handled stealth very well, only for the feature to be removed immediately in the next game.

While Social Stealth has been a big part of the franchise since the first game in 2007, it certainly isn't the only stealth option available to players. As the gameplay demo showed, Naoe certainly has a number of options when infiltrating locations, like hiding in grass, underwater, or in darkened areas. In fact, Assassin's Creed Shadows seemingly takes a bit of inspiration from Ubisoft's other big stealth action franchise, Splinter Cell, as it features a user interface displaying how much the character is exposed from light sources. Thanks to a new global illumination system in Assassin's Creed Shadows, players can also manipulate the lighting in their area by taking out torches or other sources of illumination to add more darkness, making it much harder to be spotted by enemy factions.