Two Distinct Approaches to the Stick
First thing I check in any third-person action game is the left stick deadzone and how quickly a dodge cancels out of a neutral run. Assassin’s Creed Shadows answers with two completely different physical profiles depending on which protagonist you control. Naoe responds instantly to directional changes. Her footwork is light, her recovery on crouch sprints is clean, and throwing out her grappling hook pulls her up ledges without the sticky delay that plagued past entries.
Yasuke is the exact opposite. He steers like a tank in heavy armor, taking an extra step to halt his momentum when you let off the stick. When you press dodge with him, he does not skip backward on a dime. He takes a grounded, deliberate shove that eats up space and locks your directional facing until the recovery animation finishes. If you want instant twitch responsiveness, you will hate his movement at first. Once I stopped expecting him to maneuver like a ninja, the extra weight started making sense.
Hitboxes and Blade Contact
Melee combat leans hard into Yasuke's kit, and this is where I spent most of my time testing hit registration. Swings with the katana feel punchy, with clear cleave angles that match the blade's visual arc instead of relying on phantom hitboxes. If a bandit crouches under a high slash, the blade actually whistles over his topknot without dealing chip damage. Environmental destruction plays into this too, because clipping a wooden door frame mid-swing will interrupt your sweep and leave you open.
The naginata has even wider swings, but its recovery frames are brutal. If you misjudge the range against shielded enemies, you are stuck in the wind-up while they counter with a spear thrust. It feels great when you connect clean hits across three grunts at once. It feels terrible when an enemy hit animation desyncs slightly during weather shifts like heavy rain, causing your parry input to register a fraction too late against the incoming red flash.
Shadows, Tools, and Sound Mechanics
Switching over to Naoe puts the focus back on stealth, where the rules are stricter than they have been in recent entries. You track light and darkness directly. Blow out a paper lantern or cut down a hanging light, and guards lose track of you even if you are crouching just a few feet away. Sound matters just as much, meaning running across wet roof tiles or landing hard on wooden floorboards alerts nearby sentries immediately.
Her kit gives you smoke bombs, shuriken, and the classic Hidden Blade to clear out castle courtyards. I appreciate that her assassinations do not automatically magnetize you to targets from ridiculous distances. You have to close the gap manually, and if an alert guard turns around before your blade connects, the prompt drops instantly and forces you into an awkward close-range scramble where Naoe takes severe damage.
Performance Costs and Presentation
On PC through Steam, the game demands serious hardware to run ray-traced Global Illumination without stuttering during open-world horse rides. The English voice acting and full English interface work fine right out of the box, with clean subtitle timing during chaotic castle fights. The dynamic seasons are visually striking, but transition points between seasons caused noticeable frame drops on my rig, especially when fighting inside dense foliage.
Ubisoft charges $69.99 for the base package, and mechanically it holds up better than their last few releases. The split design between Naoe and Yasuke keeps the loop from getting stale, even if the enemy AI still suffers from occasional pathing brain-rot when navigating ladders. The combat is not quite fast enough to rival dedicated character action games, but the swordplay has real crunch.
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dynamic weather looks cool until a storm hits and the frame rate just tanks. super annoying. still, switching between naoe sneaking in shadows and yasuke swinging heavy weapons actually feels completely different, which i didn't expect. stealth is way better when light and floor noise actually matter.
I don't know man, the frame drops during storms are kinda atmospheric to me (like the world is struggling too, ha). The guard AI is a bit dopey on walls but it's not a big deal. Stealth is genuinely fun for once. Only complaint is Yasuke's recovery time - feels like swinging a log. But I'm still having a laugh.
ah yes, the classic ubisoft weather lag. just like every other open world game this decade. but the hitboxes are good? groundbreaking stuff, truly. at least the combat sounds like it has some thought behind it.
Frame drops are unacceptable. Hitboxes can't save a slideshow. Refunded.
tbh the frame drops sound rough lol. but i like the stealth mechanics. might wait for a patch to fix the stutters. games should run better at launch lol.
Frame drops at full $69.99 price? Yeah no thanks, waiting for a sale on this one.
ah yes, the classic ubisoft weather lag. just like every other open world game this decade. but the hitboxes are good? groundbreaking stuff, truly. at least the combat sounds like it has some thought behind it.
Don't worry too much about the frame drops. The stealth is brilliant and the combat actually has real teeth, just stick with it.
I don't know man, the frame drops during storms are kinda atmospheric to me (like the world is struggling too, ha). The guard AI is a bit dopey on walls but it's not a big deal. Stealth is genuinely fun for once. Only complaint is Yasuke's recovery time - feels like swinging a log. But I'm still having a laugh.
@oofCalling seasonal lag a feature is wild lol. I just need a steady framerate or I get a headache. Stealth and sword combat sound fun though.
was so hyped for the naoe vs yasuke gameplay... and they nailed the contrast... but the frame drops during weather transitions really kill the momentum for me... when it works though the stealth is some of the best in the series... might wait for a performance patch before diving deeper... (still a solid foundation though)...
Y'all are sleepin on the hitbox improvements in this game. Yeah the frame drops are there but the blade actually connects where it looks like it should. That's rare these days. Fixin to have a good time if y'all adjust your graphics.
Mate, this game is a proper dog's breakfast on my system during a storm. But the combat has some real teeth, I'll give it that. Naoe's movement is slick, and Yasuke hits like a truck. The attack recovery on Yasuke is a bit of a liability against fast enemies, but it fits the heavy samurai vibe. Stoked to finish it, but Ubisoft, sort your performance out, bloody hell.
@tpr93Sounds like a proper dog's breakfast indeed, but I'm glad the combat has teeth. Hope the weather bugs get ironed out soon. Cheers.
dynamic weather looks cool until a storm hits and the frame rate just tanks. super annoying. still, switching between naoe sneaking in shadows and yasuke swinging heavy weapons actually feels completely different, which i didn't expect. stealth is way better when light and floor noise actually matter.
@Stevie CAye mate, same here with the storm chug. But that dynamic weather is proper impressive when it runs smooth. The way light and shadow shifts is brilliant for stealth. Reckon it's a nice step forward even with the hiccups.
tbh the frame drops are brutal lol i remember when ubisoft games just ran. the stealth is cool but performance kills it. games used to be more complete lol
@crumpetu r tripping lol the frame drops r not that bad. i played on medium settings and it stutters sometimes but its not game breaking. the stealth is legit and combat has weight. i say its a solid 8. maybe ur pc is the problem lol
@ciao_tonyYou got lucky then. Mine stuttered every time a cloud rolled in. Hitboxes don't mean squat if the game freezes mid-combo. Refunded after an hour.