We will reveal more about exploration in an upcoming release Shadows of Assassin’s CreedUbisoft promised less hand-holding and a renewed focus on player exploration. I don’t know about you, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows exploration changes explained
by Ubisoft latest blog entry looks at exploration in Shadows of Assassin’s Creedwhere game director Charles Benoit explains some of the game’s innovative choices. Benoit clearly states that the team “didn’t want to hold the player’s hand with icons and markers”, instead focusing on creating “an open world where information was key and became a form of reward”.
Changes have also been introduced at viewpoints. You can sky-sync as in previous entries, but this time it won’t immediately detail expansive swathes of the map. Instead, you need to look around and mark noteworthy locations for later exploration. According to Ubisoft, this was intended to “provide players with a more informed and active way to find their next adventure.”
Comrade Eagle also disappeared. In the latest RPG Assassin’s Creed entries, this made it much easier to carefully plan the approach. You can mark an entire area of enemies before you get close, which removes any difficulty from the stealth mechanics.
On the surface this all sounds fantastic, it’s a throwback to games from bygone eras where you had to sink or swim in the world around you. So what’s the catch? Because it seems like a expansive improvement over previous iterations, but I’ve fallen for Ubisoft’s buzzwords too many times to fully commit to the hype.
Perhaps my cynicism stems from the fact that it would be such a huge change for us Assassin’s Creed. Hand-holding icons and markers is the bread and butter of this series, so it’s tough to imagine this going too far in the opposite direction. Consider me a cautious optimist and I will believe you Shadows of Assassin’s Creed‘ improved exploration when I see it with my own eyes. If Ubisoft can pull this off, it will be huge.
