It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but sometimes I’m paralyzed by choices in RPG games. I’m actually currently in the middle of a very vital situation in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (if you’ve played it, you know what I mean, and if you haven’t, I won’t spoil it) and it’s absolutely killing me. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the freedom to choose your own destiny, but sometimes it’s nice to just lay back and let the currents take you where they want.
People who share that feeling of being forced to make a choice this guy over this guy may appreciate the clever modern addition that Ubisoft has prepared Shadows of Assassin’s Creed called “canonical mode” which literally takes away your choice.
“Choices matter more when recruiting allies and romancing certain characters,” said director Jonathan Dumont during a recent film AMA on Reddit. “Since the fan base is divided into branching dialogues, we introduced an option called Canon Mode, which allows you to play the game with choices already made to give you the freedom to choose. I hope it brings joy to everyone.”
This is another downside to choice-based gameplay: the choices you make may not stand the test of time when the inevitable sequel comes out. This can be really annoying. I’m still a little annoyed that Metro: Last Light picks up a year after I launched a missile attack on the Dark Ones, even though I mentioned it very specifically NO launching a missile attack on the Dark Ones in Metro 2033.
Metro games aren’t RPGs, that’s true, so player choices that flow seamlessly from one game to the next are perhaps a little less vital than, say, Dragon Age. At one point you could say the same about Assassin’s Creed, but as we noted back in 2017, the series has evolved from a mostly action-based stealth game to a true action RPG.
Not everyone who chooses Canon mode will do so because they are afraid of making the wrong choice: some people just don’t care about stupid side nonsense like romance. Regardless of what motivates you, I think it’s a shrewd idea: a single, linear narrative for people who want to make sure they’re on the “right” path of the story, and non-stop action for those who just want to get busy stabbing and cutting.
Dumont also talked a bit about how the developers approached storytelling in Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ non-linear campaign, which will involve some choices that players may or may not make. “Most of the main objective tasks can be completed through exploration and are not arranged in a predetermined order (although the flow of the game suggests an optimal path through exploration and progression),” he wrote.
He also touched on the last issue of Assassin’s Creed Shadows delaywho pushed the game from November to February 14, 2025, stating that it was “great to be able to improve the game and improve the overall quality.”
“We were able to make changes and improvements to, for example, parkour, improve parry mechanics, or work on cinematic transitions,” Dumont wrote. “For example, we felt that parkour was sticky, the delay allowed us to speed up response times to inputs and fix rooftop behaviors that hindered the flow of Naoe. With this extra time, the team creates something we are all proud of. “
