‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’s stealth system has been “ambitiously overhauled”.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows's stealth system has been 'ambitiously overhauled'
The action-adventure series has become renowned for its covert-killing gameplay, and now developer Ubisoft has revealed the stealth mechanics for the upcoming title have been updated “in a few key areas”, including the removed companion eagle in favour of relying on the “senses” of protagonists Yasuke and Naoe.
In a new blog post on the studio’s website, ‘Shadows’ Associate Game Director Simon Lemay-Comotois said: “Stealth gameplay in ‘Shadows’ has been ambitiously overhauled in a few key areas.
“First, the most obvious change for ‘AC’ players will be the lack of a companion eagle allowing you to scout ahead and map out an entire location.
“In ‘Shadows’, players must rely on their main character's own senses and engage enemies in a more tactical moment-to-moment manner.”
While the companion eagle is no more, Ubisoft confirmed it would be bringing back double assassinations - a feature that hasn’t been seen since 2015’s ‘Syndicate - for its two protagonists.
As well as double assassinations, the director revealed there would be a new “Observe” mechanic, which will allow players to “identify targets, tag and monitor enemies, and highlight lootable stashes, collectables, and quest objectives”.
Lemay-Comotois explained: “The new Observe mechanic is at the core of the ‘Assassin's Creed Shadows’ experience.
”When in doubt, take a pause, observe the world around you, and only then should you decide what your next move should be.”
Even so, neutralising targets won’t always be easy, as the director added players who do not upgrade their gear sufficiently will struggle to take down larger enemies in secret.
He said: “When it comes to assassinations, progress and context work in hand.
”Invest in perks that increase your assassination damage and test things around: A strong enemy may survive a frontal assassination but may die from a sneaky air assassination.”