Assassin's Creed Shadows will overhaul stealth mechanics, but still include insta-kill assassination option

Assassin's Creed Shadows is set to overhaul stealth mechanics for both its dual protagonists, but will also include an option to allow insta-kill assassinations on all enemies.

That's because stronger enemies can completely deny assassination attempts, as detailed in a new blog post from Ubisoft. Coloured prompts over enemies will indicate either an instant kill, some damage dealt, or a complete assassination denial, though this can all be negated with a specific menu option for insta-kills.

"When it comes to assassinations, progress and context work in hand," said associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois. "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."

Assassin's Creed Shadows: World Trailer

Elsewhere, Lemay-Comtois noted stealth gameplay has been "ambitiously overhauled in a few key areas". Most notably, the game lacks a bird companion, unlike the most recent games.

Instead, both samurai Yasuke and shinobi Naoe will have a new Observe mechanic to identify targets, tag enemies, and highlight lootable stashes, which Lemay-Comtois promised is core to the game. "When in doubt, take a pause, observe the world around you, and only then should you decide what your next move should be," he said.

Naoe, however, will have Eagle Vision in addition to highlight enemies hidden behind walls based on sounds they make.

The game also includes a couple of series firsts: hiding in shadows will provide complete invisibility (living up to the game's name), and both characters are able to go prone to reduce visibility.

With the former especially, players will be able to destroy lanterns to create pools of darkness for protection. "Naoe is a perfectly capable Shinobi in broad day light," said Lemay-Comtois, "but the cover of darkness gives her a remarkable edge over her enemies - especially on higher difficulty settings."

And while prone, Naoe is also able to dodge by rolling in multiple directions. She's also the smallest Assassin to date, allowing her to hide in small spaces.

Much of these stealth mechanics appear to give Naoe a significant advantage (she's a shinobi after all), suggesting samurai Yasuke's gameplay will be less stealth-focused overall. However, the blog post notes he can still be stealthy with his bow and is able to blend "stealth with a more direct combat approach". Further details will be provided in a future blog post.

Assassin's Creed Shadows was delayed until February 2025, which series boss Marc-Alexis Coté said was necessary to change the "narrative" of Ubisoft's "inconsistency in quality".

Last week images leaked appearing to show free battle pass rewards, something not seen before in an Assassin's Creed game.

"All the rewards available in the Animus Hub will be entirely free, there are no paid subscriptions or paid battle pass featured in the Animus Hub, and players will have access to regular content [and] missions at no extra cost," Ubisoft later confirmed.