Ubisoft Unveils Murderer’s Creed Shadows: Promoting Player Exploration Over Iconic Hand-Holding

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is – provided it doesn’t face another postponement – just around the corner, and in the lead-up to its March launch, Ubisoft is conducting a series of in-depth presentations that spotlight significant ways this latest entry will depart from tradition. This time, it’s all about exploration, promising a more player-driven experience that feels less like a chaotic explosion at a map marker factory.

In its recent blog post, Ubisoft mentions that Assassin’s Creed Shadows incorporates “notable changes and enhancements” to exploration to create “a unique sense of discovery” as players traverse the world. The intention is to move away from an abundance of ‘guidance’ map symbols and markers toward an open world where knowledge is “crucial [and] a type of reward.” Thus, instead of being immediately flooded with points of interest, players will need to seek out and gather information – either directly, through their agents, or via NPCs during their journeys.

The world map, for instance, will only initially indicate area names and vague illustrative hints for potentially important locations, with further details revealed as players investigate regions, sub-regions, and local landmarks. Specifically, players will eventually recruit scouts that can be sent ahead to uncover more precise locations for mission objectives.

A hallmark of Assassin’s Creed exploration is also undergoing a transformation, as viewpoints – also known as synchronization points – will function differently. In Shadows, synchronization will no longer unveil a multitude of map symbols across a vast area but rather reveal nearby key points of interest that can be manually tagged and added to the compass. Ubisoft states the goal is to provide players with “a more deliberate and active way to seek their next adventure.”

Similarly, the traditional eagle companion has been replaced, and players will now need to find a good vantage point to survey the surrounding area and plan their approach, manually identifying and tagging valuable items, adversaries, etc.

Also new are secure locations – termed “kakurega” – that players can establish. These provide “safe” fast travel points (while viewpoints also unlock fast travel, these are often located in dangerous enemy territories), as well as various essential functions. Players can, for example, replenish rations, gear, and ammo; access their inventory; prepare and acquire missions; gather scouts, and train allies who can be summoned for assistance.

In other updates from Ubisoft, a reference is made to Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Procedure Board – a variation of the visual quest log previously seen in Mirage, which expands to track new objectives and challenges as players encounter additional characters and tasks. In essence, it reveals clues leading to the discovery of new opportunities, which players must collaborate to obtain more precise information – unless they prefer their scouts to gather it.