Assassin’s Creed Shadows Had to Remove Hated Mechanic That You Couldn’t Get Away From in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Assassin's Creed Shadows is turning things down a notch with one of Valhalla's glaring issues.
With just the final few months to go before Assassin’s Creed Shadows finally takes the long-running franchise to the highly requested Japanese setting, Ubisoft has been fighting an uphill battle in order to get the fanbase on its side. One would expect an anticipated title like Shadows to be met with excitement before launch, but plenty of elements that the developer has already revealed have been criticized for various reasons.
However, it seems like not every decision that the studio is making regarding its upcoming Assassin’s Creed installment is facing backlash, and fans are actually glad that the next game is learning from its past mistakes, at least to some extent.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Appears to Be Learning From the Mistakes of Its Predecessor
As Valhalla brought the divisive Assassin’s Creed Mythology trilogy to a close around four years ago, Ubisoft tried to implement an experimental feature in the Viking fantasy title by introducing dual-wielding weapons for the first time in the franchise.
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While previous titles in the trilogy like Odyssey and Origins came with a second slot to quickly switch between two weapons during combat, Valhalla took things up a notch and let players carry any weapon duo whenever they pleased. The developer may have thought that the fanbase would absolutely love the addition of this feature, but to its surprise, players thought its implementation did not make much sense, leading to janky animations and awkward enemy encounters.
Fortunately, from the footage that Ubisoft has shared regarding the upcoming Shadows, it seems like the developer has actually listened to player feedback, resulting in it ditching the complete freedom of dual-wielding weapons for its next Assassin’s Creed entry.
Shadows, from what fans have seen so far, looks like it will be continuing the combat style that the series followed in its first two Mythology installments, going the simpler route instead of the unnecessary path that Valhalla took back in 2020.
Of course, the fanbase is still reminiscing about the nearly-perfected combat systems of iconic entries like Revelations or the French-set Unity, but Ubisoft abandoning the questionable feature that made the Viking adventure a less than favorable installment seems like a much-needed step in the right direction.
The Upcoming Assassin’s Creed Could Find the Perfect Middle Ground to Please Its Fanbase
Some of the concept art and gameplay footage that Ubisoft has shared with the Assassin’s Creed community show Naoe, one of the protagonists in Shadows, wielding two weapons, but this time around, the developer seems to have found somewhat of a middle ground to keep everyone happy.
While Valhalla went overboard with its dual-wielding mechanic, Shadows appears to be putting a more natural twist on it, limiting player freedom but combining two weapons that actually work together practically.
The Assassin’s Creed fanbase has been making its thoughts regarding Valhalla’s dual-welding options quite clear, stating that it would not translate too well in Shadows and would make characters like Yasuke look ridiculous in the process.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has not received the most positive reception before its November release, but with developer Ubisoft putting in the effort of addressing community concerns and implementing the required changes, perhaps the long wait for a Japan-set entry in the franchise would actually be worth it.
