Ever since Ubisoft gave us our first look at Assassin’s Creed Shadows, it’s been bashed left and right. There’s a lot of criticism surrounding Yasuke’s origins and Ubisoft’s constant recycling of the same Assassin’s Creed formula.
From the early looks, it’s clear that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is looking to change things. Ubisoft is bringing tons of new gameplay mechanics to the title, including minigames. While they do sound interesting, minigames shouldn’t repeat the same mistakes as they did in Yakuza.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows must be careful with minigames
While chatting with YouTuber Genki Gamer, Shadows‘ creative director Jonathan Dumont opened up the various details and stats about the upcoming title. He revealed a number of interesting gameplay mechanics and features that were seen in trailers, such as grappling hooks, shadow stealth, spy networks, and many other things.
However, the most interesting feature mentioned by Dumont is undoubtedly minigames. According to him, these will give gamers something called “knowledge points.” However, we weren’t told how they will play into the overall narrative of Shadows, and enhance the experience.
I had the opportunity to interview Assassin’s Creed Shadows Creative Director Jonathan Dumont. Here are some of the key points:
– Now was the right time for Japan because the team really wanted to do it and it was a dream for them.
– Japan needed movement in the natural world… pic.twitter.com/oMkOnoor7u— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) March 4, 2025
Clearly, knowledge points hold some ground in the Shadows‘ gameplay; otherwise, Ubisoft wouldn’t have bothered locking them behind minigames. It’s not the first time we’ve seen games doing this either as Yakuza was one of the first to explore this feature.
Some of the best bits about Yakuza games came from minigames. These included things such as karaoke, baseball, and even golf. The developers absolutely nailed these tasks and gave us some unique ways to pass the time in the game.
However, the core issue with minigames in Yakuza was that it led to players deviating from the main storyline. Some of them required too much time, exhausting players. Minigames are just an add-on to the overall experience; they shouldn’t be the main focus.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows must make sure that locking knowledge points behind mini-games doesn’t lead to players investing hours into side content that doesn’t affect the main storyline. Otherwise, it will be a horrible experience.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is abandoning Steam Deck
From everything we’ve seen so far, Assassin’s Creed Shadows looks to be the key to Ubisoft’s revival. However, the game has found itself in yet another controversy as it’s been revealed that it won’t be focusing on Steam Deck.
In a Q&A session with fans, the French publisher confirmed that Shadows wouldn’t be compatible with Steam Deck. This is all due to the fact that the platform is below the minimum specs needed for a PC.
However, Ubisoft does state that the game won’t be compatible “At Launch” which could mean that it will become a verified game down the line. If you’re someone who’s itching to play the latest Assassin’s Creed game on Valve’s handheld, it’s time to look at other platforms.
Something to note here is that if Ubisoft believes that Shadows won’t be able to run on Steam Deck, the game will feature some massive technical upgrades. All the footage revealed so far looks stunning, and the game brings various features and technologies that have never been seen in the franchise before.
With that said, are you excited about the minigames in Assassin’s Creed Shadows? Let us know in the comments below.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
