It’s only March, but 2025 has been a pretty significant year for big gaming releases already — and later this week, we’re about to get another one with Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The latest open-world action RPG from publisher and developer Ubisoft has a lot riding behind it, largely due to the underwhelming performance of many of the studio’s recent titles and the subsequent decline of its reputation in many gaming circles. Like most Ubisoft games, Shadows will be playable on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5 when it launches on March 20.
Ahead of that release, Assassin’s Creed Shadows reviews from outlets and critics have gone live — and so far, they’re promising. At the time of writing, the game has a “Generally Favorable” 82/100 score on the review aggregation site Metacritic, along with an 81 on Opencritic; that average comes from nearly 100 reviews conducted across the ARPG’s platforms, a collection of which you’ll find linked below along with some noteworthy quotes:
- VG247 (100/100): “There are problems with Assassin’s Creed Shadows, for sure. But it’s so fun to play, it’s telling a gripping story, and there is so much sense of progress and reward for every little thing you do that it actually feels like an open world game that’s taking its cues from a modern roguelike, or something. Every action has meaning, and the breadcrumbs that tempt you to clean up all the icons on the map are moreish. This may be one of the biggest Assassin’s Creed games ever made, but it also feels like the most well put-together.”
- TechRadar (90/100): “Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a massive success and a winning combination of stealth and steel. It’s a fantastic entry in the open-world RPG line of games in the stealth series and the most refined version of that style yet, with satisfying and rewarding exploration, brilliant combat, and a dual protagonist system that really works. Even a few minor quibbles can’t hold it back.”
- Wccftech (87/100): “Assassin’s Creed Shadows is one of the finest entries in the series, successfully bringing back stealth-oriented gameplay while retaining the RPG mechanics and refined combat mechanics seen in previous entries in the series, seamlessly integrating them with the dual protagonist setup and a well-paced story that doesn’t overstay its welcome. While the game still features way more content and gameplay systems than necessary, its rendition of Feudal Japan is among the best ever seen in a video game, and it is well worth experiencing for the vast majority of players.”
- GamesRadar+ (80/100): “Assassin’s Creed Shadows thrives on boldness. Its dual protagonists improve on the series’ stealth-driven roots and modern RPG leanings, though they’re let down by a vague story that fails to make full use of either character.”
- Digital Trends (70/100): “Assassin’s Creed Shadows almost feels like what it would be like if Ken Burns was tasked with making a video game. It’s exhaustive in how it depicts Japan’s feudal era even in fiction, crafting its world with the eye of a historical documentarian. It’s not quite the in-depth slice of life that Red Dead Redemption 2 goes for, but it approaches that same idea with fewer systems. Some of my favorite moments came when I just got bored of stabbing people and got on my horse instead. I didn’t stop every few feet to complete a puzzle. I didn’t stop to open another chest. I just rode, breathing in nature and listening to my own exhale intertwine with the wind.”
- PCGamesN (60/100): “While its open world is stunning, its combat is robust, and its dual-protagonist design is somewhat novel, Assassin’s Creed Shadows proves too repetitive and dramatically flat to wholeheartedly recommend taking its trip back in time.”
There’s a notable range of scores overall, though the majority of reviews award the game the equivalent of an 80/100 or higher in their rating scale. Most evaluations praise Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ highly detailed, highly immersive depiction of Sengoku-era Japan, the game’s blend of action and stealth-focused mechanics, and its overall graphical fidelity and audiovisual presentation. Indeed, Shadows’ inclusion of both the combat-forward samurai Yasuke and the covert shinobi Naoe as playable protagonists means you’ll have a fitting character to embody no matter which playstyle you prefer, and its open world sounds like the most impressive one Ubisoft has ever crafted.
Among lower-score reviews, criticisms vary — some take issue with systems believed to be too simplistic, while others point to unimpressive AI — but most highlight the game’s story and writing as a weak point, with many asserting that the stories of Yasuke and Naoe are uninspired individually and don’t connect in sufficiently meaningful ways. Reviewers have also argued that Shadows on the whole hasn’t done enough to evolve Assassin’s Creed, and that its world — while stunning to look at and listen to — doesn’t engage the player in a way that makes it stand out in the ever-growing market of open-world titles.
I should note that we have our own Assassin’s Creed Shadows review here at Windows Central, though it’s still an unscored review-in-progress since my colleague Zachary Boddy hasn’t finished it yet (it’s a huge game). In their piece, they wrote that “Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t feel much smaller than its bloated predecessor [Valhalla], but it does feel more refined and focused. This is a visually stunning action-RPG adventure with varied, endlessly fun gameplay backed by serious attention to detail. As long as it sticks the landing in the final hours, Ubisoft truly has a win on its hands with Shadows — and I hope it’s a lesson the publisher learns for the rest of its portfolio.”
Personally, I haven’t really enjoyed the Assassin’s Creed games for a long time now, as I feel like the focus on action over stealth that began with 2013’s Black Flag has eroded the franchise’s identity and made it feel far more generic than the original titles. 2023’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage tried to go back to its roots, but disappointing parkour, janky animations, and a somewhat sparse map made it difficult to enjoy the renewed emphasis on stealth. I didn’t exactly have confidence in Shadows to please as a result of this, but the positive reception it has so far and the widespread praise for its world and gameplay flow actually has me feeling hopeful about the experience.
Even if Shadows isn’t particularly innovative or avant-garde, it does seem to be refined — and after the frustrating clunkiness of Mirage and ~10 years of action-heavy AC, I’ll be satisfied with a smooth and stylish Assassin’s Creed that lets me live out my sneaky assassin fantasies. I probably won’t pick this one up right away, but I’m definitely buying when it’s on sale.
Looking for a new open-world RPG to play? One of the best Xbox games and best PC games of 2025 for you will likely end up being Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The game is scheduled to go live later this week on March 20 on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5. Notably, you can get the Xbox version for a small discount thanks to this deal that brings it down from $69.99 to $65.99 at CDKeys.
