Dynamic Weather & Seasons of Assassin's Creed Shadows Will Make Every Playthrough Different
The Weather in AC Shadows is meant to give every player a different experience in tandem with the two heroes, therefore offering players an option between a stealth- or action-based strategy. Onnée adds, "Places where they would stand in the summer are no longer there [in winter] continuing their conversation about guards seeking warmth in the winter. They travel to different locations, therefore you do a playthrough, I do another one, and based on the character we play and the season, depending on time of day, it's rather different."
This mostly reflects the sandbox character of the more recent Assassin's Creed games, but it also helps combine the two generations of the franchise by adding a fresh element to the old stealth gameplay. This could help gamers being tired with exploration in the very large Odyssey and Valhalla landscapes lessened. Especially the former, if all four Seasons are predicted to be as unique as summer and winter are claimed to be, changing seasons and continually shifting Weather may provide enough variation to keep the game interesting.
The Game- Changing Weather of Assassin's Creed Shadows Is Raising The Bar
For the long-running stealth and action-RPG franchise, Assassin's Creed Shadows appears to be pushing a lot of fresh ground; yet, its changeable weather and seasons will have a major impact on gameplay. Beginning in 1579, this newest AC is finally transporting players to the much awaited realm of feudal Japan and will feature dual heroes Naoe, a shinobi, and Yasuke, an actual samurai. Although these two will surely give the player lots of variation, erratic weather and shifting seasons in-game will give Assassin's Creed Shadows a major set of fresh variables.
Producer Karl Onnée of Assassin's Creed Shadows talked about how changing weather and Seasons would affect AI behavior and create new possibilities in an interview with Screen Rant Rain will affect guards; they will choose not to get wet by entering inside instead of staying in their designated areas. "Enemies are going to be cold, so they're going to tend to go closer to fires," says Winter. Winter gameplay will differ from that in summer: "a pond [is now going] to be frozen. The high grass is going to go. There will be icicles forming. Should you walk too quickly, it falls and the guard will hear it."
Of course, it still begs to be seen how successful these dynamic components are, which would mostly rely on the level of sophistication of Shadows' opponent artificial intelligence.
For those who choose to play mostly as Yasuke, most of the changes highlighted thus seem to have effects on stealth, rather than Yasuke's open combat style, thus much of what has been revealed regarding the weather systems also seems inconsequential. Still, changing weather for more than just show is an interesting challenge for Assassin's Creed Shadows and evidence that even a heritage brand like this still has potential to grow.
