Assassin's Creed Shadows has given us all a reminder that Canon Mode exists, which will remove choices from dialogue options and ensure the game runs the way the loremasters at Ubisoft intended.
A post on Twitter reads: "Lore lovers! Feel fully immersed in the canon story with narrative-locked dialogue during cutscenes. RPG fans, have no fear! Toggle this mode off to continue enjoying your roleplaying experience."
A video demonstrating the option shows a cutscene where Yasuke can respond one of two ways to a character addressing him. In the Canon Mode, the choice isn't presented at all and he simply answers a set way.
#AssassinsCreedShadows introduces CANON MODE.📜 Lore lovers! Feel fully immersed in the canon story with narrative-locked dialogue during cutscenes.⚔️ RPG fans, have no fear! Toggle this mode off to continue enjoying your roleplaying experience.How will you be playing? pic.twitter.com/58Q2YrApZlFebruary 18, 2025
The Canon Mode looks like it makes cutscenes flow a lot better, so it's the way I'll be playing the game, but I feel conflicted about this mode. On the one hand, I like that I don't have to bother engaging with the series RPG elements, which I feel have always been its weakest. Assassin's Creed always felt more like an action game than an RPG to me. Sure, you can choose how you approach a situation, but the end result is always the same, so why bother with dialogue options?
On the other hand, it feels like having your cake and eating it, too. There are romance options in the game, ones that the Japanese actor for Naoe found challenging to voice. So, how will this Canon Mode affect those? I'd much rather the game simply had no choices because then the story would feel more impactful, and this middle ground feels a bit artistically bereft. Why bother telling a story if some people can choose to have a different one?
But maybe I'm being too cynical. Canon Mode is nice for players who want to engage in the choices and nice for those of us who'd rather just experience the story as intended and let our choices be left for the combat rather than who our protagonists have a crush on.
What way will you be playing? Remember that once you turn Canon Mode on, there's no going back, so be sure that's how you want to play before choosing it.
While you wait for Shadows to drop in March, have a look at our ranking of the best Assassin's Creed games and see if there are any you'd like to play to help you remember the story.
