The time has finally come – Ubisoft's long-awaited action RPG Assassin's Creed Shadows is finally here, but its inclusion of a "Canon Mode" might leave new players confused about the implications of opting to turn such an option on.
As YouTuber JorRaptor describes it in a recent video discussing the mysterious Assassin's Creed Shadows Canon Mode, it allows players to experience a more cinematic, linear version of the game: "You are basically experiencing the events in the way that Ubisoft intended them." How does it do so, though? By stripping pretty much all of the dialogue options players get in-game so that the story instead follows the mode's aptly dubbed "canon" path.
If you play the Canon Mode, you can't make significant decisions, like choosing whether to spare or kill someone or opting to target a certain person. You won't know that there are any dialogue choices in the non-Canon Mode, however, as cutscenes simply aren't interrupted to allow for any decision-making. You'll still be asked if you're ready to proceed or need time to prepare, and you can also swap between Naoe and Yasuke.
Even though the mode follows a "canon" path of Shadows' story, it doesn't guarantee you'll get a good outcome or the best ending. There are other losses, too, like plenty of missed romance opportunities as you won't be able to flirt. You won't be able to recruit all possible allies, either, as you can't make the choices necessary to have certain characters join you. It's a lot of L-taking, for sure, but it's not entirely bad.
You can still freely 100% the game and unlock every achievement, as JorRaptor notes, so you won't have to replay if you only want the canon, story-led experience. Plus, it's not as though you miss out on any of the action-packed combat or the unique dual protagonist system between cutscenes and storytelling elements – a system that our own Assassin's Creed Shadows review states is "executed phenomenally."
Hungry for more? Here are some of the best Assassin's Creed games you can give a go after Shadows.
