What is Canon Mode in Assassin's Creed Shadows and should you use it?

Assassin's Creed Shadows Canon Mode is a new feature for the series that removes all dialogue choices during quests and conversations. This dials back some of the RPG elements and instead locks you into the canon narrative of Assassin's Creed Shadows. It's great for players after a smoother experience like the older AC games, but it's not without drawbacks, so here's everything you need to know about Canon Mode in Assassin's Creed Shadows and whether you can change this setting later.

What is Assassin's Creed Shadows Canon mode?

If you turn on Assassin's Creed Shadows Canon Mode, all dialogue choices are removed. This means that cutscenes run continuously and you can't interact to steer the direction of any conversations. In this mode you don't even get a notification as to when a choice would normally have been available – so in the above early example where Yasuke can choose to reveal he understands Japanese or remain silent, in Canon Mode the cutscene plays out automatically with Yasuke confirming he can understand what is being said and you wouldn't know that staying quiet was an option.

In our experience with AC Shadows, dialogue choices generally do not have any significant long-term effect on the storyline. Some targets can be killed or spared, and Canon Mode obviously chooses for you in those cases, but the outcomes are often barely any different. Broadly, you aren't missing much other than some short-lived flavor in conversations and quests.

However, the most notable impact is that you won't be able to recruit all Assassin's Creed Shadows Allies and you can't engage in any of the Assassin's Creed Shadows romance options - I guess Naoe and Yasuke are too busy assassinating for love.

How to turn Canon Mode on or off in Assassin's Creed Shadows

It is important to note that you cannot turn off Assassin's Creed Shadows Canon Mode once you've started a game, or turn it on. You should therefore give careful consideration to whether you want to use it or not before beginning a fresh playthrough, as this setting is much stricter than other options, such as Assassin's Creed Shadows Immersive Mode which can be toggled on or off at any time with little or no progress lost. The only way to change Canon Mode is to start an entirely new game, and given the overall length of Assassin's Creed Shadows and how long it takes to complete that is certainly not a decision to be taken lightly, so settle on the level of interaction you want to have with the story before you begin and be prepared to stand by your choice.

Not long after starting the game, you'll have to figure out how to retrieve the box in Assassin's Creed Shadows for your first infiltration mission.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.