Assassin's Creed Shadows leaks a series-first base-building system, and it sort of reminds me of The Sims

Action is important in Assassin's Creed Shadows, but players will have more on their plate to enjoy than just fast-paced or stealthy combat - the new action RPG from Ubisoft also features an extensive base-building system.

As spotted in a now-deleted developer diary uploaded by IGN China, Shadows provides fans with an entire acre of land to customize as they please. The video, which has since been posted elsewhere, showcases this exciting new base-building feature in action. From houses to decorations to paths, the mode almost feels reminiscent of something like The Sims 4. It's a nice, creative, and relaxing slice of an otherwise action-packed pie.

Developers describe it as "a way of putting the player's adventure on full display - to be able to see how they create life as they go on their adventure." While Shadows isn't the first game to give players a base or even a settlement of sorts, it's certainly the first to offer such a highly customizable city builder or sim-like base-building system. Assassin's Creed Valhalla boasts Ravensthorpe for instance, but it can't be personalized as much.

While there's no telling just how extensive customization really is until Shadows releases this November, the leaked clip makes the game's base-building feature look promising so far. As the devs say, "It's not always about fighting" in Assassin's Creed - and the addition of a more player-focused build mode proves as much. Between the base-building system and everything else Shadows has to offer, it's shaping up to be the series' "most advanced" game yet.

Each of Assassin's Creed Shadows' four seasons features different kinds of weather, but that won't affect gameplay because Ubisoft doesn't want it to have a "negative impact"