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Joining the chorus of positive reviews, Baldur's Gate 3 developer says Assassin's Creed Shadows has the series' best combat "in years"

News
By Kaan Serin published 21 March 2025

More praise for Yasuke and Naoe's cool new moves

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Assassin's Creed Shadows protagonist Yasuke
(Image credit: Ubisoft)
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We haven't even hit its first weekend yet, but praise for Assassin's Creed Shadows can be found in just about every corner of the interweb - and joining the chorus of positive reviews is Baldur's Gate 3's publishing director Michael 'Cromwelp' Douse.

The Larian Studios lead chimed in on the game in a new social media post. "I really like the combat in AC Shadows," he wrote before comparing it to the AssCreeds of yesteryear. "It feels tight and deliberate, with a welcome return to the clear counter system I missed. Best AC combat system in years." One commentor added that they felt the combat in the series' other RPG offerings - Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla - felt too MMO-like, to which Douse simply responded, "Bingo."

He's not the only one showering Ubisoft's Japan-set open world with praise, though. Our Assassin's Creed Shadows review called it "a titan in the same leagues as series staples Assassin's Creed 2 and Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag – and Ubisoft's best RPG to date," even if the story didn't quite take advantage of its two ultra-cool new protagonists Yasuke and Naoe.

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It's a sentiment that was pretty much echoed by most as Assassins' Creed Shadows' average rating almost exactly matches Assassin's Creed Valhalla's, while its concurrent player peak on Steam has already beat the mega-popular Viking romp, and we haven't even seen what kind of crowd Yasuke and Naoe can pull during a weekend yet.

If you'd like to make the most of the game's combat, be sure to check out the best skills for both Yasuke and Naoe and find out how to unlock them by finding Knowledge Points around Assassin's Creed Shadows big, big map.

"I don't think AI can take away our creative voices": Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe actor thinks AI will only push people toward "human creativity"

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Kaan Serin
Kaan Serin
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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