Summary
Following Ubisoft Forward, associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois confirms the smaller map size ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows’take on Feudal Japan. It’s been a big few days for the upcoming action gameAssassin’s Creed Shadows, as it was heavily featured atvarious summer events like Ubisoft Forwardand Xbox Games Showcase.
Fans got a great look atAssassin’s Creed Shadows' dual protagonists of the stealthy Naoe and the bruising Yasuke through a short gameplay demo, while giving fans a small glimpse at some of the new gameplay tools and mechanics they’ll have access to as well. Ubisoft showcased how the weather as well as the night and day cycle can change how players approach missions. In fact, players have near complete control over which character they’d prefer to play, with Ubisoft revealing that the game will allow the use of one or both protagonists as much or as little as the player wants. One question that remained for many is just how big this map will be and, thankfully, the answer may please most.
In an interview withVideoGamesChronicle,Assassin’s Creed Shadowsassociate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois was asked about the game’s overall map size. With bothValhallaandOdysseyfeaturing massive playspaces, Lemay-Comtois confirmed thatAC: Shadowswon’t be following that trend. Instead, the game will be closer in scale toAssassin’s Creed Origins, making it slightly smaller overall.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Smaller Map, Diverse Geography
Even with the slightly smaller map, Ubisoft is promising a much more diverse landscape than what was previously seen inValhalla’s rolling hills, or the major waterways ofOdyssey. Lemay-Comtois highlighted the fact that Japan is much more mountainous, and the scout team for Ubisoft indicated that there are plenty of interesting things to check out within the many valleys. Ultimately, the map size was dictated more by the narrative Ubisoft is trying to tell by takingAssassin’s Creed Shadowsto 16th century Feudal Japan, with most of the action taking place in the central portions of the country instead of trying to represent the entire landmass.
So it’s kind of a tricky thing to develop, but eventually we find our footing with the types of cities and castles that we want to represent and that’s what justifies the size of our world map.
Map size has been a big focus of theAssassin’s Creedseries as of late, with bothOdysseyandValhallafeaturing some of the biggest maps ever seen in the franchise. While many in the community expressed concerns over the size detracting from the once tightly drawn narratives the original games featured, Ubisoft made a hard pivot withAssassin’s Creed Miragein 2023. While it was reworked into a standalone title,Miragetook theAssassin’s Creedfranchise back to its roots, becoming more linear and story-focused and stripping away much of the RPG elements that have increased with the recent games. While fans were given an open Baghdad map to explore, the overall space was much smaller and more focused, bringing back the “Black Box” design philosophy last seen withUnityandSyndicate.
