It may seem like just yesterday that Assassin’s Creed Shadows launched, but when Associate Game Director Simon Lemay-Comtois casually points out how much time has actually passed, I feel my eyes widen.
“I’m surprised it’s hard to top nine months from a pure visual standpoint, which is a testament to all the work that went into the engine,” he says of Shadows’ stunning technical beauty. But then again, high quality is synonymous with Ubisoft Quebec’s work at this point.
heritage tour
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Maybe I’m biased – okay, I know I should be – but out of all of LeMay-Comtois’ previous experiences at Ubisoft, from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey to Fenyx Rising, the Fray Twins’ adventures in Victorian London feel the closest to Shadows in terms of its visual DNA.
“The differences between Evie and Jacob were mostly cosmetic,” he says of UB Quebec’s first foray into the dual-hero AC game in Syndicate. “It’s like ‘Which one do you prefer?’ Kind of a deal. They play very similarly, except for very few select skills. And with Odyssey, it’s much more than a deep RPG progression (system). So for Shadows, we wanted to take some of these elements from those two games and tweak them.”
Lemay-Comtois says that one of the most important aspects was to create two characters with distinct, different playing styles. “It’s an exercise in contrast, which the syndicate was not,” he says. “And then maybe not as deep as Odyssey in terms of the RPG (system), pull it back a little bit, but deep enough with it to try to find a middle ground where we can still keep the RPG fans happy with it, but then maybe bring in some of the old school fans who aren’t as much into RPGs, and let them dip their toes in a little bit.”
With stealth shinobi Nao “embodying the spirit of the classic assassin” and Rama Yasuke being beaten by a man “a character very close to Eivor or Cassandra in terms of combat”, it seemed like Shadows had covered both of its bases. At least, that’s what fans of the series can expect as far as portraying expected game styles and features.
Lemay-Comtois himself worked closely on Shadows’ dynamic movement, focusing on Nao’s grappling hook traversal and neat aerial moves. This is a level of verticality that we have yet to experience in any previous Assassin’s Creed hero, and it could set a blueprint for the next ones to follow as well. He admits, “The physical characteristics of (Yauke and Nao) are very different in the way they move.” “I think any killer we adopt in the future, if they’re male, if they’re a little older, all of those things can and should affect them a little bit about their physicality in the world.”
Speaking specifically on Shadows, he noted how Nao’s cunning shinobi moves were for her alone, modeled in the direction of ’80s ninja films. “So she flips all the time,” he shares. “She does all these things. It’s very specific to her. I would say the flip is something that’s very unique to Nao, but her agility, you can expect future assassins to still be very agile.”
All of this speaks to the lasting, impactful effects of what Shadows put forward earlier this year – and I’d argue that Nao’s fancy footwork might not exist the way it does in the game today if it weren’t for Evie and Jacob’s grappling hooks in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.
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Dual protagonists can be strangely divisive.
Simon Lemay-Comtois
One new thing in Assassin’s Creed Shadows for the series so far is the mysterious Animus Hub – the new modern story framework that will serve as the connective tissue between Shadows and all future AC games.
Shadows is currently in its post-launch rollout, with a new DLC having already launched and more additional content on the way, but the Animus Hub will be there when UB Quebec finally gives up the reins. So, does the Hub aim to actively change the narrative of modern times for good, or is there something deeper at work?
I’m still not sure. We know that the Animus Hub is not a part of Shadows, and is more like a bridge connecting it to future titles, but whether this means a new modern hero could follow in the footsteps of Layla and Desmond is still unclear.
“This is something that will continue to happen over time,” says Lemay-Comtois about how the Animus Hub is set up in the new game. “The things that have been set up in Shadows should continue to happen and evolve and grow in other projects. I can’t say much more than that, but if you think of Shadows as one thing and Animus Hub as another thing, then the Animus Hub is also a nod to future games. It’s not just a shadow thing.”
The studio is still working hard on the post-launch stages of Shadow of the Fall, with the Claws of Awaji DLC already out in the wild, but eventually all projects come to an end. The Quebecois studio may not be on top of the Assassin’s Creed codename hex — which, for the record, I already am. deep Obsessed — but Lemay-Comtois has some wise advice for Ubisoft Montreal as the team prepares for the future of the series.
“Focus more on parkour as its own pillar in future games,” he says, his first big lesson learned, noting how it was taking a back seat in other installments of the RPG Creed games until Shadows. “We’re trying to hone that post-launch with Shadows and push that narrative internally to say, parkour matters,” he adds. “Let’s really push parkour.”
His second major achievement again comes back to Yasuke and Nao – and Jacob and Evie before them. “Dual heroes can be strangely divisive, can’t they?” He says. “It’s not just ‘good’, I like fighting, that’s why I like Yasuke.” Some people don’t like one character more than another, and don’t like to spend time with either one. This was true with Evie and Jacob, but with Nao and Yasuke it is more divisive. And we knew it. We knew that going into it, but I think it might also divide our fan base a little bit.”
But that doesn’t mean the studio has any regrets, or that it’s cautioning other Assassin’s Creed developers from doing the same. “I think the learning point for us is that, yes, we can have more dual-protagonist games in the future – If We have a good reason to do it narratively and for the setting,” he concluded.
This was true with Evie and Jacob, but with Nao and Yasuke it is more divisive.
Simon Lemay-Comtois
Everyone said, we have come full circle. He mentions a statue of Avi Frye in the Ubisoft Quebec office as his guiding light and inspiration, and I can’t help but get a little sentimental about it. For all the differences between Syndicate and Shadows, from format to setting to character mechanics, the influence of its heroes unites them.
It’s a shame to hear there won’t be a second DLC the size of Awaji after all, but Ubisoft Quebec has achieved something special in its effort to forever keep Assassin’s Creed fans on their toes, testing the limits of expectations and daring to set new ones. The studio has risen up and cracked down on the toxic discourse that often derails the conversation around Shadows, and Lemay-Comtois and his team are ready to emerge from 2025 with something beautiful to show.
Whatever happens next, it’s clear that Nao and Yasuke have changed Assassin’s Creed for the better, just like Evie and Jacob before them – and I can’t wait to see how far these waves reach.
All eyes are on the next upcoming assassin’s creed gameBut as of now, we only have confirmation of one in production.
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