Assassin’s Creed Shadows trades overwhelming scale for meaningful depth, finally giving fans the feudal Japan adventure they’ve long craved.

I used to be the sentimental type in video games. For instance, if a certain character offered you a weapon—a keepsake—I would hang on to that weapon for as long as possible. Something like Naoe’s starting katana would be the kind of thing that I’d stubbornly hold onto for far too long.

From the moment it was announced, Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ interpretation of feudal Japan was met with immediate blowback — mostly from the West. The usual suspects were up in arms over the general identities of the protagonists,