Ubisoft Quebec's 2025 entry sets the series in Sengoku-era Japan, the setting the fanbase had asked for longest, and splits it between two protagonists with genuinely different rulesets. Naoe is a shinobi built around the series' original identity - prone movement, grappling hook, a real light-and-shadow stealth system where you can extinguish lanterns, and near-total fragility in open combat. Yasuke is a samurai who cannot hide effectively and does not need to, breaking doors instead of picking locks. Choosing between them per mission is the actual game. Seasons change the map, freezing water and stripping foliage cover, which affects both play styles differently. The parkour has been rebuilt to be less automatic, and the hideout is a substantial construction system. Its release was delayed twice and preceded by an unusually loud discourse about its historical premise; what shipped is a well-received entry with the strongest stealth the series has had in a decade.
Overall
Metacritic
“Assassin's Creed Shadows delivers a stunning rendition of feudal Japan with its best stealth gameplay in years, though the familiar open-world formula prevents it from achieving true greatness.”