Assassin’s Creed Shadow is only a few months away from its designated release, and with each passing day, more information about the game continues to fuel the fires of excitement within the community.
Given the franchise’s game design choices, a few features and aspects of the predecessors are absent in the next game. The same seems to be the case with Shadows, though Ubisoft seems to be doing the reverse here—keeping certain features that should undoubtedly remain in the past.
A Few Fans of Assassin’s Creed Shadows Want Ubisoft to Remove One Feature Carried Over From Odyssey
Despite disappointing a few fans by not having things like naval combat, Assassin’s Creed Shadows continues to promise a return to form for the franchise since the problematic and bloated Valhalla, giving people the setting they’ve always wanted, even if a little late.
It seems that sometimes, a complete return to form isn’t always for the best, given how one feature some fans didn’t wish to see return is also making its way into Shadows.
In a recent video by YouTuber JorRaptor, around the 6-minute mark, they shared how the game will also remove your headgear during cutscenes to show the characters’ facial animations by default, with no option to change it, something that receives quite a bit of criticism in Odyssey.
As one would expect, more than a few fans seem a little unhappy with the addition:
Ah, my old nemesis of not being able to use headgear during conversations. Hated in Odyssey, hate it here too.
— Auto, the one and only token Spaniard. (@TheSpartan012) July 17, 2024
Bet they will eventually release tiaras and more subtle headgear and it will still be forced off you during covos.
One fan even pointed out how it is simply a way for Ubisoft to showcase the game’s mo-capped cutscenes:
Everything is good…except how they remove your headgear during cutscenes. I don't know why Quebec keeps doing this. Like, I'm glad you're proud of the motion capture, but we should still be able to wear our helmets and hoods. It's been a stable since the beginning!
— Jckspacy ⛩️ (@Jckspacy) July 17, 2024
Another point of content tied to this has been how Yasuke will not be given any Assassin hood to wear in the game:
No hood for Yasuke? Strange
— Raider King (@raiderking__) July 17, 2024
All in all, while it is undoubtedly strange for Ubisoft to bring this feature back despite all the backlash, it ultimately shouldn’t take people’s immersion out of the game, and if Ubisoft does everything right by the game, it still provides an excellent experience.
Will Assassin’s Creed Shadows Indeed Provide a Breath of Fresh Air as Some Fans Hope It Will?
At this point, the game is no stranger to controversy and some good old political debate, with much of it centered on Yasuke’s inclusion in the game and whether the game even needed it.
However, an important point to consider here is whether Assassin’s Creed Shadows is truly going to be a game-changer for the franchise, as many have claimed.
Now, despite Ghost of Tsushima giving the perfect assassin fantasy set in Japan a few years before this game, it does seem to have a few good things going for it, from its brutal combat, open-ended approach to assassinations, and dual-focus on both brutal RPG-esque combat and stealth systems from series’ past.
That said, some signs do point to the game being yet another bloated experience the franchise has come to be known for due to Odyssey and especially Valhalla.
A massive play-length like that usually turns an otherwise good experience into a meditation on its faults, so it’s still up in the air whether Shadows can truly overcome its predecessor’s problems and rejuvenate the franchise.
With that out of the way, what are your thoughts on Assassin’s Creed Shadows so far? Do you agree with Ubisoft’s choice to remove headgear in cutscenes? Let us know in the comments below!
