The Assassin’s Creed series has no need for introductions since this well-known series has been exploring history in its own way since 2007. This version of Assassin’s Creed, Shadows, finally fulfills many fans’ dreams by transporting us to Japan! How has this opus evolved in terms of accessibility? Let’s take a look at this together!

Type	Adventure RPG
Publisher	Ubisoft
Developer	Ubisoft Quebec
Release Date	March 20, 2025
Rating	18 years and over

It took fourteen episodes before we could embark on our journey to Japan with its history. While many different Ubisoft studios are involved with development, the Quebec studio is no stranger to Assassin’s Creed, having already worked on Syndicate and Odyssey.

You’ll be playing two new characters in this game. You don’t have a choice between them at the start of the game, like in Odyssey, but rather, you alternate between Yasuke’s story and Naoe’s. Yasuke was formerly a slave who later became a warrior at the service of Lord Nobunaga. Naoe is a Shinobi from the independent province of Iga.

Yasuke participated in the extermination of Naoe’s clan as part of Nobunaga’s drive to reunify the country. You’ll first glimpse 17th-century Japan through the eyes of Yasuke, a foreigner who discovers it and becomes a samurai. Next, you’ll also play a young shadow fighter discovering the mysteries of assassins, of whom her father was one and who was killed by a masked gang. Naoe is determined to avenge her father and discover the identity of this mysterious group.

In terms of game mechanics, we’re back to basics. It’s an open world where you’ll have lots of adventures and tons of places and objects to discover and collect. Of course, there will also be plenty of battles to fight. Naturally, Naoe’s approach is based more on stealth and assassination. Yasuke’s style, as a powerful armored warrior, is far less subtle!

You’ll find a role-playing aspect throughout the game as your character develops, both through the gear you find everywhere, as well as through skills you acquire as you gain knowledge about the world.

Finally, you’ll also manage a base of operations. You’ll need to gather allies and train them there. Over time, you’ll construct more buildings for your base and upgrade them, from the stable to the forge, offering you even more possibilities. You’ll also recruit scouts to help you gather resources and investigate target locations.

Unlike most Assassin’s Creed games, there isn’t any hawk to help you gain a birds-eye view! So, often, it’s essential to find a high spot and use Eagle Vision to highlight points of interest, loot chests, and enemies. Mark them by passing over them with the crosshairs so you can easily find them again once back on the ground.

You’ll have no choice but to unsheathe your favorite weapon when a fight breaks out! There isn’t too much complexity, with only two attack keys that can be used with a single press or a long hold for special moves. However, because you’re so mobile, you’ll have to be careful to dodge samurai swords! The camera’s a bit unruly, so you’ll need to remain alert.

That said, how do you deal with the game when you have a disability? We’ll take a closer look and give you as many pointers as we can to make sure your trip to Japan is as enjoyable as possible.

What if I have a physical disability? 8 / 10

Of course, it all starts with coming to grips with the game! So, Ivar looked into the matter. Whether you play on a PC or console, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will give you a high degree of flexibility to adapt it. What’s more, you’re presented with a simplified mode at the beginning of the game that activates several help settings at once.

You’ll thus be able to reconfigure every key in the Controls Menu, whether for combat or exploration. The system will alert you to any conflict when you remap a key. You can also choose between holding down a key or simply pressing it for certain actions, thus avoiding long holds, which can sometimes be tiring. In the Gameplay Menu, you’ll also be able to reduce the number of long holds, such as aiming, which can be activated and deactivated.

However, there are a few difficulties that are hard to avoid. You’re forced to play musical chairs since there are dozens of actions for only 16 keys. Moreover, you can remap keys for certain frequent actions, such as calling your horse, but they still require a long hold.

So, even if you’re allowed to remap keys to avoid long holds for as many actions as possible, you won’t be able to get rid of all of the long holds, which last approximately one second. More troublesome are compulsory key combos. For example, you’ll need to combine a left trigger hold and another key to activate combat abilities. This is also true for tool selection including kunais, smoke bombs, and shurikens.

Settings for joysticks are also flexible. You can inverse them, adjust their sensitivity and set dead zones. So, that’s great. If you have difficulty using any of them, you can automate the camera to a very high degree. The settings let you lock the camera behind your character and set the motion control to the stick that suits you best. Some activities remain a little complex for one-handed use, such as Eagle-Vision marking, which requires fairly precise aiming since you’re far away, but most of the game is playable.

Joystick use is often mandatory in the menus, and especially on the game map. In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, there’s an ingenious system for selecting items on the map or your objectives using keystrokes. Open the World Map, and set it to region, for example, then scroll down to the theme that interests you, for example, “Temples.” Use the arrow keys to navigate between all of the temples in the area. Once you’ve found the right location, you can mark it to more easily travel there.

So, we’re in good shape when it comes to handling controllers. Having a large number of many different possible actions will inevitably complicate your life. You’ll need to prioritize actions by importance, assign them to keys you can reach, and, of course, adapt key sensitivity to your needs.

Once in-game, combat is highly dynamic. You can turn on melee assist to automatically perform your combos. There’s also aim assist to lock onto enemies within your range, but remember to lock the camera onto an enemy before aiming so you won’t need a joystick.

Naoe dodges with fairly wide rolls, so she moves around a lot, and, as you can imagine, camera movement is sometimes chaotic. Fortunately, there’s an option to lock the camera onto an enemy! After a big dodge, the camera will thus recenter itself behind you, facing the enemy. Besides, if you dodge just as the enemy strikes, your enemy will be vulnerable afterward. You can also parry to achieve the same vulnerability effect but with less movement. However, it has to be done at the precise moment of impact, so your timing needs to be even more accurate.

While individual battles don’t last relatively long once you’ve mastered the mechanics, groups are frequent and sometimes large, as is often the case in Assassin’s Creed. This depends on the size of the camp or fort you’re infiltrating, and all the more so since AI can be astonishing, with enemies who alert everyone.

Action phases can therefore take a long time. Opening the menu freezes combat, but you won’t be able to see what’s going on. You can trigger photo mode in a pinch to better understand what’s happening, but sometimes getting back into the fight can be tough!

So, if handling sticks is complicated, count stealth as your friend!!! Hide, mark enemies with Eagle Vision, and then move from one bush to the next to get into position. Attract the nearest enemy with a whistle, and bingo, you can one-shot them and clear half the camp without much risk!

Some enemies are more resistant to assassination, but a setting guarantees them by default. Other settings may also be of interest. For example, you can turn on Area Loot, which lets you pick up all collectible objects around you with a single button. This saves you from needing to aim or pressing too many buttons. In the same vein, QTEs can be set to automatic to reduce the need for quick reflexes.

When it comes to exploration, default NPC tracking, default running, and an easy-to-use grappling hook, which appears as soon as it’s available, offer us a wide variety of very useful aids.

Therefore, Assassin’s Creed Shadows offers us a wide range of solutions to help with joystick manipulation and main gameplay mechanics. So, these should be easy to manage, and difficulty settings can provide a further level of assistance if required.

What if I’m visually impaired? 6 / 10

Playing with a visual impairment is always a challenge. Video games rely so heavily on visual information that it quickly becomes unplayable if it’s not properly presented. All the more so for players with low vision,

and in an open world like Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the challenge is at its greatest. So, as you can understand, Ethan and Megumi’s priority was to check out how all the game information was presented.

When it comes to exploration, you’ll often need to make your way through vast terrain, and you’ll need to find your path. Your objective will be marked by an icon on a compass at the top of your screen. The same icon reappears again in the foreground as you approach it.

There’s an action to help you find your way around that displays your route on the ground. A bit like GPS, a white line appears on the ground in the direction of your objective. It’s very useful, but since the color isn’t adjustable, the line’s lack of contrast made it almost useless for Megumi, for example.

It would have been nice to have a sound cue to indicate this line, but this isn’t the case. Yet, there are, in fact, sound cues to activate in the options, and this is a first to our knowledge for an Ubisoft game. Sound cues indicate important gameplay elements such as which bodies to loot, obstacles in your way, and where to use a grappling hook. The sound cues are very effective, but there’s a lack of them. We know that an enemy can be looted, but not necessarily that there’s a loot chest beside them, for example. We know when we can climb, but not if we can jump. We’re very happy to see these kinds of aids, but we really hope that they’ll be expanded to other elements, as well.

Another point is that the World Map is displayed against an off-white background, like parchment, but texts are too, and therefore stand out very little. In general, quest information requires you to search the area yourself, for example, “The objective is in this region, north of this town, in a ravine.” So, given the conditions, it’s almost impossible, and searching with a magnifying glass is too complicated.

You’ve got two solutions; one is to use the buttons to select a Region, City, and Location—this reduces how much you need to search. You can then deploy a scout in the target area to find the objective. The other and perhaps simplest solution is to activate Guided Exploration Mode, displaying objectives directly on the map without having to search for them. All that’s left to do is to select them from the map’s destination selection menu.

Since we’re in the menus, we can enlarge text, and we appreciate that a white outline identifies which item is selected. On the other hand, just like in Star Wars Outlaws, we’re frustrated that menu narration and audio description are only available in English [sic.]. Note also that without an accessibility menu to present the most valuable options, you’ll have to go through all the menus yourself to adjust the game to your needs.

Eagle Vision acts as a high-contrast setting to manage enemies from a distance. It doesn’t last long, but there’s a skill that prolongs it. However, aiming will mark enemies with a permanent marker over their heads. As you approach them, you’ll receive visual alerts that an enemy has spotted you. This is represented by a curve in the direction of the enemy, which will have an icon over its head to indicate if it’s just curious, investigating, or has clearly seen you. Be careful because making noise is enough to attract them. Turn off lights, crawl, and pause sometimes to break up the noise. The level of stealth required is one of the best in the series!

However, once you’re in the thick of the action, there’s barely any information on the position of enemies outside of your field of vision apart from ranged. For them, you’ll have a red curve indicating an incoming shot and a directional icon warning you of an arrow so many meters away.

Thankfully, gameplay aids will allow you to automate all of this. We mentioned them in the previous chapter, such as automatic QTEs, locking the camera behind you, locking onto the nearest enemy as soon as you enter combat, locking onto the next one as soon as the first enemy is down, and so on. These settings will save you from managing the camera and focusing on every single enemy. Keep an eye out for archers and shooters who may be out of range. You can also adjust the sound to accentuate useful audio information.

Ethan notes an improvement in gameplay thanks to sound cues and navigational aids. However, that wasn’t enough for Megumi. So, there’s still some fine-tuning to do!

What if I have hearing loss? 7 / 10

On the auditory level, it was Zeymok who gave us his feedback on Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Even if most information is visual, it also has to be clearly visible. In this respect, it’s great to be able to rework subtitles in this way. You can change their size, choose their colors, and add an opaque background in the color of your choice. This means that you can customize readability to suit your needs, with three sizes to choose from.

However, it’s important to be able to enrich these subtitles. This is the case here, since we can add information directly linked to the text, such as speakers’ names and moods. You can also choose to indicate the location of speakers, however, its position is only indicated by a small triangle next to its name. Without a real arrow or a larger triangle, it’s easy to doubt the speaker’s location at first glance when its location is constantly changing. This can make for confusing discussions.

Battle feedback is essential for gameplay, especially when combat is central to the game. On the whole, as mentioned above, visual information on combat preparation is good. Use your aiming ability to mark objects and enemies effectively. However, what’s most important when you don’t have sound is information about what’s happening outside your field of vision. As discussed in the visual section, this information is limited, especially regarding melee attacks from behind. This makes it harder to understand the fight, and requires more movement to make sure you don’t forget anything.

As for exploration, a display option in Gameplay Captions will add information on the presence of collectible objects, incoming arrows, and doors opening. This adds more information, and is indicated by an icon and a white arrow. It’s useful.

In terms of sound management, you can fine-tune several sound sources, making what you want stand out more. With this in mind, sound can also be more dynamic, emphasizing the most important elements. On the other hand, the absence of mono sound will complicate comprehensibility for those who have difficulty with spatial orientation based on sound.

Although rarely accurate enough to be a true source of information, vibrations can provide some information. Even though you can’t fine-tune the strength of vibrations, you can choose to remove or reduce them according to their importance—gameplay vibrations taking precedence over more immersive ones.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows offers plenty of things to enjoy if you remain alert and keep an eye out for everything!

What if I have a cognitive disability? 7 / 10

Since Assassin’s Creed Shadows is an open-world game full of activities and items to collect, we know that, by definition, it’ll require some time to get the hang of it. There isn’t any accessibility menu or in-game menu for cognitive profiles. So, you’ll have to head into the menus to find the settings yourself, or ask for help.

That starts with a thorough understanding of the game’s mechanics, which are explained in a tutorial introducing the game’s story, as is often the case in this type of game. Game mechanics are presented as you come across them, unfortunately usually in a call-out in written form.

We’d also like to point out that on-screen narration is only available in English [sic.]. These written call-outs could, therefore, be a problem. After the tutorial is done, you’ll be able to find all of the explanations in the Database, but once again, they’re in written form. Even if they’re beautifully illustrated, they’re not always enough.

On the other hand, you will of course have written explanations regarding skills, but they’re accompanied by illustrative videos. That works much better.

So, the tutorial lays out the basics. For example, as Naoe remembers her first training sessions, you’ll go through the basics of fighting with Naoe and her father. You have to repeat some technical moves several times, to get to know them well, and this is okay as long as you understand what’s expected of you since the explanation is in writing. Too bad it can’t be repeated at will.

We hoped to find a training dummy to practice combat and stealth techniques at our base, but this wasn’t the case.

Once you’ve gone through the tutorial, it’s time to jump into the adventure! In a vast, open world, you’ll need to understand where you are and what to do. There’s an option that allows you to display detailed quest objectives permanently. The current objective thus displayed is indicated by a bright blue diamond on the compass. You can also see it directly in the environment once you’re close enough. In addition, you can press the left arrow key for a second to display a trail on the ground. It’ll show you the way towards your objective. This is much appreciated, as it avoids confusing directions displayed ‘as the crow flies.’ This is always a big problem when you only have a compass or difficulty finding your way around in a 3-D environment.

Please note, however, that once a quest has been completed, the game won’t automatically switch to the next one. You have to go into the game’s Objectives Menu to select your next quest from the many displayed in circles. They’re different sizes, but it isn’t always clear which quest is the most important. The faces of the people concerned are displayed, which might help you choose.

An adventure game means lots of discussions with NPCs. As is often the case, there’s a choice between written responses. An option lets you add icons to conversations. Responses can include lies, and therefore, the risk of getting caught is indicated by a tipping scale. This will help you to choose.

Regarding writing, we’d like to point out that you can increase the spacing between words, which will help dyslexic players.

As far as gameplay is concerned, the aids mentioned for the other profiles will be very useful. The visual and hearing tips, in particular, will help you to better understand and orient yourself in this rich, detailed world. What do you need to collect? Where are your enemies?

Note that the game offers four difficulty settings, so don’t hesitate to use them, because even in Normal Mode, the game is quite punishing combat-wise. You can adjust both the combat and stealth aspects of the game. Story Mode reduces the overall difficulty and strength of enemies, while Forgiving Mode focuses more on opponents’ reactions, without affecting combat too much.

Some enemies wear armor or are very attentive. They often resist assassination. A difficulty setting makes assassinations automatically successful. This simplifies stealth play. It’s the safest thing to do if you’re able to concentrate long enough not to jump right into the heat of battle!

If there’s too much information on-screen, or not enough, you can change everything in the settings. Note also that combat is very violent and bloody. So, you can deactivate blood and dismemberment in the settings.

If only menu narration was in French [sic.], it would be almost perfect!!!

What We Think

So, the whole team got down to work on Assassin’s Creed Shadows to bring you the most detailed review possible! We hope you find it useful.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is part of a long series that has improved its accessibility over the years. This is reflected in our constantly improving scores. We’ve come a long way in eight years since Assassin’s Creed Origins‘ score of 4.5 out of 10!

It’s a pity that developers don’t systematically maintain some good ideas from past games, such as auto-travel by horseback. However, we’re witnessing some great innovations as we go along. For this version, we’re delighted to see the arrival of sound cues. They deserve to be developed further and extended to other areas, but they’re already a very welcome addition!!!