Assassin’s Creed Shadows is out in the world, and the long dread of its release has finally dissipated. But is the game any good? It’s gorgeous, but does it succeed in the narrative it’s trying to tell? And how does it balance historical accuracy with having a good time? On the latest episode of Aftermath Hours, we talk about it.
I have been pretty high on what I’ve played on Assassin’s Creed Shadows, as has Luke. But being only a measly 28 or so hours into the game and only just having gotten Yasuke as a playable character, we decided to bring a ringer on to the pod who has, you know, actually finished the game. To that end we invited my old friend and games writer Yussef Cole to give some perspective after submitting a fairly critical review of the game for The New York Times. We talk about what the game does right and wrong, its place in the series generally, and how that fits into the context of Japan, Yasuke’s context in Japanese history, and the perennial problem of accuracy versus “having fun” that plagues all of these games.
You can follow Yussef on Bluesky. Yussef also co-edits Bulletpoints Monthly, a website dedicated to longform games criticism.
You can find this week's episode below and on Spotify, Apple, or wherever else you prefer to listen to podcasts. If you like what you hear, make sure to leave a review so that we can eventually build a beautiful minka-style house for the Aftermath crew to work in while painting beautiful sumi-e style paintings about gaming.
