Romance has always played some role in theAssassin’s Creedfranchise, whether that was Altair and Marie, Ezio and Sofia, Desmond and Lucy, Edward and Caroline, Arno and Elise, orBayek and Aya. It wasn’t untilAssassin’s Creed Odysseythat Ubisoft gave the power to tell those stories to players, introducing romance options for the first time in the franchise. That trend continued withAssassin’s Creed Valhallaand does so withAssassin’s Creed Shadowsas well.
UnlikeAC OdysseyandAC Valhalla, however,Assassin’s Creed Shadowsfeatures a canon modethat removes most choices from the game. Doing so allows players to follow the “canon” story that Ubisoft may build on in the future, with the inclusion of canon mode being a direct response to fan feedback. It’s the best of both worlds for those who do or do not want choice in theirAssassin’s Creedgame, but many have been curious how this applioes to romance. For Game Rant Advance, we recently spoke with associate narrative director Brooke Davies about romance options inAssassin’s Creed Shadows(and how this feature works with canon mode).
Assassin’s Creed Shadowsis the first franchise entry to feature both romance options and two playable protagonists. As such, players are able to explore unique romance possibilities and connections per protagonist. As Davies explained, the development team wanted to explore multiple connections and relationship styles when it comes toromance inAssassin’s Creed Shadows, including but not limited to “platonic bonds to brief sparks and deep, lasting love.” Each type of relationship is important, and embodying all of them with different options for each character shows how much thought and effort was put into developing this feature. In a standard playthrough, players can pursue whichever romance they prefer (as along as they are available to that character).
Love in the Air
Furthermore, love is a personal thing (even in the form of digital romance). As such, there isno romance in canon mode. As Davies confirmed,
When designing and dreaming about romance in Shadows, we knew that we wanted to explore a range of connections and relationships ranging from platonic bonds to brief sparks and deep, lasting love that allow Naoe and Yasuke to explore different parts of themselves. Because Naoe and Yasuke are different people, they each have unique romance possibilities and connections. None of our love stories are canon, so players can choose for themselves who—or who not—to pursue. For this reason, in the canon mode, which is removing choices to provide a more linear experience to players, there is no romance possible.
