FromAssassin’s Creed 1toAssassin’s Creed Shadows, the method in which the franchise’s many protagonists traversed their worlds has remained an integral and important part of eachAssassin’s Creedgame. While the signature wall climbing and roof parkour maneuvers have been relatively consistent over the series' near 18-year-long existence, most games have introduced various changes to traversal.Assassin’s Creed 2allowed players to swim,Assassin’s Creed Revelationsintroduced the hook blade and parachutes, andAssassin’s Creed 3introduced ship faring, to name a few changes. However,Assassin’s Creed Shadowshas made one method of traversal a bit more difficult compared to recentAssassin’s Creedgames: climbing steep slopes akin toThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Tricky Landscape Explained
Ever sinceAssassin’s Creed Originsbegan the trend of the series featuring a vast open-world, traversal throughout each games’ settings has been relatively barrier-free. As soon as players beganOriginsandOdyssey, they could practically travel throughout the entirety of Egypt and Greece on camel or horseback without roadblocks similar toSkyrim. When cliffsides or structures were encountered,Bayek, Alexios, and Kassandracould easily climb any and all surfaces. Evior and Basim’s travel capabilities were a bit limited until they completedValhallaandMirage’s prologue, but the two ninth century protagonists were still easily able to climb most surfaces. This is not the case withShadows’ leads, however.
Unlike their Hidden Ones predecessors,Fujibayashi Naoe and Yasukecannot easily climb any and all surfaces. Naoe, for instance, cannot climb traditional Japanese castles and towers without ledges or the help of her grappling hook. Yasuke, meanwhile, climbs precariously on walls, walks slowly atop buildings, and is even unable to claim high ledges that the more nimble Naoe would be able to jump to. In a way, Naoe and Yasuke have skilled but limited movement capabilities similar to olderAssassin’s Creedprotagonists such as their fellow 16th century counterpart Ezio Auditore. Both central characters inShadowshave additional difficulties traversing thick Japanese forests and mountains.
How to Maneuver Assassin’s Creed Forests and Mountains
As soon as players are freely able to move around the wide landscape of central Japan as Naoe, they can attempt to explore the entire region and reachevery viewpoint in Assassin’s Creed Shadowsbut traversing every forest and mountain can be difficult. Thick groups of trees, bushes, and bamboo will prevent players from quickly cutting through the area on horseback. Furthermore, mountains and steep hills are surrounded by slippery slopes that will cause Naoe and Yasuke to immediately fall, forcing players to find a clear path up to the peaks. Players can attempt to glitch through the slopes or along mountainous rivers, but it will often prove fruitless compared toSkyrim’s tricky mountain climbing on horseback.
If players get lost looking for a specific location inAssassin’s Creed Shadows, they can toggle on the pathfinder feature to create a line highlighting the best path to that location.
Potential Traversal Roadblocks in Assassin’s Creed: Codename Hexe
Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ world is designed for players to follow specific paths with a bit of room for players to still craft their own journey through the eyes of Naoe and Yasuke. The changes to how the protagonists traverse the world could be perceived as a way to feature more realism or highlight certainviews and landmarks of Sengoku period Japan. Ubisoft Quebec may have additionally designedShadows’ landscapes this way to prevent players from entering high-leveled areas too early or to have them discover new areas as Naoe and Yasuke progress their main narrative. No matter the exact origins ofShadows’ traversal changes, these movement alterations may inform fans of how players might be able to explore the world of the upcomingAssassin’s Creed: Codename Hexe.
Initially announced at 2022’s Ubisoft Forward event alongsideAssassin’s Creed Shadows, then known asAssassin’s Creed: Codename Red,Assassin’s Creed: Codename Hexeis the next mainline entryin the series currently being developed by Ubisoft Montreal. Little is officially known aboutHexe, but Bloomberg News did report that the game is expected to be set in the Holy Roman Empire, revolving around witch trials. WhileHexe’s release schedule may have been pushed back byShadows’ delays, the game may share a similar world gameplay structure to the Japan-focused game, just asOdysseyshared many elements ofOrigins.Hexe’s protagonist may have similar difficulty traversing the Holy Roman Empire’s natural environment, similar to Naoe and Yasuke.
