Here are 5 ways Ubisoft’s newest Assassin’s Creed Shadows is an improvement over Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the newest game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Scheduled for release in March this year, the game is the sequel to Assassin’s Creed Mirage, released in 2023. Shadows, despite being the successor to Mirage, is closer in style to its prequel, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, released in 2020.
However, Ubisoft has made some notable improvements in that time. So here are 5 ways in which Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a step up from Valhalla.
1. Graphics

Although Valhalla was already a gorgeous game to begin with, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has improved on already impressive graphics. With increased detail to the environment and more depth and clarity than before, the game’s graphics are top of the line.
The lighting in Shadows is excellently designed, and the game has also fixed one of the complaints from Valhalla, such as the quality of hair on the characters.
2. Animation

The animation in Shadows is a marked improvement over not just Valhalla but all of the newer Assassin’s Creed games. With a return to the excellently made animations that Assassin’s Creed was once famous for, Shadows’s animations are no longer robotic, feeling more real than ever.
Additionally, the clunky feel of the animation in Valhalla and even in early footage of Shadows have both been fixed. The transition from cutscenes to gameplay is equally smooth, helping you retain your immersion in the game’s setting.
3. Setting

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was set during the Viking expansion into Europe. Although the setting itself is perfectly valid and features an interesting story to go with it, Shadows is superior in every way.
With its setting of feudal Japan – a setting that fans have asked for for over a decade –it has far more possibilities relating to the story of the Assassin Brotherhood than the setting of Valhalla.
4. The Return of the Templars
Long-time primary antagonists, the Templar Order, have not made an official appearance in Assassin’s Creed games for a while owing to the timeframe of the games taking place before the proper establishment of the Templars.
Fortunately, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has circumvented this problem thanks to being set in the 16th century, and the Templars are already confirmed to be making their appearance in the game. This will open up a host of possibilities for storytelling that had been closed off for the last few games.
5. Stealth

The Assassin’s Creed games thrive off of stealth. It is their lifeblood, their bread and butter. Unfortunately, the stealth focus had taken a backseat for a few games in the franchise of late. With Mirage, Ubisoft delved back into their traditional stealth-based gameplay, and Shadows is carrying forward the mantle.
With two protagonists, one of whom is mostly stealth-based, Shadows is a marked improvement in stealth mechanics over Valhalla, and any Assassin’s Creed fan will surely enjoy the experience of sneaking through fortresses as a shinobi.
These were 5 ways how Assassin’s Creed Shadows has made improvements over Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Were there any other improvements you noticed?
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