Leap into Action: Exciting Parkour Enhancements Unveiled in Assassin’s Creed Shadows!

Ubisoft has ambitious objectives for the distinctive parkour element of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and has detailed several key modifications to dodging and climbing in a recent blog entry. Shadows will permit players to dodge while engaging in parkour, a seemingly minor tweak that Ubisoft asserts will introduce new layers of strategy to movement and stealth.

Parkour is crucial in the series, yet earlier games frequently restricted player actions to merely jumping and climbing. In 2023’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage, for instance, the only secure way to descend from a height involved locating designated spots, such as a wheelbarrow filled with hay or a particularly well-padded hedge. The leading characters in Shadows, Naoe and Yasuke, can execute a rolling dodge maneuver after leaping to cushion their landing — along with the sound it generates — to evade damage. Pressing the dodge button while leaping automatically selects the safest landing area as well.

Ubisoft shaped Shadows’ adjustments to offer players additional choices in how they tackle a stealth situation or a tricky target and — for those playing as Naoe — even escape routes.

Typically, dodging backward over a ledge in Assassin’s Creed leaves a character clinging to it, necessitating an extra action to drop down. In Shadows, that choice remains, but Naoe can also utilize it to reach the ground smoothly in one motion — a quicker, quieter alternative than simply jumping off the edge. Yasuke, the heavily armored fighter, does not have that benefit, as Ubisoft designed him for a more confrontational, aggressive style in stealth and puzzles.

Both characters are able to dodge out of cover while crouched for a swift, hard-to-notice assault or use the dodge to quickly reach cover when at risk of being seen. However, only Naoe possesses the capability to scale walls, swing using a grappling hook, and dodge while sprinting, a maneuver Ubisoft claims allows her to evade incoming projectiles. Additionally, her grappling hook functions as a climbing aid, anchoring in roofs or ledges so Naoe can utilize it as a rope.

“[These changes are] quite significant for us.” Simon Lemay-Comtois, the associate director of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, commented in the blog post. “We had to consider creating engaging parkour pathways and gave us more control over where Naoe can go, and where Yasuke cannot, making our two play styles even more distinct.”

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set to launch on February 14 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam and Ubisoft Connect.