I just can’t finish Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Don’t get me wrong; I love the game. I’ve spent almost 40 hours on the main story and probably have only three members of the Shinbakufu left to hunt. But the more I play, the more I’m reminded of Assassin’s Creed’s ongoing flaw: there’s just too much to do.
That’s the core issue that has followed Assassin’s Creed ever since the series shifted to a more RPG-like format. The world is massive and chock-full of content, but after a while, it starts to feel bloated. Playing for long sessions stops being enjoyable.
Every Assassin’s Creed game after Origins seems to follow the same pattern. It starts with a strong, engaging opening that builds up the historical setting really well. Then it throws you into the mid-game, where you’re overwhelmed with question marks and synchronization points that often feel like distractions rather than meaningful additions. I know these are optional, and you can choose to skip them, but as someone who feels compelled to clear every icon off the map, it gets exhausting.
That’s precisely what happened during my time with Naoe and Yasuke in 16th-century Feudal Japan. Whenever I wasn’t on a main mission, I kept getting pulled into all the side activities. The problem is that most of them are forgettable. They feel more like chores than engaging content, offering little value to the story.
To Ubisoft’s credit, the world design in Shadows is stunning, and the dynamic weather adds a lot of atmosphere. Still, the pacing of the narrative is all over the place. I often found myself forgetting what I was supposed to do next because the game throws so much at you.
The side quests also don’t feel as carefully crafted as what CD Projekt Red achieved with The Witcher 3. That game set a new standard for storytelling in open-world RPGs, and Shadows doesn’t quite reach that level.
I ran into the same issue with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. While I enjoyed its Ancient Greece setting, I stopped playing halfway through. Even after 60 hours, I felt I had barely touched the core story. Valhalla was a game I had been looking forward to, but it didn’t land for me either, mostly because of how bloated the open world felt.
I’ve always loved open-world games. Elden Ring, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Ghost of Tsushima are all games I thoroughly enjoyed. The difference is that those titles don’t overwhelm you with filler content. On the other hand, Ubisoft keeps stuffing their games with unnecessary padding, and it’s hard to find the motivation to push through. I keep asking myself, “What am I even doing this for?”
In Shadows, I had just started exploring Yamato and Wakasa and hadn’t even fully stepped into Kii, but I had already unlocked most of the fast travel points. That was probably a mistake. Focusing on that led straight to burnout. Still, it’s hard to resist exploring these beautifully crafted locations.
At this point, I’ve decided to take a break from Assassin’s Creed Shadows. That doesn’t mean I’m quitting it for good. It’s still a great game to play in short bursts, especially when I want to listen to a podcast and wander through a historical setting.