Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ parkour was reality-checked by two legit parkour athletes. Read to learn more about the realism of the game’s parkour and how the developers brought Feudal Japan to life.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Gearing Up For Its Release
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Does A "Hate Crime Against Parkour"
In PC Gamer’s Reality Check video posted on March 15, two actual parkour athletes from team STORROR in the UK, Toby Segar and Benj Cave, shared their thoughts on Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ realism, as well as from previous games in the series. Both athletes are fans of the Assassin’s Creed series and are involved in creating their own video game based on real-life parkour moves and concepts called STORROR Parkour Pro.
In the video, Segar noticed a clip from AC Shadows showing one of the protagonists, Yasuke, doing something they considered a "hate crime against parkour." He is referring to how Yasuke climbed up from a ledge using his knee as a crutch to take on the brunt of his weight. According to them, this move is called an "alpine knee" which apparently is not viable in the parkour scene, as it puts all the person’s body weight into the knee, which may injure the person.
Aside from climbing structures with no ledges and perfectly balancing on tightropes, Cave pointed out that the series’ biggest fictional concept in terms of parkour is the protagonist’s unlimited endurance, doing parkour moves one after the other without breaks. He added, "In parkour, no one ever just runs and commits to stuff without looking. In parkour in real life, you check, you measure, you prep, and it’s such a slower process."
AC Shadows is obviously a fictional game that does not follow real-life conventions in every mechanic it has, just as with most video games. However, Ubisoft did its best to incorporate a sense of realism into its parkour. In an interview with IGN in January, AC Shadows Game Director Charles Benoit revealed that the game’s delay in release was due to the team polishing its parkour mechanics.
Bringing Players Closer to Feudal Japan
In other news, despite the game being set in a fictional world of Templars versus Assassins, Ubisoft continues to bring players closer to history with the addition of the "Cultural Discovery" section in the game. As posted on their website on March 18, Ubisoft Editorial Comms Manager Chastity Vicencio explained how the team will incorporate the history of Feudal Japan in the game.
According to her, "As part of the in-game Codex, this feature offers players carefully selected encyclopedic entries on the history, art, and culture of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. This cultural encyclopedia was written by historians and includes images from museums and institutions." Compared to AC Mirage’s History of Baghdad feature, Cultural Discovery boasts more than 125 entries at launch with more to come.
This doesn’t come easy, however. During an interview with The Guardian on March 17, AC Shadows developers revealed the difficulties the team has experienced in bringing Feudal Japan to life. Fans have been asking for an Assassin’s Creed game set in Japan, and soon, AC Shadows will quench this thirst.
Ubisoft Executive Producer Marc-Alexis Coté first stated how they went on choosing Japan as AC Shadows’ setting and said, "I've been on [this] franchise for 16 years and I think every time we start a new game, Japan comes up and we ask, is this the time?" He added, "We've never pushed beyond the conception phase with Japan until this one."
Furthermore, Ubisoft Creative Director Johnathan Dumont stated that the team spared no expense in realizing Feudal Japan in the game, coordinating with in-house historians, and going on trips to Kyoto and Osaka to gather more information about the setting.
Despite their technological breakthroughs at the time, the team stumbled upon certain problems such as how the light falls differently in the mountains of Japan. However, with sheer effort and proper referencing, the team was able to capture Japan’s essence. Coté stated, "The expectations have been this high throughout. It’s been a challenge."
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set to be released on March 20, 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. To stay up to date with the latest information on Assassin’s Creed Shadows, check out our article below!
Source:
Parkour Experts vs Assassin's Creed: Could You Survive These Stunts? | Reality Check
Assassin's Creed Shadows Game Director IGN Interview on the Game’s Recent Delay
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Developers The Guardian Interview
