"Parkour Athletes Review Assassin's Creed Shadows Movements"

Experience the thrill of Assassin’s Creed Shadows as two renowned parkour athletes delve into the game's parkour mechanics, offering insights into its realism and Ubisoft's efforts to authentically represent Feudal Japan.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Gearing Up For Its Release

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Does A "Hate Crime Against Parkour"

In a detailed review featured on PC Gamer's Reality Check video released on March 15, Toby Segar and Benj Cave from the UK's STORROR team, both avid fans of the Assassin’s Creed series, critiqued the parkour realism in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. These athletes, who are also developing their own parkour-based game, STORROR Parkour Pro, provided a unique perspective on the game's mechanics.

In the video, Segar highlighted a scene where protagonist Yasuke uses an "alpine knee" to ascend a ledge, a move that they deemed a "hate crime against parkour." This technique, where the knee bears the full weight of the body, is considered impractical and potentially injurious in real parkour.

Cave further critiqued the game's portrayal of parkour, noting the unrealistic feats such as climbing structures without ledges and perfectly balancing on tightropes. He emphasized the series' fictional element of unlimited endurance, contrasting it with real parkour where practitioners meticulously assess each move. "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," Cave explained.

While Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a fictional game, Ubisoft has strived to inject realism into its parkour. In an interview with IGN in January, Game Director Charles Benoit shared that the game's release was delayed to refine these mechanics.

Bringing Players Closer to Feudal Japan

Beyond parkour, Ubisoft aims to immerse players in the historical context of Feudal Japan through the "Cultural Discovery" feature, as announced on their website on March 18. Ubisoft Editorial Comms Manager Chastity Vicencio detailed how this in-game Codex will provide over 125 encyclopedic entries on the Azuchi-Momoyama period at launch, crafted by historians and enriched with images from museums and institutions.

Creating this immersive world wasn't without challenges. In a March 17 interview with The Guardian, developers discussed the complexities of accurately depicting Feudal Japan. Ubisoft Executive Producer Marc-Alexis Coté shared the team's long-standing interest in setting a game in Japan, finally realizing this vision with Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Ubisoft Creative Director Johnathan Dumont emphasized the team's dedication, including collaborations with historians and trips to Kyoto and Osaka to capture the essence of the period. Despite challenges like the unique lighting in Japan's mountains, the team's efforts have paid off in creating a vivid representation of Feudal Japan.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is slated for release on March 20, 2025, available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Stay tuned for more updates on this highly anticipated title.