Assassin's Creed Shadows: First Impressions and Gameplay Analysis Share 23 Jan 2025 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) TOWCB Team Back To Database We are now just two months away from the launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows, and we are thrilled to reveal that two of our team members, Col and Taylor were selected by Ubisoft to participate in a remote early-access play session event along with other content creators and media outlets around the world. Below you will find the initial thoughts and feelings written by Assassin's Creed Community Ambassador @ Col_96 after a four hour play session, brand new screenshots, and exclusive gameplay captured during the session. Keep an eye on the page as we will continue adding content throughout the week! Enjoy! Possible spoilers for Assassin's Creed Shadows First Impressions Hello Assassins. I'm Col, Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, and I was lucky enough to participate in an early access event for Assassin's Creed Shadows thanks to the AC Community Development team at Ubisoft. I'll start off by saying that I had a really positive experience, as the world of Assassin's Creed Shadows is incredibly beautiful, intertwining two stories in a way that creates an experience that is both shared and standalone, as Naoe and Yasuke, two outsiders in the world, find comfort in each other's pain, and try to make a difference to heal Japan. I think what the development team at Ubisoft has done is incredibly clever, weaving history into the main characters for the first time, selecting Yasuke, a historical character, and Naoe, the fictional daughter of real life ninja Fujibayashi Nagato. For me, both characters make perfect sense, and show a different perspective on the brutal history of the time period. AC Shadows takes a stab at bringing back a sense of mystery that long-time fans of the series will love. The game encourages you to uncover the next secret in a land of danger, something which is incredibly rewarding for players. The passage of time is interesting too with a fixed day/night cycle that provides atmosphere as every storm is different. You can feel the effects of the wind as your riding through an open field. Lightning can flash across the sky and light up the whole scene. Naoe ''The life of an assassin is pain , You suffer it, you inflict it, you watch it happen in the hope that you can make it disappear in time.'' Ezio Auditore I feel that this quote perfectly describes Naoe. Although not strictly an Assassin during my playthrough, or at least, that word was never said, her quest for revenge after the attack on her village is fuelled by a hunger for vengeance. Rather than blind rage, she is incredibly focussed, seeking those who are harming Japan and its citizens. You can feel her pain, and she takes no joy in inflicting it upon others. It is a necessary evil. Throwing knives are lethal when timed correctly, but can also be used to extinguish candles from a distance, creating darkness and the perfect environment for a stealth attack. I particularly liked the dialogue options, as they can make a difference to the outcome of a mission. This is why the team added a canon mode, so that the Animus makes the decision for the player. I like how Naoe is the sum of her history, learning from the past, but also taking onboard the teachings around her. She is thoughtful, reflective, and resourceful. She will no doubt be a fan favourite. Yasuke An outsider in a foreign land, Yasuke has to learn the true meaning of honor and respect when he is stripped of his name, all authority and ownership of his own decisions. He shows a willingness to survive in a hostile environment, learning the language, customs and more, and is rewarded with his life. Often shown as a 'one man army' Yasuke is all that and more. There is a kind side to Yasuke that makes him relatable and more human in side quests. He is not the brute he has been portrayed to be. I was really surprised by this as I suspected it would be the case that he was the brawn and Naoe the brain, but that's not the case. He shows intelligence and understanding, opting for a more physical approach to quests due his size, but I also found stealth with Yasuke to be incredibly satisfying considering his limited capabilities. Combat is great, as Yasuke can take a lot of damage, giving you the chance to recover, reset, change strategy and break down enemy armour before delivering a brutal finishing move. I can see players being very happy with the weapon choices, enemy types, finishing moves and overall effort that is gone into crafting a brutal combat system that is all about breaking the opponent down and destroying their armour. Things I liked The Scout System: You can recruit scouts and send them to attack enemies. It's extremely satisfying, and you can customise everything from their weapons to outfits. Building the network of spies has its benefits as they can also be sent out to collect information across the map! Eagle Vision can be used indefinitely: I didn't notice Eagle Vision timing out, which means it can be used without the worry of it disappearing. You can use it to highlight points of interest or observe and tag enemies. Voice Acting : I was really impressed with the voice acting, from all age ranges. Music: Absolutely incredible score! This will be a soundtrack that players will adore for sure, as it captures a mix of emotions. Sadness, anger, and hype! I was really motivated by an incredible fast paced track at a key moment early on in the game. Facial Expressions: Game looked absolutely incredible on my PC (Nvidia RTX 3070 TI), and the facial expressions, especially in cutscenes were so lifelike! Parkour: Feels quick, rebuilt from the ground up. Naoe is easily the fastest character in an AC game. It feels like a mix of balance and precise manoeuvres. She is lightweight and nimble, moving silently Grappling Hook: Like the rope launcher but more useful. You can swing from trees to perform air assassinations. Extremely satisfying. Tall grass, low grass and prone: The introduction of prone is perfect for an Assassins' Creed game, and I particularly like that AC Shadows has heights of grass. Brutality during combat: Decapitations, impaling, you name it, AC Shadows will shock and surprise with it's brutal combat system. The World has so many opportunities: Uncovering secrets, side quests and moments of tranquillity create a game of many tones, dark and light, and I feel like it encourages the player to get lost in the world. You have to unfog the map yourself, as viewpoints only uncover so much. This is great news for completionists. Enemy Types: Guardians are my current favourites. You'll see why when the game launches! Very similar to the mercenaries in AC Odyssey that hunt the player! Visuals: I didn't get to use photo mode but I know that players are going to have a great time with this game. It's incredibly beautiful. Stealth: It will take some practice, but with more time, I can definitely see players perfecting stealth and using all the tools at their disposal to their advantage. Things I Didn't Like The night is incredibly dark: I had to turn the light off in my office to see the screen as when the game takes place at night, it is incredibly dark. Hills and thick trees: Without the pathfinder, my horse would still be stuck up a mountain somewhere trying to find a way past the incredibly thick trees. Hunting isn't in the game, or at least, I didn't find any way to kill a deer. I thought it would be similar to AC III where pelts could be used for crafting, but I didn't see this in my playthrough. Health potions don't fully heal , or at least, with my current skill level and abilities during the playthrough, I needed to use two to fully reset the health bar. Yasuke doesn't have Eagle Vision: I understand that this could be for a lore reason, but it would have been a useful addition. I didn't see any Modern Day Gameplay. Animus Hub has huge potential though. Enemies can literally walk away from smoke bombs and be unaffected. I died so many times when playing as Naoe in combat situations. Some of the enemies have huge health bars compared to Naoe, and thick armour so it's a real challenge to defeat them in combat. I will say that it is incredibly satisfying when you do though, but similar to Basim in AC Mirage, the game encourages a stealth approach. Not a bad thing, just worth mentioning for those looking for a fight. I genuinely think that fans will be surprised when they pick up Assassin's Creed Shadows in March. There's a lot to love about the game, as you'll see in our exclusive gameplay below! Enjoy! Dev Comments We reached out to the development team at Ubisoft Quebec regarding our experience and received a response from Game Director Charles Benoit! ''I think once settled, you could play with contrast setting for the night. We wanted to have a black night, not a blue one. About Hunting, we saw the hunting wasn't a big thing compare to the respect of nature, so we wanted to turn hunting in something more positive, it's why we introduce the Sumi-e activity instead. For healing potions, it's with some Hideout upgrade that you can boost it. You can boost efficiency and quantity. And about the smoke bombs, it's Only Samurai that deny it by running away, we wanted to avoid cookie cutter strategy and have some enemy "smarter" than other. And yes, Naoe and fight can be challenging, Preview is not the ideal learning curve. But Naoe can be very lethal if you build your gear in some was, using the fight system in the best way too.'' We would like to say a big thank you to Charles for reading our first impressions article and for providing insight into the creative decisions! Animus Hub https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knzOQ2LQYWU Welcome to the Assassin's Creed Animus Hub: An Explanatory video by Ubisoft showcasing the Animus Hub, a new platform and gateway to Assassin's Creed content which launches alongside Assassin's Creed Shadows. Analysis by UbiCypher Exclusive Gameplay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BWnZBIpDcI Stealth and Combat Youtube TikTok Sumi-E Painting Boars Youtube TikTok Naoe Combat Youtube TikTok Desyncronization Youtube TikTok Cherry Blossom Trees Youtube TikTok Deploying scout, combat Youtube TikTok Syncronization Youtube TikTok Shrines Youtube TikTok Failed Assassination Attempt Youtube TikTok Naoe Projectiles Youtube TikTok Assassination Compilation Youtube TikTok Leap of Faith Youtube TikTok Brutal Naoe Finisher Youtube TikTok Naoe Customisation Options Youtube TikTok Yasuke Customisation Options Youtube TikTok Switching Character Youtube TikTok Synchronization Youtube TikTok Horseback Riding Youtube TikTok Yasuke Sumi-E Activity Youtube TikTok Bamboo Destruction Youtube TikTok Brutal Finishing Move Youtube TikTok Sumi-E Activity Youtube TikTok Killing a Guardian Youtube TikTok comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

Fall of the Berlin Wall: Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game Wishlists Share 28 Jun 2023 Written By: Edited By: Finn Fletcher Colum Blackett Back To Database Assassin's Creed as a series has been able to survive for so long as a franchise because it is so adaptable, and can be moulded into any time period the development team want. The ideological struggle between Assassins and Templar is histori cally malleable, refreshing the series time and time again as it jumps between the pages of documented events. Ever since I fell in love with it back in 2009, I've seen it one way: historical espionage. It's a spy thriller throughout the ages; what if James Bond was in Renaissance Italy. Instead of death rays and future technology, you're facing corrupt Popes and… well future technology. The people will never know your name or mission, but you fight for their safety. There's even an allegory for weapons of mass destruction in it with the Pieces of Eden, that if the Assassins allow to fall into the wrong hands will lead to world destruction! In that vein, and inspired by a tweet from AC: Landmarks , I wanted to return to an idea I've had for sometime, a true Assassin's Creed spy story. How would the series look if you cranked that idea of historical espionage up to 11? What would it look like in the Cold War? Now there are plenty of reasons I think this period could work: it can be charming and flashy as we've seen in the campier spy stories of the past half a century, is so morally complex there's plenty of narrative and philosophical conflicts to explore with the benefit of hindsight and unlike other ideas for titles focused on a contemporary period, the secrecy of the conflict will help avoid the gameplay problem of it simply becoming a shooter. Going guns out simply wasn't an option, can't risk making the Cold War hot after all, so stealth and blades will still be a main approach. The problem then is making a narrative and choosing the specific time and place. The Cold War was BIIIIG, like far too big to ever condense into a single story. Do you want a Cuban missile crisis or a Vietnam War? At first I felt like international 60s exploration would be good, moving from city to city, collecting information on targets, but its scope felt too unrealistic. It's when I settled on what I think to be the perfect setting for this type of game: the fall of the Berlin Wall. For those who don't know (which I assume won't be many people), I'll do a very quick overview of this period in history. After World War 2 Germany was split, with Western Germany going to the Allies and Eastern to the Soviets. This also included the capital city of Berlin, however because the city was located in the Eastern side of the country, Western Berlin was walled off, with the Soviets hoping to stop their citizens fleeing to the West. After two decades of this walled off city, in 1989, the communist leaders were ousted from power and the wall was torn down by citizens and soldiers alike. By many historians, this is seen as the last breath of the Cold War. This will be as modern as the series would have gone, and explore something that people still alive today experienced, maybe even players. This wouldn’t be the first time a game would do this (Call of Duty has used the Cold War as a setting plenty of times), but it is important to show respect to the reality of the suffering. Know that I did my research into the period, and believe if Ubisoft were ever to do this they should consult people who were their to best understand the era. Like Syndicate, the narrative will take place over a single year, as you take the final actions to ensure the wall is destroyed. The player, a German Assassin looking to reclaim her nation, will travel between West and East Berlin, gathering and manipulating information, taking down targets, and setting up the final nail in the coffin of the Cold War. Now I said that this was inspired by a tweet from AC: Landmarks and this is where I’ll tie it back in. Landmarks posted a question, would you like to see another Templar lead Assassin's Creed game, and honestly I think this game would be an excellent opportunity to return to that concept. The protagonist would be an Assassin, but rather than relying solely on the Brotherhood, I imagine this period being an excellent opportunity to return to the ideas of a Templar Assassin unity. Cold War inspired insignia by Reddit user ThatOneEnemy The Cold War was complicated, and the Assassins Creed lore matches that. Templars seemingly had power over Stalin while pushing corporate America through Abstergo. So I’m imagining it as such: Templars attempted to twist Russia into a totalitarian state but it was an experiment that they lost control over, by the 80's when Gorbachov was in power they had no footing in Russia. Meanwhile they were hedging their bets in Abstergo Industries which would become their main operation going forward. Now both Assassins and Templars have a reason to want to bring an end to the Cold War, and annihilate the threat of a nuclear war. You could even have Templar traitors be working with the Soviets, prepared to counteract any Assassin activity. It’s an interesting position to be placed in. The player, a German Assassin named Matilda, simply wants to free her home, while the Assassin Brotherhood is hoping to turn Germany into a new Assassin stronghold after nearly a century of defeats. Abstergo and the Templars offer help, arguing that this is an issue everyone wants to see resolved, but really are just hoping the Assassins will fight their battles for them. Matilda becomes a pawn in all this, pushed and pulled in every direction, her own struggles manipulated by others for their own gain. This can then affect gameplay. While I do love Rogue, it failed to fully capitalise on the “Templar fantasy”. If we’re going to be allied with Templars we should pick up some of their tricks, so missions will not only be focused on eliminating targets but manipulating information. Imagine sequences focused entirely on breaking into military compounds to alter records and data; the player could even be given a selection of choices, with opportunities to alter guard routes, or cause in-fighting. Your goal after all is to destabilise a decades old government, that doesn’t just happen by getting rid of a few people. In this game we'll be pulling the series into the "information age", with 24 hour news, television and mass broadcasting. The manipulation of information was becoming a warfare tactic, one the Soviets had mastered for decades with altered photography and repressed journalists. The gameplay mechanics will reflect this, you're no longer a blade in a crowd but also a pen, ready to tear up falsified "facts" with a single swipe. This could be exemplified by the removal of the real East Berlin ruler Erich Honecker, a man responsible for multiple atrocities who was in charge of the construction of the wall and was forced to resign less than a month before the walls destruction. He would make a perfect final target, wherein the player must maximise their use of Templar tactics, to establish a wide conspiracy and expose the truth in a way that would see Honecker's reign come to an end. It would be a perfect distillation of the idea of covert war, wherein an Assassination would only cause more chaos and fear but information could lead to a peaceful solution. Honeckers life is genuinely fascinating aswell; in his youth he rebelled against the Nazi party, being sentenced to hard labour by the Gestapo. Once freed by the Soviets he built a thriving political career in East Germany and enforced totalitarioan rulership, reportedly leading to the death of around 1,000 civillians. His role as a Templar defect seems to write itself, joining the order after the fall of Nazi Germany only to leave to follow his own beliefs, before being ousted and sent to trial in his old age. The city would also aid in this idea of mixing tactics, with the division forcing different kinds of approaches. East Berlin would have a heavy military presence, with a strict wanted system. Killing isn’t a particularly viable option, because if a body is found major sweeps of the area would be conducted by heavily armed soldiers. Espionage and Templar tricks will be your main tool here, you’ll have to distract not attack. It would also allow a return to the AC1 style of Assassination missions, where once a target has been taken down the city will go onto red alert and you’ll be detected in an instant. West Berlin will function more like a traditional AC game, where you’ll have a chance to use your tools and gadgets more freely. Your focus will be taking down targets who for different reasons are doing everything in their power to make sure the war carries on. These could be war profiteers, or bigoted generals who just want to see the “Commies” annihilated at all costs. Travelling between the sides will also take effort. The “wall” wasn’t just a wall, in fact there were two heavily armed walls with the Death Strip (a trench full of mines and other deadly traps) between. Traversing this will be a parkour and stealth challenge, where you’ll be forced to consider the risks and take effort when manoeuvring the territory. The difficulty will encourage players to finish all the tasks in either half of the city before travelling to the other, providing them with more obstacles. Other historical figures can aide in this, such as the Pastor Christoph Wonneberger who helped rally people to protest against the Soviets. While in real life he was positioned in Lepzig (a city south of Berlin), he couuld The narratives end then will be bittersweet; after taking down Honecker you will watch over the people as they tear down the wall. Yet as one by one the bricks removed, many of the secret powers who started all of this remain unharmed. The Templar allies you’ve made are now enemies again, and Matilda’s simple goal is twisted by the powers that be. She will even have to reflect on the actions she took, considering whether her alteration of information is moral, and if it will evevn be sustainable. Germany is a free nation again, but the fight never ends. Related Articles Aztec Empire: Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game Chinese Pirates: Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Finn is a creative writer from Rotherham, UK who has previously supported TOWCB's Fundraising events, and raised awareness surrounding Men's Mental Health. Finn's writing covers a wide scope, with releases including reviews, interviews and stories. He is known in the AC Community for his 'Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game' series, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website! In February 2026, he left the team to focus on real-world opportunities as a journalist, writing for a newspaper! We're thrilled to see Finn using his skills to build a career! Finn Fletcher

Second Wave of Assassin's Creed Shadows Mobile Wallpapers Released Community Share 18 May 2024 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) Back To Database Check out the second wave of Desktop and Mobile Wallpapers for Assassin's Creed Shadows, created by Assassin1513 using recently released key art. Enjoy! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 2nd to 27th February Community Share 30 Mar 2026 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Turid Back To Database Welcome to the monthly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from the AC Partnership Program. Every four weeks we will be picking our top five favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. This theme has been run by the @ACFirstCiv Virtual Photography team. Every month we will be searching social media to see how creative the community have been. We will also be monitoring the hashtag and the community hub to see all your wonderful shots. Keep an eye on the site as more shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to #ACFirstCivVP for a chance to be featured. Theme: Assassin’s Creed Lonely Warrior Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: inmostvp The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Theme Judge: @ turidtorkil.bsky.social Turid These days it is rare and a real joy to see a shot from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. My favourite game of the series so far. I love the mysterious mood of this picture. Is it Eivor? Or is it Havi himself? Why is he crossing the sea? It leaves room for interpretation, something that I really love in a good shot. Lastly, I want to mention the excellent use of rule of thirds, which makes this composition even more pleasant to look at. Aaron I always enjoy seeing and writing about Assassin’s Creed Valhalla photography, it’s been such a huge part of my life for so long now. I will never forget the sheer volume of captures that were shared upon the games launch. To this day it is still my favourite photo mode from the franchise. This capture is quite striking and thought provoking. The minimalist approach really elevates these elements, as you are left contemplating what Eivor is doing. I get a real sense he is crossing the worlds to Valhalla, the void between being mortal and a God. The white background further highlights this feeling and the reflection on the water resembling his past drifting away. Bayek Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP Artist: mythological_vp Its has been too long since Assassin’s Creed Origins melted our hearts with its emotional rollercoaster of a story, combined with the thrill of seeing the Hidden Ones form. Bayek for me is one of the standout characters in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, helped by the phenomenal performance of Abubakar Salim. I must say I adore this portrait of the Medjay of Egypt. It is presented so well with the blacked-out background and the thick white boarder. I am really enjoying the shadow work and Bayek’s concerned expression. There is almost a vintage feel to the photograph that I enjoy, it isn’t easy to capture portraits in this game, but this one is definitely a beauty. On The Lookout Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP Artist: @ elenyae-vp.bsky.social Bayek and Senu have a bond unlike any other, they share the grief that has befallen them. Without each other their lives would have been so different, especially Bayek who is a lone wolf for much of the story. As players we meet both of them early on and the strength of their friendship is instantly felt. I feel like this capture reinforces those traits as Senu watches on, always keeping her eye on Bayek, the protector of the protector as it were. I think the details really standout thanks to the depth of field and the bright white background. Once again, I find the composition helps the imagination run wild with what this formidable duo are up to. Runner Game: Assassin’s Creed Shadows VP Artist: @ingapho Assassin’s Creed Shadows was the first game in the series to adopt the impressive dynamic season feature. This adds huge amount of variety to the gameplay visually but also impacting stealth and movement across Japan. I think Ubisoft deserve credit for this highly notable advancement in game mechanics. The snow which we can see in this beautiful capture is probably one of my favourites. I feel it brings a lot to the game but even more so the photo mode. I really like how Naoe is framed between the trees and the lighting and shadows are helping to elevate this shot. It’s very cool to see the white robes with the touches of red nicely contrasting against the snow. I am getting some serious Assassin’s Creed 3 vibes here. Strolling at Night Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ thedreadw0lfsheart.bsky.social Night lights in the desert have become somewhat of a staple in the series for some time now. There is a familiarity to a building in the distance with a warm glow emitting from it. The thing is you never know if it is friend or foe waiting for you inside. This shot is fulfilling that recognisable moment Basim rolls into town in the middle of the night. The vignette is assisting nicely with the twilight ambience, and the warm orange glow looks inviting. The tips of the tree really standout and remind me of pollen ready to fall. I like that the focus is drawn to the cockerel strutting across the road. We all know how unfriendly these menaces can be. And that sums it up for this Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out the photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next time keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Samantha Morris (Sam) is a historian and author who joined The Ones Who Came Before's Writing Team in September 2026. Sam has always been interested in Renaissance history: the corruption, the art, the religion, the Borgia family, an interest which was fuelled even further by the Assassin's Creed series. It was whilst studying archaeology at the University of Winchester where her interest in the history of the Italian Renaissance began. She is the author of 'Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia: Brother and Sister of History's Most Vilified Family' and 'The Pope's Greatest Adversary: Girolamo Savonarola'. We can't wait to see Sam's historical articles, coming soon to the website! Previous Next Writing Team Samantha Morris Samantha Morris (Sam) is a historian and author who joined The Ones Who Came Before's Writing Team in September 2026. Sam has always been interested in Renaissance history: the corruption, the art, the religion, the Borgia family, an interest which was fuelled even further by the Assassin's Creed series. It was whilst studying archaeology at the University of Winchester where her interest in the history of the Italian Renaissance began. She is the author of 'Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia: Brother and Sister of History's Most Vilified Family' and 'The Pope's Greatest Adversary: Girolamo Savonarola'. We can't wait to see Sam's historical articles, coming soon to the website! Website | Books | Twitter | Instagram Work

Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game: Black Eden Wishlist Share 21 Nov 2025 Written By: Edited By: James Davis (TopChef1288) Colum Blackett Back To Database During a recent episode of The Ones Who Came Before podcast Rally The Creed , myself and my co-host Colum Blackett were talking about what a Assassin’s Creed game set during the Black Death would look like, the origins of the bubonic plague and a fear system. I just couldn't shake the idea from my head. We discussed that it could be a sequel to Hexe in time but not as a direct sequel, more of a spiritual successor. A new era in the franchise, the “Dark Era” and it was in that conversation, that I realised it wasn't just an idea to be spoken about on a podcast. It needed to be written down and shared. Something that demanded life on the page before it could ever exist in a game. The idea of a “Dark Era” isn't about heroes in shining armour, nor sweeping tales of conquest. It's about survival in the shadows of human failure, about morality bending under the weight of desperation. It's about a city drowning in death and a man whose sins are not just his own, but those of a whole world. Assassin’s Creed: Black Eden exists in that space between faith and fear, love and obsession, death and the memory of what could have been. Marseille, 1348 - The City of Plague Art by Thea_Rivedal Marseille in 1348 was not a city. It was a graveyard pretending to be a city. Smoke clung to the roofs like soot stained ghosts. The river ran dark with filth and blood. Bells tolled endlessly, calling out the dead while the living recoiled at each other’s breath. Shops and marketplaces deserted. The only commerce left was fear, and even that was precious. People whispered that the air itself had turned against them. Some spoke of angels who had abandoned the city, of saints who no longer listened. While others wore amulets, some carved protective symbols into their doors; some even prayed so fervently their hands ached and their knees became blistered. Marseille was a city where superstition had become law, where despair shaped every step. And above it all, moving between alleys and rooftops, someone was watching. Someone who had once believed he could save lives through control. Only to learn that salvation came at the cost of the city’s soul. Lucien de Montfort - The Templar Who Wept Lucien de Montfort had once been a man of reason. An alchemist and a Templar scholar. He believed in the grand design, in the orderly flow of history. In the Templar promise that control could cure chaos. And that's why he helped the Templars with the creation of the Black Death. He did not do it out of malice but out of misguided devotion. Every vial, every calculation and every careful release of the plague was intended to prune humanity. To cleanse what he and the Templars deemed unfit. He loved once. A brilliant, beautiful and terrifying woman called Lilith LaMort. Together they studied the apple, or what was left of it. But obsession and fear coiled around their work, experiments went wrong and people died. One day an accident happened and destroyed their lab. Both Lilith and the Apple were destroyed with it. Everything the two of them had built was gone. He buried both his love and his faith in the same grave. Now months later, the plague begins to strangle the city and he is alone. A man haunted by the faces of the dead, as he moved among the living. He was searching for absolution but he might never find it. The Rot of Eden: The Black Apple Art by Thea_Rivedal The Apple isn't just a relic, it's a weapon. A piece of divine technology that has been corrupted over centuries. Once golden, radiant and pure. It had been warped by the Isu’s war code into an Apple of obsidian black. Its carvings were gold and oozing a hissing, thick sap. Lucien called it the Rot. it was able to prune a population, the Templars deemed unworthy. It accelerated decay and manipulated life itself. wells , wine and incense all distilled into tools by the Templars. Under the guise of salvation but in reality they were tools of control and power. And yet to Lucien, it was more than just a weapon. The Rot was a part of him, after the accident. A constant reminder of his complicity. To him, every death whispered his name. Every coughing child, every corpse was a testament to his sins and failure. The Apple isn't something you wield lightly; it was something that carried the weight of life and death. Lucien had been the one to tip the scales. Faith, Fear and Masks The city devoured itself in silence. Fear spread faster than the plague. It turned every home into a fortress and every neighbour into a threat. Trust soon became a relic. It had been buried and forgotten, even feared as much as death. Lucien adapted. He became what the city needed and what it wouldn't question. He became a plague doctor. Cloaked in soot stained robes and wearing a beaked mask that reeked of herbs and despair. He drifted through the streets like a penitent spirit. The mask was both his sanctuary and his prison. It granted him passage through guarded alleys and restricted areas. Behind the glass eyes, Lucien watched as the world around him continued to rot and he wondered if he could ever atone for the things he had done. Via The Harbinger (2022) Elias - The Modern Assassin Centuries later, in a quiet lab, Elias Moreau strapped into the Animus. He wasn't anyone special, just a field operative; trying to make a difference. He followed orders, gathered intel and blended into the world unnoticed. But this time it was different. His mentor’s words still ring in his ears “if we are to understand what Covid is. We need to find the Black Apple. You need to walk the streets of Marseille and see what Lucien de Montford saw” and with that Elias entered the Animus. And in a heartbeat, the modern day began to fade from his eyes. The plague choked air, the tolling bells and the fear on the street became as real as anything he'd seen before. He could feel Lucien’s guilt crawling along his spine. He could hear Lucien’s whispered prayers to the dead and the smell of the rot that lingered in every corner of the city. The Animus was supposed to be a tool, a window to history. But for Elias it was now a bridge connecting him not only to Marseille but also to the sins of his bloodline. As Marseille began to unfold around him, Elias thought “Death is not the enemy, it is the relief of pain and the end of suffering to those around him” The Whispers of La Maitresse Noire Even as Lucien moved through the plague ravaged streets of Marseille, a shadowy figure lingered. The city whispered of a woman only referred to as La Maitresse Noire. No one knew her true identity and if they did, no one spoke it. Her cruelty was legendary. Entire families vanished overnight. Experiments gone wrong turned into tales of horror. She commanded through fear, her intellect was as sharp as any blade. Her heart, cold and barren. Templars tremble at her name. When they die, their last words weren’t of battles or hatred. But of her, The Maitresse surpassed them all. Lucien now looking at people he once trusted and respected, realised that they all served her and they were merely instruments to her ambition. The Kiss of the Maitresse Lucien had begun to piece it together, the patterns and the names in the ledgers. The whispers of la Maitresse Noire. Every lead drew him closer to the truth. She wasn’t just a myth, she was real. She was orchestrating everything, the plague, the fear and even the city’s slow decline. Lucien cornered a Templar alchemist in the catacombs beneath Marseille, who once looked up to Lucien. The man begged for his life, he mumbled about salvation and sacrifice; as Lucien towered over him. Lucien ignored his pleas and drove his blade home and the Templar looked into Lucien’s eyes and smiled. The pain came later, Lucien felt his veins burning and the bitter taste of iron in his mouth. His vision became blurred and his limbs trembled. In the dying man's hand, Lucien saw it. A broken vial. He had been injected. The Maitresse had turned the plague against its creator. Days bled into nights, fever consumed Lucien. His mind unraveled between flashes of clarity and delirium. Every cough was now a reminder that he is one of the infected and is a reminder of the countless souls he has doomed, in the name of order. Even as sickness ravaged his body, Lucien’s resolve was only sharpened. If this was to be his end, he would make sure it means something. He would drag this plague and Maitresse Noire with him into hell. The Final Act Lucien returned to where his story began, the laboratory buried beneath the cathedral. Once a beacon of Templar ambition, now left to rot and is nothing more than just ash and the echoes of the past. He thought he was alone, that is until a voice calls out to him “I knew you’d come back home, mon cher” from the shadows crept, a figure; La Maitresse Noire, but her veil was gone and Lucien saw a face that had haunted his dreams. Lilith LaMort. Her beauty had not faded, she stood there; like something otherworldly. She wasn’t the same woman he once knew, as she stood there half divine and utterly terrifying. The Black Apple clutched in her hand. Lilith circled Lucien with a predatory gaze. Lucien lunged at her, steel clashed. Assassin against former love & false divinity. Every blow echo screamed through the shadows. Lilith falls to her knees, she reaches for him with her blood soaked hands. A faint smile across her face. “You can kill me” she whispers “but not what I’ve set in motion. This plague will end only when the Apple can’t corrupt anymore” Lucien knew that the Apple couldn't be destroyed. Gameplay Mechanics When I started imagining how Black Eden would actually play, the goal was simple: build systems that make the world react to Lucien, not the other way around. The plague isn’t just a backdrop, it’s the heartbeat of the entire game. And every mechanic stems from that idea. Trust System In a city collapsing under fear and superstition, nobody is going to welcome a stranger with open arms, especially not someone poking around crime scenes and plague zones. So trust becomes a core mechanic. People judge Lucien based on what they see. If he helps gather medicine, deliver food, guide families to safety, or take down corrupt officials, their trust rises. If he sneaks where he shouldn’t, draws attention, or appears too often near death, they pull back. Trust isn’t just a meter; it affects everything: • What missions unlock • Who speaks to you • Whether an area will hide you or betray you • How easily you can move through the city It’s not “good vs evil.” It’s “do they believe you’re here to help, or here to harm?” Disguise System Disguises in Black Eden aren’t cosmetic, they’re social tools with consequences. Plague Doctor Disguise Lucien’s signature look. Great for accessing quarantined districts and moving through zones thick with corpses and infected. Guards assume he belongs there. But regular citizens? They keep their distance. Some won’t talk to him at all. He smells like death, and no one wants to trust a walking omen. Commoner / Peasant Disguise Safer, more social, more immersive. People open up. Hidden pockets of the city become accessible. But guards won’t respect you, and certain areas become blocked entirely. Each disguise opens one door while closing another, making identity itself part of the strategy. Rot Vision Rot Vision is Lucien’s twisted version of Eagle Vision, born from the Black Apple fragment embedded in his palm. It works just like Eagle Vision structurally, but the feel is different: • Infection patterns spread across walls and streets • Trails of sickness reveal where outbreaks started • Corrupted enemies glow with inhuman intensity • Hidden paths and clues appear like veins beneath the city’s skin It’s powerful, intuitive, and story-driven, but every use chips away at Lucien. The player sees the world decay as he does. Parkour & Movement Lucien isn’t a superhero. He’s agile, fast, and trained but grounded. Movement would feel closer to: • Unity’s precision • Mirage’s responsiveness • Shadows’ clean, intentional platforming The rooftops of Marseille become escape routes, ambush paths, and lifelines. There’s no sprawling open-world parkour circus, just tight, dense, believable navigation through a dying city. Combat Lucien fights like a man who learned from two worlds, Assassin training from his father, Templar discipline from his mentors. Simple but lethal. • One hidden blade • One sword • Fast, brutal counters • Precise strikes • No heavy RPG stat nonsense • And a combat feel very close to Assassin’s Creed Shadows It’s intimate and unforgiving. Every fight has weight. Stealth Stealth is the backbone of Black Eden. No modern gadgets, no overpowered tools but just shadows, timing, and disguise. You can: • Blend into crowds • Slip through alleys • Use darkness as cover • Distract guards with environmental tools • Disappear into plague smoke or church candlelight The goal isn’t to erase entire fortresses, it’s to make the player feel hunted, cautious, clever, and resourceful. Conclusion When I started shaping Black Eden, I wasn’t trying to reinvent Assassin’s Creed. I just wanted to tap back into what made the series special in the first place. The atmosphere, the tension, the blurred lines between good intentions and terrible outcomes. And as the idea grew, it naturally evolved into something that felt both familiar and completely new. Lucien de Montfort isn’t a chosen one or a mythic hero. He’s a man whose brilliance and mistakes cost lives, and he spends the rest of the game trying to make sure no one else suffers because of him. That’s the heart of this pitch. Not destiny, just responsibility. Not spectacle, just consequence. And it fits the Assassin’s Creed universe better than anything flashy or supernatural ever could. The gameplay systems, the trust mechanics, the disguises, Rot Vision, the grounded stealth. they all push the game toward a more reactive, human style of play. People don’t automatically trust Lucien. He has to earn it. His disguises open doors but close others. His connection to the Black Apple gives him insight but slowly destroys him. Everything he gets comes at a cost, which is exactly how an AC game set in the Plague should feel. And then there’s the modern day, Elias trying to navigate the fallout of a life he didn’t live but still feels. It brings back that personal, present-day urgency the series has been missing for a while. If Assassin’s Creed ever decided to explore a story like this; something darker, more intimate, more morally tangled. I genuinely believe it could mark a turning point for the franchise. Not a reboot, not a throwback, but a new era built on what made the originals resonate so deeply. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author James is a UK-based video creator who joined TOWCB's Video Content Creation Team in June 2025. James was originally brought on board to help TOWCB with TikTok news coverage and to establish a consistent Twitch streaming schedule, but he also took on the Video Content Creation Team leadership position until personal circumstances changed in Summer 2026. He is a big fan of the Assassin's Creed series, and runs the Rally the Creed podcast alongside TOWCB Team Leader Col, consistently hosting weekly episodes. By joining the partnership program, we aim to provide James with opportunities to grow and further his relationship with the AC Community and Ubisoft. James Davis (TopChef1288)

This Week in Assassin's Creed Virtual Photography: Feb 19th - Feb 25th 2022 Community Share 3 Mar 2022 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the new weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week, we will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for capture across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. 1) Rainbow Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla This week’s first capture comes from @PodToGo over on Twitter. A creepy shot is first up this week. It looks like one of the druid camps in Ireland. I am not sure I have seen a rainbow in Valhalla so far. What I like about this capture is the stone structures and the shrine which are covered in this green haze. The raven flying away also seems like an omen, making the scene very atmospheric. 2) Paris Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Photo number two comes from @WorldviewVP over on Twitter. This picture looks like it comes straight from the Assassin’s Creed Atlas book. For me City shots are the essence of Assassin’s Creed. This is usually where the enemies hide and plot their schemes. Although smaller in scale, it is cool to compare this capture to ones from Unity just to see the difference. 3) Burning Lands Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins This week’s third shot comes from @coalabr14 over on Twitter. I really like this capture. The glow from the sun breaking through the clouds casting a shadow over the burnt lands of Egypt. I love the silhouette of Senu and Bayek watching over a military encampment planning their next move. 4) The Archer Game: Assassin’s Creed III VP number four comes from @AHeinemann over on Twitter. Nice to see a different Assassin’s Creed game feature in this article. As I have said before archery capture are my favourite. What drew me to this shot was the dark night with the moon as a focal point adding some light to the scene. Connor looks impressive with his dark outfit and his half drawn bow. This bow was such a game changer back then, but now it is a staple of any AC game. 5) Falcon Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla The final capture of the week comes from @starlingspecks over on twitter. My bird of choice in Valhalla and also the inspiration for my gamertag. I love this shot, the stars and the clouds are a great backdrop to Eivor’s magnificent companion. The details on Synin are so impressive and this capture really showcases that. And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Starter Guide focussing on Norway for new players looking to begin their Assassin's Creed Valhalla adventure. Community Guides Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Huntsman Gear Guide By Aaron Young 26/3/21 Share Top Stories The Assassin's Creed Community are raising money for Ocean Conservancy. Donate today After the relatively long intro in Norway, you will no doubt be eager to find a new armour set when you arrive in England. One of the easier sets to claim is the Huntsman, which can be found in the opening areas of England. All items can be found in-game without the need for DLC or micro-transactions. All gear sets in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will not only provide the player with an aesthetic look, but also stats and bonuses that increase Eivor’s strength. Further to this, your gear will also be aligned to one of the three branches of the skill tree. The Huntsman set follows the wolf skill line and therefore will benefit from any skill points you have placed here. It is also good to consider the set bonus perks that are different for each armour set. The Huntsman gear provides you with a nice Viking look and leans heavily into an archer playstyle. The two bonuses for equipping the Huntsman set are in the image below. It is good to remember that the more pieces of the set you wear, the bigger the bonus. It is not essential though, and you can mix gear for interesting perks. Edited by Ashlea Buckley The Huntsman Set Interview with Magnus Bruun - Eivor Assassins' Creed Valhalla Merchandise Guide Q&A with Abubakar Salim - Bayek of Siwa TOWCB Plans for 2021 Netflix announce upcoming live-action Assassin's Creed series Female Vikings: The Real History Building an Assassin's Creed Community: Getting Started Mentors Guild Announcement Interview with Benoit Richer: Valhalla Co-Dev Game Director Interview with Eric Baptizat: AC Valhalla Game Director Interview with Jordan Van Andel (JorRaptor) Colours in Assassin's Creed: A Short Review 6 ways to stay entertained in the Assassin's Creed Community during isolation Interview with Carlos Ferro - Da Vinci 5 ways you can support TOWCB Interview with Jesper Kyd Top Stories How to Get the Huntsman Gear Set The Huntsman Cape This seems like it could be more difficult than it actually is. Your best route is to take your Longship up river to Templebrough Fort in Ledecestrescire. The Huntsman Helm This one can be a little trickier. The helm can be found at Tonnastadir fort in Ledecestrescire. It is a heavily guarded area, which can be difficult early in the game. You will come here as part of the Ledecestrescire story arc, and I would suggest waiting until then to collect the helm. Hopefully these tips will help you get started on your Viking adventure. Valhalla is a wonderful game full of intrigue and mystery with a story that sucks you in slowly. Be patient and take your time, you will not regret it. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who recently joined TOWCB AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer. Throughout 2021, Aaron and other writers will be joining the admin team in a collaborative effort to create an Assassin's Creed Valhalla Guide Database, which you can find here . Twitter Aaron Young Save 10% on officially licensed Assassin's Creed Origins merchandise with the code "TOWCB" Unfortunately you cannot obtain all of the set pieces in the same region. There are five gear items to collect, with three in Grantebridgescire and the other two in Ledecestrescire. The Power Levels of these regions should not pose too much of a problem, as when you arrive in England both Grantebridgescire and Ledecestrescire are early story destinations. That being said, all of the Huntsman armour is well guarded so you will need to either fight your way to it or use stealth. Grantebridgescire and Ledecestrescire are both Power Level 20, so following the story would be the best way of attaining this set. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has four tiers for gear pieces: Grey (Fine) Red (Superior) Blue (Flawless) Gold (Mythical) When you fine each piece of the Huntsman set it will already be Superior. It is wise to use what resources you have to bring the gear to its highest level, and save your nickel ingots to upgrade the armour to flawless when you return to Gunnar at the Settlement. It is important to note that Ubisoft recently patched Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, implementing the transmogrification feature. This means you can upgrade your gear to the highest level but not have to worry about not liking the look. You can pay fifty coins to Gunnar and he will amend the aesthetic to one of the previous iterations but with the highest stats. The helm is locked behind a gate, so you will first need to head to the longhouse. The key can be found on a table, but be careful as sometimes there will be guards in the room. Once you have the key, head to the metal gate where three guards will be waiting. There is some debris you can drop on them. Either way you will need to dispatch the guards before entering. The helm can be found at the end of the hallway in a chest. The Huntsman Armour The chest piece is probably the most difficult to obtain. It can be found in Ravensburg outpost, Grantebridgescire. This outpost is part of the story arc so waiting until then is a good option. The cloak can be found in a tower situated in the middle of the river. Just climb the tower and shoot the wood hanging to break the floor below. From here jump down and open the chest. There are a few guards so be careful not to been seen, but it is possible to avoid them altogether. You will find the chest containing the armour in the main hut at the centre of the enemy camp. Despite the camp being well guarded it is possible to get all the way to the hut unnoticed. You may wish to tactically remove some of the guards just so if you are caught you will not be overwhelmed. The Huntsman Vambraces The vambraces are hidden behind a waterfall in Grantebridgescire. The location is not too far from your settlement. Just head south of Ravensthorpe and you will see an area with two sections of water. The vambraces can be found in the first section of water, behind a waterfall. Once you enter the cave you will find another section of water. You will need to dive in and swim underwater until you reach the end. Straight after exiting the water you will see the chest in front of you. The Huntsman Breeches Your final piece to collect will be the breeches. They are situated in Soham hideout, which is on a patch of land not too far from Isle of Ely Monastery, Grantebridgescire. You will want to sneak into the camp and head towards the large stone building in the centre. Inside you will find a chest containing the breeches. You may also need to dispatch some of the guards. There are two sat at a table in the main building, making it difficult to sneak up on them, so be careful. Once you have all the gear items, you can return to Gunnar to upgrade them. Don’t forget to take a look at the transmogrification feature. It is also worth mentioning that you can pay travellers for information regarding the location of gear items (represented on the map by a question mark)

This Week in Assassin's Creed Virtual Photography: 23rd April - 29th 2022 Community Share 8 May 2022 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the new weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week, we will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for capture across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. 1) Lighthouse Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins This week’s first capture comes from @Marstongallery over on Twitter. Our first capture this week takes us back to Egypt. A brilliant shot of Bayek pulling off a hero pose between two columns. I really like how panoramic this picture is. The depth of field is perfect here, despite Bayek being the focal point, the lighthouse still shines. I remember infiltrating this enemy base not long ago myself. 2) Egyptian Architecture Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins Photo number two comes from @VirtualHedron over on Twitter. Origins is one of the most beautiful Assassin’s Creed games. For me what sets it apart is the stunning scenery and architecture. This shot is everything I love about exploring the cities of Egypt. There is so much detail here with NPC’s living their lives, lush vegetation, colourful hieroglyphics and a hint of sun bursting through. A fantastic capture, just needs a frame. 3) Arctic Fox Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla This week’s third shot comes from @StefanieMcMaken over on Twitter. It seems to be a weekly theme at the moment for me to feature a fox. I enjoyed how Valhalla mixed up the wildlife with the different landscapes/seasons. It definitely looks like these two foxes are friends out on the hunt for some food. What impresses me is the way the fox is leaving a trail, great attention to det ail. 4) Daily Contracts Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP number four comes from @PodToGo over on Twitter. This is as first for a Reda themed shot. I absolutely love the positioning of this, as it instantly caught my eye. The focus on Eivor showcasing her hair, tattoos and weapon ready for battle is outstanding. I really like how the band of Saxons are walking into their demise. Extra kudos for featuring the Huldufolk armour such an underrated gem. 5) Finisher Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla The final capture of the week comes from @tn_taurus over at the ACFirstCiv VP Twitter Community. The final shot for the week is a brutal one. It is always hard for shots like this to stand out amongst the colourful environments and protagonist portraits. However I feel like this very much captures the essence of Valhalla and how dark the story can get. The misty background and the vignette really highlight the finisher. It looks like Eivor hasn’t left anyone alive to tell the tale. And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Assassin's Creed Shadows Merchandise Guide Merchandise Share 6 Feb 2025 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) TOWCB Team Back To Database Welcome to our Assassin's Creed Shadows Merchandise Guide! Here you will find all of the merchandise currently available for the game! Article contains PureArts and Amazon affiliate links which support TOWCB. Game Editions Assassin's Creed Shadows Collector's Edition An Ultimate Edition copy of the game with: 3 days of early access to the game* Pre-order bonus quest: Thrown to the Dogs Season Pass with a bonus quest at launch and 2 upcoming expansions Ultimate Pack with Sekiryu Character Pack, Hideout Pack, and 5 skill points as well as the Red Dragon filter in Photo Mode. High-quality physical Collector's items: Naoe and Yasuke dual character statue Unique Steelbook® case Collector’s art book (84 pages) Life-sized Naoe’s katana tsuba World map Creed wall scroll 2 sumi-e lithographs Available from: Ubisoft Store ( SOLD OUT ) Game GamesTheShop (India) Gamestop SmythsToys EB Games NZ Micromania Figurines Assassin’s Creed Shadows Animus Naoe & Yasuke 1/8 Scale Statues by PureArts Naoe Bust by Nemesis Now. Available for pre-order from: DeToyboys NL ShopForGeek SmartToys SDCC 2024 Exclusive 3D foam figure set by Monogram. Available on eBay Stationary Assassin's Creed Shadows Katana Sun Notebook Available via Amazon UK Replicas (Pre-order) Assassin's Creed Shadows Replica Yasuke Helmet by PureArts Harness the power of legendary Samurai Yasuke! Made with premium materials and artfully crafted, the highly detailed Yasuke Helmet 1/1 Scale Replica features a removable face plate and Kabuto-style cords. This game-accurate life-size replica is the perfect display piece for discovering feudal Japan in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RaikcngMew (Pre-order) Naoe Replica Hidden Blade by PureArts Become a lethal shinobi Assassin from Assassin’s Creed Shadows with the Naoe Hidden Blade 1/1 Scale Replica! Daughter of legendary Iga shinobi leader Fujibayashi Nagato, Naoe is fierce, lethal, and ready to defend her people. This wearable and functional Hidden Blade Replica can be worn in both Tanto and Hidden Blade mode, perfect for battle against Oda Nobunaga's forces. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3RoBNzUSxs Apparel Assassin's Creed Shadows" T-Shirt "Shadows Faces" Hooded zip mottled grey by Assassin's Creed Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Shadows Shinobi Hoodie (poor image quality currently) Assassin's Creed Shadows Kanji Clan T-shirt Assassin's Creed Shadows Balance T-shirt (poor image quality currently) Assassin's Creed Shadows Deadly Kanji T-shirt (poor image quality currently) Assassin's Creed Shadows T-shirt Available from: Assassin's Creed Shadows T-shirt Available from: Assassin's Creed Shadows Yasuke T-shirt Available from: GamesTheShop Mumbai Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe T-shirt Available from: GamesTheShop Mumbai Assassin's Creed Shadows - Hide In The Shadow Men's Short Sleeved T-shirt by Difuzed Available from: Assassin's Creed Shadows - Two Tone Kanji Men's Zipper Hoodie by Difuzed. Available from: Assassin's Creed Shadows - Hidden blade Men's Core Zipper Hoodie by Difuzed Available from: Assassin's Creed Shadows - Shadow Men's Hoodie by Difuzed Available from: XZone CZ Assassin's Creed Shadows - Cut And Sew Men's Sweater by Difuzed Available from: Assassin's Creed Shadows - Ronin Cargo Joggers by Difuzed Available from: Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe T-shirt by Blend Cota (Male and Female options) Available from Blend Cota Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe T-shirt by Blend Cota (Male and Female options) Available from Blend Cota Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe T-shirt by Blend Cota (Male and Female options) Available from Blend Cota Assassin's Creed Shadows Announcement T-shirt (Male) Male: Available from EMP Female: Available from EMP Accessories Assassin's Creed Shadows socks Available from Al.to Assassin's Creed Shadows - Crew Socks (3Pack) by Difuzed Available from: Caps / Hats Assassin's Creed Shadows Yasuke Cap Available from Ludistri Fr Assassin's Creed Shadows Cap Available from Ludistri Fr Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe and Yasuke Cap Available from Ludistri Fr Assassin's Creed Shadows - Acid Washed Men's Adjustable Cap by Difuzed Available from: Assassin's Creed Shadows - Scarred Men's Adjustable Cap by Difuzed Available from: Assassin's Creed Shadows - Lotus Men's Adjustable Cap by Difuzed Available from: Assassin's Creed Shadows - Balaclava Beanie by Difuzed Available from: Phone Cases A variety of official designs which are currently available to purchase for different phone models on eBay and Amazon . Tech and Gaming Accessories Assassin's Creed Shadows Lantern by Neamedia The Character Available on Amazon Assassin's Creed Shadows Torii artwork mousepad. Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Shadows XXL Mousemat by Subsonic Available from Subsonic Assassin's Creed Shadows Mousemat by Subsonic Available from Subsonic Assassin's Creed Shadows Keyboard by Lexip Available from Micromania Assassin's Creed Shadows Headset by Lexip Available from MicroMania Assassin's Creed Shadows Gaming Controller by Lexip Available from Micromania Assassin's Creed Shadows Mouse by Lexip Available from Micromania Fr Assassin's Creed Shadows Mousemat by Lexip Available from Micromania Fr Assassin's Creed Shadows Wired Controller Available from Ludistri Fr PS5 Controller Silicone cover and caps Available from: Ludistri Fr Assassin's Creed Shadows Mousemat Available from VendiloShop It Assassin's Creed Parkour Mousepad Available for pre-order from: PlanetFantasy (Belgium) Assassin's Creed Shadows: USB C Listed for pre-order by Micromania ( Link currently down ) Playstation Sleeve Listed for pre-order by Micromania ( Link currently down ) Posters and Wall Art Assassin's Creed Shadows Metal Plate Available on Amazon Assassin's Creed Shadows Poster Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Shadows Yasuke and Naoe Framed Image Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Shadows Maxi Poster by Abysse Corp Available from: Assassin's Creed Shadows Displate Metal Poster Available from BestBuy Assassin's Creed Shadows prints by Blend Cota Available from Blend Cota Cups, Mugs, Drinking Vessels Assassin's Creed Shadows Yasuke Naoe Mug Available from Al.to Assassin's Creed Shadows Mug by Abysse Corp Available for pre-order from: Assassin's Creed Shadows Mug by Abysse Corp Available for pre-order from: Assassin's Creed Shadows Mug Available for pre-order from: Xzone X-kom Assassin's Creed Shadows Chalice by Nemesis Now. Available for pre-order from: Amuzzi SmartToys Assassin's Creed Shadows Stein by Nemesis Now Available for pre-order from GamesAndComics IT ShopForGeek SmartToys Keychains Assassin's Creed Shadows keychain by Abysse Corp Assassin's Creed Naoe Katana Keychain Available from XKomPl Xzone CZ Assassin's Creed Shadows 3D Naoe Keychain Available from Xzone CZ Assassin's Creed Shadows - Creed Logo Metal Keychain by Difuzed. Available from: Assassin's Creed Shadows - Logo Round Metal Keychain by Difuzed. Available from: Assassin's Creed Shadows - Kusarigama Metal Keychain by Difuzed. Available from: Random Assassin's Creed Shadows Red Sun doormat Available from EMP and DPI Merchandising Assassin's Creed Shadows 1000 piece jigsaw Available from Xzone CZ Promotional Items Around 70 promotional lockboxes were sent to content creators during the marketing campaign for Assassin's Creed Shadows. The boxes, and their contents should be considered incredibly rare. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

Quick-Fire Community Questions - Round 6: Daniel Nagy (AC Hungaria Admin) Community Interview Share 30 Apr 2019 Written By: Edited By: Ashlea Blackett Colum Blackett Back To Database Ashlea: Please tell us a little bit about yourself? Daniel: Thanks for having me. My name’s Daniel Nagy, but in the virtual world a lot of people know me as AidanLynge. I’m one of the admin of the Assassin’s Creed Hungária community, which is a hungarian group with a lot of good people. I’m 25 years old. I’m still a student but still learning programming for my future job. Ashlea: When did you become a fan of Assassin's Creed? Daniel: A day after my elementary school we went to my friend’s house and decided to play something cool. We first played Need for Speed, but that doesn’t help us to relax, after that he showed a DVD box, the name’s Assassin’s Creed. I think we played it on XP, so it was really cool and enjoyable. That’s the time I still playing this awesome franchise. Ashlea: Which was the first game you played? Daniel: Just as I mentioned before, Assassin’s Creed was the first one I played, I really enjoyed, at first I didn’t care about the lore or the main characters, but then it really got me. Ashlea: How did the Assassin's Creed Hungary Fan Community arrise? How big is the community? Daniel: This is a hard job to keep the balance in the community. To be honest, I was once another "group" or "community” admin, but that was not working properly. After that I met this one, which is very attractive and developing, and the perfect place for me. The community is very big, if I count the facebook page and group, I can say we are definitely growing and we want to keep that going. We have great admins, who are the biggest fans in the community, and that’s why they’re the best, but the community as well. Ashlea: What projects have Assassin's Creed Hungary worked on? Daniel: My personal project is kinda like a lore base series which will be the Assassin’s Creed Hungary Lore in our mother language, so it takes a lot of time to work on this project. With the other admins we have a plan to participate in an IT event to represent us. Also we’re planning to go one of the AC Symphony concert in the future from Milano. Ashlea: What are the challenges you have found in managing a community? Daniel: Stay active! That’s our motto, but this is the truth. Beside of the work in AC Hungária, we’re managing this community as a hobby as well. We’re really like to work as main job in this community and everyday give content to our loyal members. Ashlea: Have you attended any Assassin's Creed events? Daniel: We had little events when Assassin’s Creed Revelations and Black Flag came out. The company who worked in as a publisher in our country organised these events. We could try the new games before the day it should be released and there were a lot of competition where you could win a lot of AC related gifts. Ashlea: Have you ever attended any events in cosplay? Daniel: Actually not, I didn’t do any cosplay at all, but it’s good to see that our community are trying to make awesome outfits and collectibles on their own creativity. Ashlea: What are the future plans of your community? Where do you See yourselves in one year? Daniel: We have high hope to work with Ubisoft on our common project as well. Ashlea: What are your prediction for Assassin's Creed in 2020? Daniel: I really want to go back to Rome, which was a rumour, that we could able to go back to the ancient Rome, but honestly, I really love playing in different eras, but I could see an AC, which could be play in Hungary. I don’t say that’s impossible, but our history is not so popular abroad. My fellow admins say they could really imagine a Far East or a Viking story as well…which could be possible because of the new rumours. I could really enjoy that as well. Ashlea: What is your favourite part of being a community member? Daniel: To belong somewhere. I’m not a popular guy, who really enjoys the late night’s or drinking parties. I really like helping people to understand this amazing world of Assassin’s Creed. This is my relief, this is my "job”, but also a hobby as well and I could see myself as a director of our community later. Ashlea: What are your highlights from being a part of the Assassin's Creed community? Daniel: I joined this community about half a year ago and we’re planning to celebrate the 2nd anniversary. This is a really big step for me as well, because we can meet each other, not just sitting behind our desk and chat with each other. We’re really proud of the community. They’re the best for us and we love this feeling. Ashlea: Which is your favourite Assassin's Creed game? Daniel: Hard to decide on that, because i really loved every part of it, but if I have to decide, then I should say Rogue. Strange, but it was a really big turn on the franchise where we were Assassins once, but then joined the Templars. I also love Revelations, it was an emotionally rich game of the franchise where we finished the Ezio’s line, I really like that as well. But in the new direction of the game, I really love Odyssey as well. I’ve never played an RPG before Origins, so it was a really good way to know this RPG world, also loves Greek history as well. Which game made you fall in love with the franchise? The first one. If I don’t know that I could barely imagine myself in here as well. It started me thinking that could be an awesome franchise and here we are after so many games of it, and still loving it. Ashlea: What is your favourite item in your assassin's creed collection? Daniel: I wish I could collect more of these thing, because I only buy the books/comics and the games, but I have the Freedom Cry edition of AC3 and Buccaneer Edition of Black Flag. When I set my own apartment, I’m going to start collecting every collectible I could have. We would like to thank Daniel for joining us for this round of Quick-Fire Community Questions. You can find the AC Hungaria Community on: Facebook (Group) Website comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Ashlea is the Editor/ Charity Project Coordinator for The Ones Who Came Before on its wide variety of social media platforms. Her main responsibilities for TOWCB involve creating and editing articles, organisation of events and coordinating our charity fundraising, as well as hosting the Rally The Creed Podcast. Ashlea Blackett

Assassin's Creed Community Survey Results: Characters That Deserve a Game Community Share 31 Mar 2021 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Here are the results of our recent Assassin's Creed community survey, outlining the characters that you, our fans, believe deserve a game of their own! We would like to say a huge thank you to all of our fans who provided feedback! Keep an eye on our Twitter account for more surveys and opportunities. Results comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

This Week in Assassin's Creed Virtual Photography: 30th July - 5th August 2022 - 6 Month Anniversary Special Community Share 8 Aug 2022 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week, we will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for capture across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. This week we have our 6 month special, you will find 1 shot from each month ranked by myself. There were so many wonderful captures over the months it really was a difficult task picking out just 6. 1) Golden Sands Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins Month: June 2022 The winning shot comes from @ PodToGo using the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture Twitter hashtag. I had to pick this as my winning shot, the way the capture is presented mimics the promotional material Ubisoft used when launching Assassin’s Creed Origins. I remember seeing shots just like this one and being super hyped for the game. Origins would go on to become my favourite game in the series despite its move away from the classic formula. Just looking at this photo again now, I love the saturation and how it makes the sky and the sand standout. You also cannot overlook how cool Bayek looks marching across the desert in search of his next victim. 2) Twilight Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Month: March 2022 2nd Place goes to @ dpruttz_vp a member of our Assassin’s Creed VP Twitter Community. This capture embodies the Dawn of Ragnarok expansion. At the time I was still pretty new to writing these articles, but its shots like this that just blow you away. A fantastic portrait capturing the whole of Havi as he stands ready to fight for Asgard. This photo could easily be mistaken for a painting it is that good! The Twilight armour came as a pre order bonus for the Ragnarok expansion, and I must say it makes for cracking captures. The excellent timing of this shot allowed the VP to capture the fiery sparks flying around Havi and the turn of the head showcases his famous eye patch. 3) London Calling Game: Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Month: July 2022 3rd Place goes to @ MissEvieFrye , a member of our Assassin’s Creed VP Twitter Community. I love this shot as, not only is it different, it comes from a game that, until recently, did not feature too heavily in the VP community. As a fan of in game captures, the AC15 celebrations have been a breath of fresh air, bringing shots from many different games. This photo stood out during Syndicate week due to its elegance. The black outfit with the gold markings and a classic touch of red, stand out thanks to the leap Jacob is currently performing. It’s crazy how the blurred background and the portrait format add to the feel of parkour in action. There are nice touches in this shot but most of all the hidden blade is the standout, subtle but classic 4) Collection Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Month: May 2022 4th place goes to @ Jakeste66386991 a member of our Assassin’s Creed VP Twitter Community. I am never sure if I looked into this one too much, but then again a photo can mean whatever you want it too I guess. During my time scrolling the many Assassin’s Creed captures, I am always impressed when people edit multiple shots together. I love the way that it create a kind of storyboard. For me this one sums up Valhalla and the time period in which it is set. Eivor representing the Assassins due to the hood and the hidden eyes. The Raven (Odin) signifying the Vikings/Norse Mythology and the cross symbolising the Saxons and King Alfred. The story of how England came to be, right there in a single photo. 5) Fox Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Month: April 2022 5th place goes to @ Gwyn_VP over on Twitter. This shot made my top 6 due to it being something a little different from the norm. I adore how the Ubisoft team have created a living environment in their games. Although Origins had the best predator/prey moments as you travel Egypt, I found Valhalla to be more peaceful and scenic. The fox’s details are wonderful and the pose so characteristic of an animal startled in the woods. It is not easy capturing the wildlife in Valhalla especially as perfectly as this, credit has to go to GwynVP for this. As I said before Valhalla is now the benchmark for Foxes, only time will tell if an upcoming game could takes that crown. 6) Viking Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Month: February 6th place goes to @ Snowy_exe over on Twitter. Featured in my very first article all the way back In Feb 22. Seems like a lifetime ago that I started doing these showcases. This portrait actually inspired me to attempt more black background shots. I love the lighting in this capture, along with the background because it simply allows Eivor to shine. The level of detail captured here is phenomenal. For all the bombastic armour sets we get in the game nothing compares to this classic Viking look. From hair to tattoos, furs to leathers all the intricacies are on show here. A fitting shot to conclude our showcase. And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography 6 month special. A special thank you to everyone who has taken part over the last 6 months, I would not be able to do this without you. Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

New Assassin's Creed Shadows 1.1.1 Update: Full Breakdown Breakdown Share 12 Sept 2025 Written By: Edited By: Zephryss Colum Blackett Back To Database Ubisoft has finally launched the new Assassin's Creed Shadows 1.1.1 update on September 11th. This update includes lots of features and was also released before the Claws of Awaji DLC. Here is everything you need to know. Claws of Awaji Expansion In this expansion to Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you will discover a new island region dominated by the Sanzoku Ippa, a nefarious faction intent on uncovering the final Regalia. You will need to avoid traps and ambushes as you track the legendary Fujibayashi Tsuyu. Naoe will get a new weapon Bo staff to eliminate enemies with tactical efficiency. There will be New legendary gear, skills and abilities also await across more than 10 hours of additional content. New Free Story Quest: Go With The Bo In this quest you will join Junjiro to meet a legendary Bo Master and learn more about the Bo staff, a dynamic new weapon type perfectly suited to Naoe’s acrobatic fighting style. Upon finishing the quest, you will receive a Bo to use across your adventures. Ubisoft confirmed that the Bo weapon will now be free for everyone, whether you own the DLC or not. It was originally developed exclusively for the Claws of Awaji expansion. Level Cap Increase Ubisoft has also increased the level cap to 100 for the Claws of Awaji DLC, giving players more room to grow and additional options to customize their builds. New Hideout Upgrades In the new Hideout update, each unique building now includes 2 additional upgrade levels, bringing the total to 20 new enhancements, alongside 3 new Hideout levels. These upgrades introduce: Valuable bonuses that accelerate Hideout growth Improved crafting capability by making Gold more accessible Direct enhancements to Naoe, Yasuke, and their allies, making them more effective in both combat and exploration Advance Time of Day You will gain the ability to meditate and skip time forward to the next 6 o’clock (AM or PM) by upgrading the Nando to level 2. To activate meditation, find a safe location and hold the Up button (L on keyboard). Enhanced Gear Quality By upgrading the Forge to level 6, Naoe and Yasuke gain the ability to enhance their gear to new quality tiers: Mythic and Artifact. Once an item reaches one of these tiers, it can be further upgraded through eight additional levels to unlock its full potential. Epic items can be transformed into Mythic items, which improve their stats with each level, add a Boosted Stat if one wasn’t present, and boost non-legendary perks, including the one in the engraving slot, by 50% at level 5 and 100% at level 9. (For perks related to damage reduction, refill ration, ammo, or tools, this bonus is halved, capped at a 50% increase at level 9) Legendary items can be transformed into Artifact items, which not only increase their stats with each level but also gain additional Boosted Stats at levels 3, 7, and twice at level 9. Engraved non-legendary perks are also boosted, just like with Mythic items. These powerful enhancements are designed as long-term goals, supporting players through the increasing difficulty of subsequent New Game+ cycles and other upcoming challenges. New Project: Sanctuary Ubisoft has added a new project called Sanctuary to the Animus Hub. It includes: Ezio Renaissance Robe & Hood Eagle Head Kusarigama Rooftop Cat Pet Charm of Firenze Trinket Improved Scouts Upgrading the Study to level 4 now allows Scouts to reveal both Viewpoints and Safehouses. Discovering Safehouses is especially valuable, as it lets Naoe and Yasuke join the action more quickly by reducing their travel time. With the Kakurega upgraded to level 4, uncovering all Viewpoints within a province will also reveal the entire province automatically, giving players full visibility of its terrain and strategic locations. There will be no more fog on the map. New Anomaly Missions in Awaji With the release of the Claws of Awaji expansion, new Anomaly Missions will be available in that region, with one appearing in every schedule. These Anomalies will only be accessible to players who have the DLC installed. Additionally the cutscenes are no longer limited to 30 FPS on PC. More Information on Claws of Awajii DLC Here’s the new official poster for the Claws of Awaji DLC in Assassin's Creed Shadows. The Claws of Awaji releases on September 16 at 05:00 AM PT / 08:00 AM ET / 12:00 PM UTC / 09:00 PM JST. If you did not pre-order the game, the DLC will be available for purchase on all platforms for $25/€25 on September 16. Here are some new official screenshots from the Claws of Awaji DLC in Assassin's Creed Shadows. Official global release timings for the Claws of Awaji DLC in Assassin's Creed Shadows. What do you think about this new update, and how excited are you for the upcoming Claws of Awaji DLC? Share your thoughts below! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Zephryss is a passionate social media manager based in India who joined TOWCB's Social Media Team in Summer 2024 to help the team prepare for coverage of Assassin's Creed Shadows news and updates. Recently, he completed his Masters degree in Electrical Engineering and is now preparing to take on a PhD. He loves video games very much, and since childhood has enjoyed playing various types of games in different genres He also has 3 gaming channels (Zephryss, Assassin Zephryss & Spider Zephryss) where he uploads gameplay videos regularly. Zephryss

Interview with Magnus Bruun (Eivor in Assassin's Creed Valhalla) Interview Share 21 Dec 2020 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) Ashlea Buckley Back To Database To celebrate AC Day, we interviewed Magnus Bruun, who provided the voice and mo-cap performance for the male version of Eivor in Assassin's Creed Valhalla! Colum: Hi Magnus, thanks for joining us today! I'd like to start by exploring your Assassin's Creed journey. When you first auditioned for the role, did you know that it was for an Assassin's Creed game or a Viking related project, and was it always with the intention of playing male Eivor? Magnus: When I first heard of the project back in the spring of 2019, it was called The Black Wolf Saga and was an animated Viking series to be filmed in Canada. So when I made my selftape I had no idea what was actually going on, nor did my agent. It was first when I got the call back and the invitation to come to London for the audition that we found out that it was Ubisoft who was producing it, but we still didn’t know exactly what it was. So I flew from Copenhagen to London still in the blind, but when I entered the audition room and was met by Darby McDevitt and three other directors from Ubisoft Montreal it all became very clear. Also I originally auditioned for the role as Sigurd, but that changed when I got the call back and for my two days of castings in London I was auditioning for Eivor. Colum: What were your initial thoughts on the character? Magnus: I loved Eivor, such a great character to dive into. Eivor is stubbornly independent, honor bound, strong and adventurous but also a character dealing with a childhood trauma trying to find the way to a brighter future. Colum: This is the first time the series has split a character into both male and female versions. How did filming work, and did you take turns with Cecilie to film scenes? Magnus: I shot almost all of the cinematics for Eivor so we never really took turns, but we did shoot one scene together, though I really can’t talk about that one since it would spoil the game for the players who hasn’t completed it yet. I love the fact that everyone playing AC Valhalla gets to met and live as Eivor and that you as a gamer make your own choice to how and who your Eivor is going to be, so I think the character choice in the game is working very well. I also really love Cecilie Stenspil's acting and voice work and I think she did an amazing job with the character. Colum: How are you finding the motion capture, and do you ever get used to it? Magnus: I found the motion capture a bit weird an unsatisfying in the beginning because I just came from shooting two seasons of The Last Kingdom. On the big Netflix set in Hungary I had an army, was riding a black stallion, looking like a true Viking warlord in my armour with scars, full beard and face tattoos, and now I had to be clean shaven for the facial scans and HMC (head mounted camera) and my costume was a tight spandex suit with small dots all around, not very ‘Vikingy’. At the Alice Studios in Montreal there was nothing, or all most nothing. It’s an enormous room with green screen, a hundred cameras on the ceiling and four steady-cam operators walking around you, but there are no horses, the castle is made of boxes and when I jump over Yggdrasils roots (spoiler, sorry), it’s just me jumping over some big ropes and sandbags lying on the floor. So I had to cope with that, but after a few days it gave me a lot of freedom. In a studio like this everything is suddenly possible and from the moment I fully understood that, I embraced it and never looked back. BTW the people working at the Alice Studio were so professional and helpful and they made all my weeks of shooting feel great, adequate and very fun. Colum: Did recording during lockdown present any challenges, and did the team manage to overcome them? Magnus: I filmed my last performance capture in Montreal the day after the Danish Prime Minister locked Denmark down. Then I flew home and we actually managed to record all the rest of the voice overs without having any real difficulties, thank God! Talking about the voice work I have to give my utmost respect to my voice director Thor Bishopric. Working with him made Eivor come to life in the voice-overs and I have a feeling that we created the character together. I also want to praise Allan Beaupre our incredible voice designer, Sebastian Vaskio my sound technician ninja and all the other wonderful people working with me and Cecilie Stenspil during the hundreds and hundreds of hours we used in voice studios all over Canada, England and Denmark. There wouldn’t be any Eivor in this game without their tireless work. Never forget! Colum: Do you think that your time working on The Last Kingdom contributed towards any of Eivor's traits? Magnus: Portraying Cnut in The Last Kingdom definitely gave me a great deal of stamina towards playing Eivor in AC Valhalla. Though they are two very different characters, (one off them allegedly being being a villain) they are both Viking warriors getting more and more power and influence. Family and a home for their clan and their people are important to them and they are both very ambitious, but then it sort of ends there. Cnut being the unsung hero of his own saga, Eivor actually is the real hero of the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Saga. I shot my last scene as Cnut for season four of The Last Kingdom a week before I flew to Canada and started the first motion capture shoot as Eivor, so I was in the mindset of a Viking and had been it for more than three years, and that helped a lot. Colum: Which type of flyting do you prefer? Normal (insults) or reverse (compliments)? Magnus: Normal flyting with insults of course! Colum: Which missions were your favourite to shoot, and did you have fun working on the game? Magnus: My favourite part of the game is the main story with Sigurd and Basim and in details I think everything involving Fulke, brilliantly portrayed by Gaia Weiss. The four of us had so much fun shooting all the performance capture scenes and Gummi, Carlo (Gudmundur Thorvaldsson & Carlo Rota), Gaia and I had a blast in Montreal when we had any spare time. And YES I obviously loved working on the game and I love that it’s still not finished. I’m currently working on the DLC’s, Seasons and press for the game, so Eivor is still out and proud and doing all the dirty work. Also I made some great friends in Montreal and I don’t think I want to go back to my old life without Darby McDevitt and Alain Mercieca in it. Best damn writers, brains and lovely funny people I’ve ever met. Period. Colum: Do you have a favourite (non-spoiler) line? Magnus: As Eivor returns to his childhood home in Norway he says: ‘Home. Or it used to be home… Now it’s nothing but bone.’ And may I just add that I freaking love Norway in the game. It’s the most beautiful stunning place! Colum: Have you had much time to play Valhalla yourself? If so, are you focusing on story or exploration? Magnus: I haven’t been playing the game much since the release, but I’ve played it while we where making it. I’ve been watching some of my friends play it and I enjoy that a lot. The thing is that I know everything. I have read it all. Said almost all of it. So there’s no surprises. But when I’ll finally sit down and dig deep into it, I’ll plow through the main story so I can listen to my great colleagues work. And then I’ll go back to Norway and just explore. Jump from Island to island and enjoy the northern lights. AC Sisterhood graphic by Dylan and Sebastian Dell’Aria from The Mentor's Guild Colum: How do you feel the game has been received overall, and have you seen any of the fan content created to celebrate its arrival? Magnus: It feels like most people really enjoy the game and that makes me happy. Of course we can’t satisfy everybody but when millions of people are playing the game that’s always a hard thing to do. I heard there were people wanting Eivor to sound like Kratos from God of War, those people are hard to please. (BTW I love Christopher Judges voice) Back when we approached the character we wanted Eivor to be someone people would listen to, someone people would fall in love with, make alliances with someone to follow and genuinely like as well as be afraid of at the right times. We wanted to make a real human being with strengths and flaws. So if you are only looking for a bloodthirsty Viking, sorry, Eivor can be that, but not all the time. About the fan content and art. I freaking f****** love it! Keep it coming! Colum: One thing that was noticeable during the marketing campaign was the focus on male Eivor over female, contributing towards the creation of the AC Sisterhood movement. Do you have a message for fans picking up the game for the first time regarding character selection? Magnus: I believe that AC Sisterhood is a very important movement and I really think you should keep up the incredible work you are doing and keep pushing. Things are changing in the world and also in the gaming communities and the female representation will change for the better even though the battle sometimes feels Sisyphean. I’ll personally do what I can to push things in the right direction and you can always call on me for help, I mean that. When my Eivor arrives in England the first place I will go is the western part of Wessex. Here I’ll find myself an underground entrance so I for the rest of the game can show off some powerful tattoos with the most wonderful logo! And I think that you should pic the Eivor you want. It’s a great game anyway you play it. Cecilie Stenspil did a fantastic job with her Eivor and I did my absolutely best with mine. Whatever choice you make you can always switch whenever you play it or you can let the Animus decide. Just go with your gut feeling. I think I’m gonna give Female Eivor a go because I’ve been listening to my own voice for all my life and I know how I’ve said and played every single one of the eleven thousand lines Eivor has in the game, so for me it’s time for a change. But pick your poison it’s a good drink anyway you drink it. Colum: You recently attended the Assassin's Creed Valhalla launch event in Denmark, organised by the Ubisoft Nordic team. How was it? Magnus: Yes I did, and it was great. Drunk Uncle Covid has f***** up the entire planet at the moment, so obviously it wasn’t the launch we wanted, but we had a good time. I met a lot of fans of the franchise, talked about making the game and signed posters. When we get to the other side of this weird period in the world I really look forward to meeting more fans at conventions but at the moment it has to be online, sadly. We’ll prevail and when the sun shines again it’ll all be perfect. So wear your face mask and take care of each other then we’ll get to the other side faster. Meanwhile I’ll make you a second DLC. Deal? Cheers Magnus Look out for our Assassin's Creed Valhalla review, coming January 2021! We would like to thank Magnus for joining us for this interview, and to Kim Beacham and DMJ Consultancy for making it possible! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

TOWCB Recap: Reddit AMA with the Assassin’s Creed Mirage Dev Team News Share 13 Jul 2023 Written By: Edited By: Michael Smith Back To Database Banner by Thea Marie Rivedal (Moonchildgecko) from TOWCB Art Team. The official Assassin’s Creed Twitter account announced this last week that the devs of AC Mirage would be holding an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit’s r/Assassin’s Creed on the 13th of July, 2023. Present for the AMA were Creative Director Stephane Boudon, Narrative Director Sarah Beaulieu, and Art Director Jean-Luc Sala. The Q&A session lasted for about 3 hours with 23k reported views (via Moderator u/WhiteWolfWhispers) and we have gathered and trimmed all of the questions and responses from the devs below for you to read in an easy and organized fashion. You can read through the full subreddit thread here . Game Development and Design u/WhiteWolfWhispers: Just curious, at what point during Valhalla was it decided to make Mirage a full game instead of a dlc and why? Sarah Beaulieu: Hi! We decided to make Mirage a full game in the following weeks after starting working on it. The opportunity of working on the city of Baghdad, and on the character of Basim, was too good to be missed! u/SparkedSynapse: Is there a chance of Assassin Focus being visually retouched to add more digital-artifacting, Animus distortion, floating text, and the like? Stephane Boudon: The walkthrough trailer was still work in progress and we continue to improve the visual of the game. u/andyreloads-YouTube: How long will it take in hours to complete the game (100%) & how big is the map in KM? Sarah Beaulieu: In terms of playtime, we are closer to the first AC games. u/SparkedSynapse: Is there any chance of quest replay or mission replay being made available in a potential post-launch update? Stephane Boudon: For now, Mirage has no plan for DLC or extensive post-launch u/Ras_AlHim: Maybe a silly question, but will there be credits playing at the end (unlike the past few ACs)? Sarah Beaulieu: Not a silly question! Yes, you'll be able to read the names of everyone who worked on Mirage at the end of the game! u/ClaudioACSy: I would like to know what accomplishment you're the most proud of and what is the hardest challenge you've faced during the development of this game? Sarah Beaulieu: I'm especially proud of the cast of characters and actors we gathered for Mirage. The talents brought passion and authenticity to the story, and I'm so grateful for this. When working on a complex and huge lore such as Assassin's Creed, the hardest challenge is to stay consistent, while creating bridges with existing lore elements, and new ones... This is key! Story u/NeedleworkerPure5092: The game is set in the period called “Anarchy at Samarra”. Then, why doesn't it include Samarra, Basim’s birthplace and the Abbasid Caliphate’s capital at that time? It’s the city where all of the caliphs lived and most important historical events happened. Sarah Beaulieu: The city of Baghdad was the center of the world at that time, home to many scholars and artists, so we decided it was the perfect place for our story. And back then, caliphs came to Baghdad regularly. We tell the story of the origins of the rebellion, and tie it to the Hidden Ones'. u/PapaSmurph: Why give Basim an Eagle companion when he had no such companion in Valhalla and Eagle Vision makes the Eagle companion almost obsolete? Sarah Beaulieu: Hello! About the eagle, and on the story side, you'll get an answer in Mirage on why Basim doesn't have his eagle in Valhalla… u/Sir-Fluf: Could you explain your decision to not include modern day within this game? Will we still see some in the future? Sarah Beaulieu: Hi, thanks for the question! As the game is more condensed in terms of narrative, we decided to focus on Basim's story during his time in Baghdad, since it was already so dense. There is a scene at the beginning of the game where you will have the modern day context, then the experience will focus on Basim's evolution as a Hidden One. u/fabled765: What is the approach to weaving philosophy into the story of Mirage? Does Basim seek liberty for all or just himself? Sarah Beaulieu: Freedom is actually the core theme of the conflict. Basim is torn between his strong will to bring back justice in Baghdad, and his own struggles. This supports the whole story and character evolution. u/NoTax20: Will there be any ties/connections to Origins or the Babylonians? Jean-Luc Sala: The visual identity we chose for the masks of the Order of the Ancients has a connection to AC Origins, which also suggests a presence of the Order during the Babylonian era. We also have in-game items that will definitely remind you of Origins. u/OlgaBaikova: Why did you choose Basim to be the main character of this game? We've seen the end of his story in Valhalla, and if this game becomes an absolute success, there will be not much left to explore about Basim's life in case of a sequel; unlike the mysterious other assassin, Haytham, whose life we know almost nothing about, and who is the "real deal", if you know what I mean. Sarah Beaulieu: Basim's origin story was basically a blank page, so we saw this as a great opportunity to explore his complex personality. He is the kind of character I love working on. How did he become the character from Valhalla? What happened to him? And as the team really wanted to explore Baghdad's history, Basim made even more sense! u/lillchicken126: What books did the team read to get ready for this period? Jean-Luc Sala: A lot, but Guy Le Strange book "Baghdad During the Abbasid Caliphate From Contemporary Arabic and Persian Sources" was a solid start for us. Historians, specialists of the topic, inside and outside Ubisoft helped us a lot. Gameplay u/yautja-hunter: Will there be assassin headquarters like in the earlier games? Also, can we train our own assassins and use them in combat? Sarah Beaulieu: Each district in Baghdad has a Hidden Ones Bureau, where you will report to the rafiqs and collect assassination contracts. The experience is centered around Basim becoming a Master Assassin, therefore he does not train any other assassins yet! u/Assassiinuss: Also in the gameplay walkthrough the player picks up a contract from a board - are those contracts handcrafted and limited in number (as in you can do every contract only once) or are they randomly generated out of a set of locations, objectives and other modifiers like for example the quests from the message boards in the Wrath of the Druids DLC? Stephane Boudon: All the contracts are handcrafted and limited in number, no random generation. u/SparkedSynapse: How possible and available are Ejects during movement? Stephane Boudon: For Parkour we are focusing on fluidity and control and building our own thing, taking inspiration from several ACs. Back ejects and side ejects as in the pre-AC3 games are not part of our Parkour system, but we put a lot of effort working on small details to make sure players have the best control on Basim. We are still fine-tuning the Parkour to reinforce even more this control and the feeling of fluidity and agility when traversing Baghdad. Abilities u/SparkedSynapse: If they have the resource for it, can a player activate Assassin Focus during any state? (Walking, Jumping, On A Wall, etc) Stephane Boudon: You can only activate the Assassin Focus outside a conflict. u/SixKeys: How does the skill tree work? Can we obtain skills in any order and ignore ones we don't care for, or do we have to buy certain skills to unlock the rest? Can we unequip skills and armor for a no-upgrades run? Stephane Boudon: We’re still fine tuning the skill tree. Skills are dependent on each other so you will have to unlock a path to access the next skill. You can unequip most skills except the ones concerning an additional tool we newly added. Armor/Outfit can’t be unequipped, but you can override them visually with a Costume. u/Ti2738: What are your thoughts on the backlash towards the new “Focus Assassination”, specifically towards the comments on how it ruins the game by being too fantasy-like visually. Is it too late to change the look of this ability and, in your honest opinion, do you agree with what people are saying or do you stand by how the ability looks currently? Stephane Boudon: Basim is an incredibly agile and efficient Assassin, and when using the Assassin Focus he is so fast that the Animus has a hard time keeping up with his movements - that's what we convey with the visual effect. From a game design point of view the Assassin Focus is an incentive for players to use Stealth, as you need to do Stealth kills to fill in your gauge. It is also a way to reward the player with a possibility to eliminate in a blast the remaining targets of a specific location. But using it is completely optional and it will be your choice to invest or not skill points in the ability to upgrade it. When triggering it, you will also have to be very careful about where Basim will end after the last kill, or you could be easily detected. Stealth u/SixKeys: Can you tell us more about social stealth? Can we blend with anyone or just certain groups? Is blending automatic or do we need to press/hold a button like in Valhalla? Stephane Boudon: You can blend with any civilians in AC Mirage (except children) as soon as you have three people in Basim’s vicinity, however you can also trigger a patrol blending. Equipment u/BrunoHM: Outside of the 6 tools shown, are there more to be revealed? Could we get more examples of how we can change their properties? Stephane Boudon: Yes, Basim will be able to access 3 tiers for each of the five tools he will unlock (Torch is not upgradable). Each tier will allow you to choose a new modifier. For instance, a smoke bomb can be turned into a healing vapor refilling Basim’s health or throwing knife can be charged to deal more damage. u/Assassiinuss: In the gameplay walkthrough it is said that tools will get branching upgrades - are those choices permanent or can they be swapped/rolled back? Stephane Boudon: You can roll back or swap those upgrades at the bureau if you want. u/MedicinalM1Abrams: What differentiates costumes from outfits? Are they disguises that the player can wear to better blend in and sneak into enemy compounds(like a guard costume that lets Basim walk right through the front gates of a restricted area?) Jean-Luc Sala: Costumes are official costumes Basim would wear in "real life" (like the assassins costumes) and outfits are to player discretion. You can dye the outfits and not the costumes. In certain circumstances the game will require [you] to wear some specific costumes in order to infiltrate a location. Outfit[s] give you specific perks. u/Enviromental-Crew66: Will there be an option to toggle Basim's hood during gameplay? Either like Valhalla with a quick access wheel or in Origins with a menu button? Stephane Boudon: No, you can’t do it. For us, Basim is a predator that must remain hidden. It was for us natural that Basim keeps his hood on every time he’s on [a] mission in Baghdad like Altair will do later. Of course, you will be able to witness Basim without his hood in bureaus or when Basim is with his fellow Hidden Ones. u/MedicinalM1Abrams: What exactly are talismans meant to be? Do they have any tangible gameplay benefit or are they trophies/trinkets taken from any one of Basims targets that we can wear for further aesthetic customization? Sarah Beaulieu: The talismans are cosmetic only! But I can already tell you that some of them are well hidden in the world… u/andyreloads-YouTube: Is there an ISU armor set to obtain in Mirage? Sarah Beaulieu: About the Isu elements, we definitely have some surprises in store! Exploration u/BrunoHM: After the prologue, how much freedom do we have in regards to the main targets and map exploration? Will our Rank restrict us in the same way "Levels" or "Power" would? Stephane Boudon: The first target is mandatory in Baghdad after that you’ll be free to start your investigation in one of the 3 other bureaus of Baghdad. u/BrunoHM: Exploration-wise, are you using Valhalla's Artifacts, Mysteries and Wealth? What type of activities, and rewards, will we find around Baghdad and Alamut? Stephane Boudon: Like in AC Valhalla you will be able to discover unique world events, treasure maps and loot but we have also new specific activities, such as pickpocket contracts and roaming target to tackle inside the world. u/BusyBizBusyBiz: Even if the main story is shorter than previous installments, will we be able to keep playing with challenges and exploration? In the same vein, is there a new game plus planned for this release? Sarah Beaulieu: Apart from the main story, you will encounter world events as you explore Baghdad and its surroundings: you will meet characters and experience short narrative moments! You will also have assassination contracts that you will collect from the Hidden Ones Bureau, as well as world activities. All of them support either the world, the lore, or Basim's characterization. World & Environment u/Max-full: How did you reconstruct the city of Baghdad during this period ? Was it difficult? Jean-Luc Sala: Was it difficult ? Well bringing back to life a lost city is for sure always a challenge. Historians inside and outside Ubisoft were a great help. We will give details on this topic in our next Dev Diary. We based our work on Guy LeStrange['s] incredible book about Baghdad. The map of Baghdad in the game is very close to the Le Strange reconstruction. Le Strange book : Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate. u/neelabh2818: How dense is the city? Jean-Luc Sala: The city is very, very large. From an urbanistic point of view : it depends on the district, we have some intricate streets in the poor districts like in the city of Anbar and the workers district. Some other areas have large avenues. You will have the feelings of Mazes in the Round City. From a population point of view: you can expect more people in the commercial district of Karkh. u/Ras_AlHim: How different are the districts of Baghdad visually, what makes them unique? Jean-Luc Sala: The type of people and activities to be found in each city will affect their look and feel. Each District surrounding the Round City has a dedicated role. One is mostly industry and workers houses, the other is dedicated to trading and the last is about knowledge and science. You can expect very typical landmarks for each, [such] as factories, Great Mosque, Prison, Grand Bazaar, sellers streets and markets, Pharmacy, Hospital (Bimaristan), House of Wisdom, to name a few. The heart of the empire is the Round City and you can expect in this specific part of the city, the most exquisite display of Abbasid architecture and gardens, Administrations, Harem, a zoo and the Caliphal Palace at the very centre of the City. u/norranradd: What part of Baghdad did you enjoy building the most, or what part of the city is the most beautiful? Jean-Luc Sala: It's hard to choose :) I love the reconstruction of Dur-Kurigalzu (An ancient Ziggurat) and the southern marshes with flocks of Flamingos. The Western movie vibes of the Nestorian monastery is also one of my fav places. Of course the jewel of the empire is the round city, but the vibes in the bazaar district and the district of wisdom are really places I love to wander. As you see, it's hard to choose. :) Game Options & Modes u/SparkedSynapse: Was the Quick-Save feature visible in recent screenshots of the Inventory screen made available due to the consideration that Mirage leans harder on Stealth, and thus more punishing combat than Assassin's Creed previously has in many years? Stephane Boudon: In a way, we noticed stealth players love quick saving and we decided to make it more accessible. The game difficulty is a factor of course. u/SparkedSynapse: How does the Quick-Save feature work, and how "reliable" is loading your Quick-Save? In Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla for example, loading a save sometimes caused guards to be mispositioned or for guards "killed in a previous timeline" (IE, killed before you loaded the save) to still be dead. How "bulletproof" do you feel Quick-Save is? Are there important limitations for us to be aware of, with this feature? Stephane Boudon: This is part of our debug process, and we are committed to give you the best level of quality for AC Mirage. u/virtualtourism: Will there be a photomode to capture Basim and Baghdad? Will it be improved from the previous titles to have a photo mode? Jean-Luc Sala: Yes we still use the photo mode and you will have a lot of opportunities as Baghdad and surroundings are really visually stunning. You can also try to photo safari the now extinct Arabian Ostriches. We'll have the same feature set as for ACV, but you will also be able to play in-game (and capture shots through Photomode) with our AC1 nostalgic filter. u/Moon_Logic: Will there be a Discovery Tour or at least a no enemies free roam mode? How hard was it to recreate a city that was destroyed so long ago? Is accuracy even possible? Jean-Luc Sala: The recently announced feature "History of Baghdad" is our way to bring the historical content forward in your game experience. It felt important to us to share all the historical research and knowledge that went into the making of the game. Even if the city was destroyed in the 13th century, a lot of information can be found about [the] city . The reconstruction started with us learning the architectural Abbasid style in order to find back "the spirit of Baghdad". Bringing back the codex is also part of our "back to the roots" overall take on the game :) So what are your thoughts on what we learned today? Share your thoughts here or on our @ ACFirstCiv Twitter and on Facebook. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Mike Smith is a collector of all things Assassin's Creed and a major supporter of transmedia who joined TOWCB as a writer from 2021 - 2024 With nearly a full library of Assassin's Creed media, his work explored the universe in order of Genetic Memory. Notably, his Assassin's Creed Timeline became an essential tool for fans of the franchise looking to complete their collection and consume AC media in a particular order. Michael Smith

Colours in Assassin's Creed - a short review Analysis Share 18 Apr 2019 Written By: Edited By: Thea M. Rivedal Ashlea Buckley Back To Database With the white hood and red attire, the hidden blade and a hunt for the Pieces of Eden, it’s not that far-fetched to say the Assassin’s Creed franchise is littered with symbols. Some may be in plain sight and speak for themselves, whilst others are to be found when taking a second look and digging deeper into the symbolic meanings. However, just finding the symbols doesn’t always make it clear what they mean. It’s time to take a closer look into the franchise and see what it can reveal through its symbols, statuses, clothing, attire and weaponry we’ve become all so familiar with. For this article, the focus will be on the different colours that appear throughout the franchise, from the standard red and white, seen with the templars and assassins alike, to a brief look on the differing of colours according to game and historical setting. Why the Red and White? When speaking of colours, the numbers in the spectrum would take ages to describe and decode, some colours barely have names, some only numbers. They are infinite. Yet the three colours it is mainly agreed upon that all the others originate from are blue, red and yellow. Additionally, some are more human made colours like black and white, where white is defined as the absence of colour and black having all the colours combined. Through time we humans have supplemented the colours with a variety of symbolic meanings and usage. Some colours have had totally different meanings through time and place, and some have stayed the same. What then lies beneath the red and white clothing we familiarise with the Assassins? White is the colour of the long robes we are introduced to in the first game. The Assassins, during the crusades, use the clothing to blend in with scholars as a way of disguising themselves while in big crowds or when there was a need to come close to a specific target without them knowing; in most cases simply to slip past guards without any danger. White is mostly associated with purity and peace, quite an ironic choice of wardrobe when our beloved characters dwell in the occupation of assassinations. To choose the white robe as a way of blending in is, of course, ingenious, and it is a tradition the later Assassins keep up. Speaking of purity, wearing white attire in a dessert would keep it somewhat neat, but when rolling around in mud, blood, dust and dirt from the highest rooftop to the lowest sewers and caves, staying white would be a hazardous fulltime job. Traditionally outside of the AC franchise, when introduced to an assassin of any background, be it a ninja, a mercenary or just someone up to no good, they are, more often than not, clothed in black or dark colours to hide their identity and presence. To dress in white may as well be the Assassins way of boldly saying “we are here, and we’re not going anywhere”, as the colour white truly stands out in both night and daytime. If you want to stay hidden, don’t wear white, you’ll be seen from a mile away. Still the Assassins choose to wear it if given the chance. This can be interpreted as a way of letting the enemies know the Assassins don’t doubt their skills and presence, with no fear of being seen. Throughout the franchise, Ubisoft manage to design each character in a way so that they keep their beloved white colour and remain hidden in plain sight. The dressing also alters with the time and place we meet the given character. After a while, it seems like the hood becomes the soul symbol of the Assassins, and the white recedes more. Red is the colour of blood, of love, of hatred and of pulsing life. Its relation to anger, aggression and war also makes it a contradicting colour all depending on which culture the colour is viewed through. The active and masculine colour has been a symbol of both power and peace, of strength and happiness. In Egyptian mythology, the colour is linked to evil, seen as being the colour belonging to the god Seth and the chaos serpent Apep. In the Roman period however, it was a colour of the war god Ares, and was associated with strength and war in a positive way, giving courage to the soldiers. In Chinese tradition, however, the colour is a representative of luck, happiness, fertility, energy, wealth and life. When it comes to Assassin's Creed, the colour red appears together with the main characters throughout the franchise, mostly as a piece of fabric. Its representation can be linked to the colour of blood, a colour of power and strength or a combination of both. To have red being linked to the symbolic meaning of blood isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it appears in the franchise, blood can be viewed as something cleansing. The first time we see this colour in association with an assassin is on Altaïr, as a red fabric underneath his leather belt. This tradition follows the future assassins from Ezio and all the way up to Evie and Jacob Frye. Later in the franchise with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, red is the colour of Sparta; a city and its citizens built for war. Blue is a colour which has been represented for thousands of years. Its meaning is varied and rich. Albeit having different meanings, its foundation lies in the infinite, the divine and heavenly. Blue being the colour of the sky and the ocean, it represents that which is far away and out of reach, a cold and distant colour. This may be why it has represented gods, deities and that which can’t be reached by humans. In ancient Egypt the colour was a representation of the sky and linked to the god Amun who was often painted blue but has also been linked to death. In Assassin’s Creed, the frequent use of blue is in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, where the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens sparks the use of both red and blue. There are no clear sources pinpointing the colour blue to Athens. This link may be a representation from modern times as it is an opposing colour to red, the colour of Sparta. Athens was also right next to the sea, so blue might be a colour they could have chosen to represent themselves. Having Athena as their chosen god could also have amplified this choice of colour, where the colour also represents both wisdom, fertility and the female gender. Gold is a powerful colour, or more correctly speaking , metal. Although gold is not found in the colour spectrum, it is often used as a way to show power, wealth and divinity. It has throughout time been a symbol of the sun, the gods and immortality, used by many cultures from the dawn of human civilisations. The metal is also associated with hidden or illusive treasures that illustrates supreme illumination. In ancient Egypt the flesh of the gods was thought to be made out of gold, hence the gilded face masks and sarcophagus's of royals. Its representation and link to the sun god Ra was also present in the golden pyramid tops, standing as a mountain of gold. The link between golden apples and immortality is also found in both Japanese, Greek and Norse mythology. The golden apple may have given it away, but both gilded and gold objects are to be found throughout the entire Assassin’s Creed franchise. Most notorious are the Pieces of Eden, powerful objects inhabiting great scientific knowledge, history, illusions and the ability to control the free will of humans. They come in several shapes and sizes, most know as apples, but additionally appear in the shape of a scepter, a sword and as the golden fleece (has streaks of gold in it). Black Darkness and the absence of light, shadowy and mysterious. The colour associated with death, dark magic, temptation, grief, loss and old age, black has mainly had this meaning through both time and cultures. Before moving on, its still important to note that black has its feminine side in Yin from the Chinese tai-ji symbol of Yin and Yang, and was associated with the ancient land of Egypt and the gods Anubis and Pluto; though in the latter both are gods of the Underworld. The colour black has also been hard to dye, suggesting its status as a wealthy colour. Moving on, the colour with its grim symbolic meaning may have the larger strategical advantage. If you want to lurk around in the dark and do things which normally would be questioned, like the occasional assassination, roof-observing or casual stalking, black is the go-to-colour. It is also noticeable through the Assassin’s Creed franchise that the colours of the in-game-characters turns to a darker point rather quickly. In this case, but not only, the truly black attire fully emerges with the Frye twins in Victorian London and its darker era. Coal and smog in the air, trains, carriages, mud and blood makes the black colour-of-choice an appropriate candidate, keeping the twins at a rather low key profile (or maybe not, I’m looking at you Jacob) giving them the blending effect and staying classy. Both the twins however also mostly have a tad of red with them, indicating a sense of tradition and salute to the old Assassin Masters. A Colourful Franchise As every Assassin has their own take on the traditional attire, customizing it to their need, time and place, it leaves us with a grand and astounding collection of outfits through the franchise. The traditional hood first used by the mercenaries in Greece. The white as an adaptation to the desert perhaps by Bayek and Aya. Altaïr, Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton’s white robes as angels of death. Pirates, rebels, visionaries, brothers and sisters, the colours are many, the stories they tell even more. With black as the leading colour for the more modern Assassins working their way through corrupt regimes, states and organisations, it also may be symbolically fitting to the era. If we take a brief look upon the franchise, the closer we get to today's society, the darker the attire becomes. Mostly as a way of blending in, it could also symbolise the Assassin’s mourning over civilisation. Put in context with the symbolism of black, you could almost suggest the Assassin’s role is needed as a destructive force necessary to keep the balance of civilisation in check. It doesn’t mean they enjoy it, watching society crumble to greed, it simply indicates that they’re not going anywhere for the time being, unaffected by their choice of dressing and colour. Sources Cirlot, J.E. (1983) A Dictionary of Symbols. 2nd edition. London and Henley: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Shepherd, R. and Shepherd, R. (2002) 1000 Symbols. London: Thames and Hudson. Tresidder, J. (2004) The Complete Dictionary of Symbols in Myth, Art and Literature. London: Duncan Baird Publishers. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Thea Marie Rivedal is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan from rural Norway, who joined The Ones Who Came Before in 2019, jumping up to the Art Team later in 2022. Thea is a skilled digital, watercolour, and acrylic artist, also having a knack for graphic design, having designed many of the variants of the TOWCB logo/insignia. In the real world, Thea also holds a Masters degree in Archaeology from the University of Bergen, and is one of the few members of our team to have a big Assassin's Creed themed tattoo. Thea M. Rivedal

Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 5th to 15th February 2024 Community Share 21 Feb 2024 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Colum Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the biweekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from the AC Partnership Program. Every two weeks we will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. This theme is all about celebrating our 100th article. It has been an absolute honour to feature all your shots over the last 2 years. The collection below is a small selection of our favourites from the last few weeks, with write ups from the artists. We look forward to many more articles in the future. Keep an eye on the site as more shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to #ACFirstCivVP for a chance to be featured. This week’s theme: Assassin’s Creed 100th Article All Father Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ Cll3ar The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Theme ''When it comes to virtual photography, I aim to bring creativity and artistry to every shot. I enjoy capturing everything from dark, moody scenes to vibrant magical moments. Take for example this shot of Eivor (Havi) emerging from the red leaves left behind by a fallen enemy. I’ve been a fan of Assassin’s Creed for ages, and the photo mode features in the latest games have been a real game-changer for me. Allowing me to freeze moments and tell stories through my lens. The Assassin’s Creed community has been awesome, giving me the opportunity to showcase my work in articles and virtual photography magazines early on. This support has meant the world to me. Big thanks to everyone for letting me share my world with you.'' Judge: Admin Team Aaron ( FalconSwift87 ) “The realm is changed. But this is not Surtr’s doing. It is something more.” Assassin’s Creed Valhalla boasts a considerable section dedicated to Havi. When entering these mythical worlds, photography options become a lot more varied. On reflection I cannot wait to revisit them soon. This stunning landscape shot of Havi gives me real box art vibes, in fact it isn’t too dissimilar to what Ubisoft produced. I adore Havi stance as it shows him in pain, something he must endure a lot of during the Ragnarok DLC. The cold tones in the background fit beautifully with the Norse theme, reminding me of the Norway arc. I love the red leaves; they look so graceful fluttering up behind him. The remains of an enemy put to the sword by the High One. Turið Torkilsdóttir Raven has a distinctive way of utilizing the environment of a game. She combines pleasant colours and interesting scenery to create something unique every time. This photo is the best proof of it and well deserved first place. Kai ( KaiVirtualPhoto ) I’m a fan of Raven and her work with colours, and this shot makes no exception. I love the contrast between the red leaves in the foreground and the white/blue tones in the background. Eivor passing by with his eyes covered by shadows, as well as the cinematic aspect ratio, make for a magnificent picture and composition. Congratulations Raven. Jack ( _Virtualtourism ) Raven’s distinct style and perspective consistently yields stunning virtual photography across various games. In this image her talent shines through in her ability to convey motion within the image. The sense of Eivor traversing the scene is heightened not only by a great composition but also the vibrant red leaves, which are drifting through the scene, and helped by being excellently contrasted against the cold blue backdrop. Truly a breath-taking capture. Church Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ PodToGo ''Hi, I’m Payableondeath from Germany and I’ve been doing VP since 2015. I started just taking screenshots for me and my friends, but from 2017 with Horizon Zero Dawn, I discovered photo mode. I was impressed by everything I could do that couldn’t be done in real life photography, such as pausing the action and moving the camera or changing the time of day. I’ve loved challenging my creativity again and again. I got to know Assassin’s Creed back then with AC2. It picked me up during a difficult time and that’s not the only reason why it has a place in my heart. Assassin’s Creed also showed me to be open to foreign cultures and people. It is great to share my passion for both, with this wonderful community.'' Viewpoint Game: Assassin’s Creed Syndicate VP Artist: @ juanmawl ''I remember the exact moment I took this shot (along with others in that location). I was particularly fond of the WW1 sequence in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. I was experimenting with a free roam injector for the PC version of the game. I loved the colours on the horizon, and I decided to place Lydia at the top of London Bridge. I tried some unusual angles, but I think the shot turned out beautifully overall. I love virtual photography in general and Assassin’s Creed in particular because it allows me to capture the details beneath the visuals, such as short angle shots, expressions, or the tranquillity of a landscape. There is so much difference between the gameplay shot and the final outcome. That is one of the things I love the most, comparing the two. I’ve been honing my photography skills since AC3, and shots like this one make me fee proud.'' Restricted Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: Siobhan from AC UK (@ mysticheero ) ''I’m a big Assassin’s Creed fan. I am part of the Assassin’s Creed United Kingdom group and former Mentor and Star Player for Ubisoft. I enjoy virtual photography and exploring the world of gaming through it, capturing scenes I find amazing and inspiring. I love discovering how changing colours, focal points and angles alters our perception of an image. Strong colours stand out and impact the emotion of a scene but, equally the lack of colour can have just as powerful effect. Assassin’s Creed has something for everyone, across all its transmedia sources. The community is a great place to express our love from different viewpoints. It’s always great seeing the community come together to share their passions, supporting and inspiring each other to be part of such an inclusive community.'' Under the Sea Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ RaffGN7 ''This shot was a little difficult to take. I had to centre Eivor with the ship, and Eivor needed to be closer to the camera because of the photo mode restrictions. I took some shots, and this was the one that turned out best. Obviously, it’s a little retouched in photoshop, so you can use it as a wallpaper or poster. My passion for this saga inspired me to take this shot. I call it Between two Worlds.'' Dracarys Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ Amaya_Nocturna ''This is truly an honour. This particular shot was all experimental. It was during my first time playing the Dawn of Ragnarok DLC. I was using Sýnin (with the dragon skin) to look for something, until I noticed the smoke from the chimneys. A lightbulb essentially went off in my head. It took a few tries to time it just right, but the result is something I am so extremely proud of. I would like to say that my virtual photography is still very much a work in progress. I am trying new things as often as possible, and I am trying to grow with it. Its like a traditional artist trying to have diverse styles. However, portraits like this are my forte. Virtual photography is fun and is another digital art form that we can explore. When it comes to Assassin’s Creed, I have to say that it is a great series. Personally, it has taught me that history is far more interesting than school makes it out to be. It taught me and continues to teach me history in a fun and engaging way. As far as the community is concerned, it is a place where I have met some amazing people and have formed lots of friendships. I continue to meet new people because of this fantastic series. I even met classmates who are also fans of Assassin’s Creed. I know the community isn’t always perfect, but I think we all need to remember that we are here for a mutual love of this game series. It’s a great community and we need to stick together.'' Tactician Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ 9b75 The good thing about Assassin’s Creed is that as an Assassin we can set the world straight. At the same time, we can get in touch with nature and the lives of the people who lived in that time-period. I don’t know of any other game where we can climb Big Ben, run freely around the Palace of Versailles, or stand at the top of the pyramids. It’s the best. I will continue to take photos of these great moments. I want to thank the community for featuring our work in this way. It is nothing short of a source of energy for us. Thank you so much. Surveying the Land Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey VP Artist: @ cop_filip ''Assassin’s Creed is the first gaming franchise I ever got into back with Assassin's Creed 2 and it's also where my virtual photography journey started all the way back in 2017. These are the games I've captured and posted most, and even after all this time and all the different games I've captured over the years I still love coming back to them and capturing their beautiful worlds. I really love this series and I'm happy I can be a part of and contribute to the community. '' Anubis Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP Artist: @ zurullotarra ''I love doing virtual photography because I can explore my favourite games looking for beautiful places to capture. That way I can get lost in their fantasy worlds and forget about real life.'' And that sums it up for this Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out the photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next time keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Black Flag Resynced Reveal - Recap & All Details News Share 27 Apr 2026 Written By: Edited By: Hayden Bird Gargudon Back To Database Earlier this week, the highly anticipated Assassin’s Creed Black Flag - Resynced that was announced early last month, was officially fully unveiled and showcased to the world. We break down all the essential pieces of information to come from the reveal, from release date, different editions of the game and pricing and more! Assassin’s Creed Black Flag - Resynced is set to release on Thursday July 9th later this year. Four different editions of the game will be available, from a standard edition with just the game, a deluxe version with digital add-on content, an ultimate exclusive Collector’s Edition and more, all of which are now available for pre-order at online and local retailers, • Standard Edition: -Digital/physical copy of the game. • Deluxe Edition: -Digital copy of the game. -Master Assassin Character pack digital download, including additional sword, pistol, and trinket each with a unique perk, and costume for Edward. -Master Assassin Naval pack digital download, including additional sail set, ship's pet, crew attire, wheel, figurehead, and hull trim. • Collector’s Edition: -Digital (PC) / physical (PS5 / Xbox Series X|S) copy of the game. -31cm/12inch Edward Kenway figurine. -Edward’s Leather Logbook. -Metal Brooch. -Exclusive Steelbook. -Sea Shanty Music Sheet. -Master Assassin Character pack digital download. -Master Assassin Naval pack digital download. -Blackbeard’s Crimson pack digital download, including an additional pistol, and sword each providing a unique perk, as well as a costume for Edward. • Launch Edition (available at select retailers): -Physical copy of the game. -34 page Artbook. -World Map Poster. -Blackbeard’s Crimson pack digital download. Assassin's Creed Black Flag - Resynced Collector's Edition Ubisoft went all out with this reveal, and it is a big milestone for the franchise, as it marks the first full remake for not just the Assassin’s Creed series, but for Ubisoft as a whole. The reveal showcased many features fans were eager to know about, such as the stealth, combat, parkour, and naval combat that has all received significant upgrades from the original 2013 version. The visuals look nothing short of stunning, and this new version merely enhances the original, also including new scenes from the voice actor of Edward Kenway, Matt Ryan, who also had a major part in the reveal, hosting and narrating several elements of the big showcase. During the reveal, Ubisoft also shared some clips of combat and naval battle which showcased an overhauled system, while still honouring the original and not undoing its success. Ubisoft listened to fans by not transforming the game into an RPG, an approach more recent instalments in the series have followed. The developers knew that the original Black Flag launched in a different era for the series, and the idea of making it a full fledged RPG would not sit well with some fans. Thankfully, Ubisoft listened to their fan base, and this reiteration is sticking as true as can be to the legendary original. Another interesting thing to be revealed, was the smaller gameplay changes that are easy to overlook. For one, you can now crouch to go into stealth mode while engaging enemies. Something the original game did not have, which understandably made stealth more difficult. The foundation of certain missions have also been reworked. Many fans disliked the many tailing and eavesdropping missions from the original, many seeing it as repetitive and unrealistic, as the targets you were tailing would for no reason turn around at random times, as if they are expecting to be followed. This new version instead tones down the heavy dose of these elements, and makes it more player-friendly, better suited to modern gaming expectations. The reveal was a great thing for gaming and Ubisoft’s dedicated fans, setting the stage for a big summer launch. The reception of Black Flag - Resynced also dictates the possibility of Ubisoft doing further remakes in the series going forward. If it turns out a success, it is likely we can expect many of the older games to receive the remake treatment. The older games were launched in an era where technology was very limited, compared to what we have now. It’s wise for Ubisoft to take advantage of the powerful tech and hardware we have at our disposal today, bringing new life to one of their most household games ever. The new version of Black Flag has a lot of promise, and it's destined to be one of the biggest smash hits this summer in gaming. The reveal was great for all gamers, and we certainly look forward to more information Ubisoft may offer leading up to launch on July 9th. What were your thoughts on the reveal, and are you looking forward to the game? Let us know, and be sure to stay tuned for all news as well as various content on the game as release nears! comments debug Comments (1) Write a comment Write a comment Sort by: Newest Mr Tom Apr 27 Nice and informative article by Hayden 💫 Like Reply About the Author Hayden is a passionate Freelance Writer based in South Carolina who joined TOWCB's Writing Team in 2020 during the Covid-19 Pandemic, writing articles on all things Assassin's Creed Valhalla. He left the group to focus on studies, joining our Alumni program, but triumphantly returned with fresh ideas in 2024 to pick up where he left off, only this time covering Assassin's Creed Shadows. In 2025, Hayden took on the position of Team Leader for TOWCB's Writing Team, overseeing article releases, assisting with recruitment and providing assistance with internal operations. Hayden Bird

Author of the all-encompassing timeline, Codex Temporis, and the Isu-to-English dictionary, Codex Transferendum, Your Friendly Neighborhood Mentor is here to help unweave the confusing web of AC! Previous Next Writer ActualSpider-Man Previous Partner Author of the all-encompassing timeline, Codex Temporis, and the Isu-to-English dictionary, Codex Transferendum, Your Friendly Neighborhood Mentor is here to help unweave the confusing web of AC! Twitter | YouTube | Twitch | Subreddit Work