{"id":1160401,"date":"2026-02-10T10:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T10:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=549021"},"modified":"2026-02-10T10:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T10:52:10","slug":"assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/","title":{"rendered":"Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows is the perfect size"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Naoe
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I cannot believe I\u2019m saying this, but: I\u2019m thrilled that Assassin\u2019s Creed is huge again.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a remark on the launch window buzz for Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows<\/em><\/a> (3 million players in a week) nor the cultural cachet earned by its social media managers (so far, at least one vindictive billionaire defenestrated<\/a> on his own social media platform). It\u2019s meant quite literally: Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows<\/em> is a massive game, and that rules.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Assassin\u2019s Creed games have evolved from modest open-world stealth adventures into the type of bloat that\u2019s synonymous with \u201cUbisoft map game.\u201d This evolution culminated with 2020\u2019s Assassin\u2019s Creed Valhalla<\/em>, which was infamously too much game<\/a>. The data-tracking site Howlongtobeat<\/a> puts an average Valhalla<\/em> playthrough at around 100 hours, or closer to 150 hours for a completionist run. That\u2019s in addition to three expansions and a free roguelike mode<\/a> that was practically designed in a lab to devour my time. I sunk 91 hours into Valhalla<\/em> before hitting the credits, and I skipped an entire region<\/em> of the base game.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In the wake of Valhalla<\/em>, 2023\u2019s Assassin\u2019s Creed Mirage<\/em><\/a> was a breath of fresh air. The entire game was situated in one city (Baghdad during the 9th century) and its surrounding area, mimicking the form of older series entries like Assassin\u2019s Creed Brotherhood<\/em><\/a>. There were a couple<\/a> types<\/a> of collectibles<\/a> and a few recurrent puzzles<\/a>, but gone were the byzantine menus and stat micromanagement of Origins<\/em>, Odyssey<\/em>, and Valhalla<\/em>. Reviews (including ours at Polygon) praised its restraint, and I have to admit, it was nice to play a focused Assassin\u2019s Creed game for the first time in years.<\/p>\n

But the recent release of Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows<\/em> has unleashed my inner Goldilocks. Valhalla<\/em> was a tour de force, but with every new gray hair I find, my patience for games of that size wanes. Mirage<\/em> was a welcome change of pace, but it lacked staying power. Shadows<\/em> nails the balance.<\/p>\n

Where Valhalla<\/em> presented too many things to do, Mirage<\/em> lacked the flow that\u2019s been present in every Assassin\u2019s Creed game released into a post-Witcher 3<\/em> world. You know the one: You scale a castle spire or a giant tree or the central mast of a galleon. You scan the horizon and assess all the little question mark icons peppering your view. Then you pick one. Because maybe it\u2019s something cool, like a fascinating platforming sequence over a subterranean river. Or maybe it\u2019s something rewarding, like a sword with the word \u201cunique\u201d or \u201clegendary\u201d in its item description. Maybe it\u2019s a quick-time event.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Shadows<\/em> presents a mastery of this flow state. There\u2019s an almost meditative quality to hopping from objective to objective through the countryside of 16th-century Japan. (It sure doesn\u2019t hurt that Shadows<\/em> is quite easy on the eyes, rendered with painterly beauty.) Not knowing what you\u2019ll find is part of the fun. And for the most part, what you come across is indeed worth your time.<\/p>\n

Sometimes you stumble upon a castle where you\u2019re tasked with assassinating a few high-level enemies in exchange for rare armor, or you could come across a bandit camp replete with resources necessary for your Hideout<\/a>. But these activities are blissfully not all about assassin-ing, despite the game\u2019s name. Platforming gauntlets called Hidden Trails and puzzle dungeons called kofun<\/a> add some variety. Temples require you to track down a handful of hidden objects known as Lost Pages<\/a>. Even the quick-time events \u2014 rhythm-based mini-games called Kuji-Kiri<\/a> \u2014 are compelling: They unlock missions that fill in the backstory for Naoe, one of the dual protagonists.<\/p>\n

\"Yasuke<\/p>\n

To be clear, I\u2019m saying this all from the perspective of a pretty leisurely player. I\u2019ve played for a bit more than 20 hours and only just<\/em> unlocked Yasuke<\/a>, the second playable character. Peers who\u2019ve finished Shadows<\/em> say it takes about 40 hours<\/a> to complete the main story<\/a>, or something closer to twice that for a completionist run (a lot of time, no doubt, but significantly less than the Oh god, it\u2019s never gonna end<\/em> vibe of Valhalla<\/em>). Who knows, maybe I\u2019ll burn out! But at this rate, the pace and the scope of the to-do list is perfect.<\/p>\n

Well, unless Ubisoft demolishes the peace with a free roguelike mode. <\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I cannot believe I\u2019m saying this, but: I\u2019m thrilled that Assassin\u2019s Creed is huge again. That\u2019s not a remark on the launch window buzz for Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows (3 million players in a week) nor the cultural cachet earned by its social media managers (so far, at least one vindictive billionaire defenestrated on his own social media platform). It\u2019s meant quite literally: Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows is a massive game, and that rules. Over the years, Assassin\u2019s Creed games have evolved from modest open-world stealth adventures into the type of bloat that\u2019s synonymous with \u201cUbisoft map game.\u201d This evolution culminated with 2020\u2019s Assassin\u2019s Creed Valhalla, which was infamously too much game. The data-tracking site Howlongtobeat puts an average Valhalla playthrough at around 100 hours, or closer…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1160402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1160401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"\nAssassin\u2019s Creed Shadows is the perfect size | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I cannot believe I\u2019m saying this, but: I\u2019m thrilled that Assassin\u2019s Creed is huge again. That\u2019s not a remark on the launch window buzz for Assassin\u2019s\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows is the perfect size | Arcader News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I cannot believe I\u2019m saying this, but: I\u2019m thrilled that Assassin\u2019s Creed is huge again. That\u2019s not a remark on the launch window buzz for Assassin\u2019s\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-10T10:52:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"270\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"headline\":\"Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows is the perfect size\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-10T10:52:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":733,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Polygon\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\\\/\",\"name\":\"Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows is the perfect size | Arcader News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-10T10:52:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"description\":\"I cannot believe I\u2019m saying this, but: I\u2019m thrilled that Assassin\u2019s Creed is huge again. That\u2019s not a remark on the launch window buzz for Assassin\u2019s\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size.jpg\",\"width\":480,\"height\":270,\"caption\":\"Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows is the perfect size\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows is the perfect size\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"description\":\"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arcade News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cricketgames.tv\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/author\\\/arcade-news\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows is the perfect size | Arcader News","description":"I cannot believe I\u2019m saying this, but: I\u2019m thrilled that Assassin\u2019s Creed is huge again. That\u2019s not a remark on the launch window buzz for Assassin\u2019s","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows is the perfect size | Arcader News","og_description":"I cannot believe I\u2019m saying this, but: I\u2019m thrilled that Assassin\u2019s Creed is huge again. That\u2019s not a remark on the launch window buzz for Assassin\u2019s","og_url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/","og_site_name":"Arcade News","article_published_time":"2026-02-10T10:52:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":270,"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Arcade News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arcade News","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/"},"author":{"name":"Arcade News","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"headline":"Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows is the perfect size","datePublished":"2026-02-10T10:52:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/"},"wordCount":733,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size.jpg","articleSection":["Polygon"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/","name":"Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows is the perfect size | Arcader News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-10T10:52:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"description":"I cannot believe I\u2019m saying this, but: I\u2019m thrilled that Assassin\u2019s Creed is huge again. That\u2019s not a remark on the launch window buzz for Assassin\u2019s","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size.jpg","width":480,"height":270,"caption":"Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows is the perfect size"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-perfect-size\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows is the perfect size"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/","name":"Arcade News","description":"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839","name":"Arcade News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arcade News"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/cricketgames.tv"],"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/author\/arcade-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1160401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1160401"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1160401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1492575,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1160401\/revisions\/1492575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1160402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1160401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1160401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1160401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}