"Parkour Athletes Review Assassin’s Creed Shadows Movements"

Dive into the world of Assassin’s Creed Shadows as two professional parkour athletes from team STORROR in the UK, Toby Segar and Benj Cave, provide a reality check on the game's parkour mechanics. Their insights offer a unique perspective on the realism of the game's movements and how Ubisoft has brought the setting of Feudal Japan to life.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Gearing Up For Its Release

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

In a detailed review featured in PC Gamer's Reality Check video on March 15, Toby Segar and Benj Cave, both avid fans of the Assassin’s Creed series, critiqued the parkour realism in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. They are also working on their own parkour-based video game, STORROR Parkour Pro, which adds a layer of expertise to their analysis.

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

Cave further critiqued the game's portrayal of parkour, pointing out the unrealistic aspects such as climbing without ledges and balancing on tightropes. He emphasized the fictional nature of the protagonist's endless endurance, stating, "In parkour, no one ever just runs and commits to stuff without looking. In parkour in real life, you check, you measure, you prep, and it’s such a slower process."

While Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a fictional game, Ubisoft has made significant efforts to enhance the realism of its parkour mechanics. In an interview with IGN in January, Game Director Charles Benoit explained that the delay in the game's release was to refine these mechanics further.

Bringing Players Closer to Feudal Japan

Beyond the parkour, Ubisoft aims to immerse players in the historical setting of Feudal Japan through the "Cultural Discovery" feature. As detailed on their website on March 18, Ubisoft Editorial Comms Manager Chastity Vicencio described how this in-game Codex will provide players with over 125 encyclopedic entries on the history, art, and culture of the Azuchi-Momoyama period, crafted by historians and enriched with museum images.

The development team faced significant challenges in authentically recreating Feudal Japan, as shared in an interview with The Guardian on March 17. Ubisoft Executive Producer Marc-Alexis Coté discussed the long-standing interest in setting an Assassin’s Creed game in Japan, stating, "I've been on [this] franchise for 16 years and I think every time we start a new game, Japan comes up and we ask, is this the time?"

Creative Director Johnathan Dumont emphasized the team's dedication, including trips to Kyoto and Osaka and collaboration with in-house historians to capture the essence of Japan. Despite challenges like the unique lighting in Japanese mountains, the team's efforts have been focused on meeting the high expectations set by fans.

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