'Assassin's Creed Shadows' Rewrites Previous 'Assassin's Creed' Lore And Introduces A "Canon Mode" That Removes Player Choice From The Game
Jonathan Dumont, the Creative Director for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, revealed that the upcoming game features a “Canon Mode” that removes player choice when it comes to dialogue options, romance, and ally recruitment. Furthermore, he revealed they rewrote part of the franchise’s lore for the game.
In an AMA on Reddit alongside Associate Narrative Director Brooke Davies, Game Director Charles Benoit, and Art Director Thierry Dansereau, Dumont was asked, “Hey devs I’m super excited for the game and can’t wait for release. My first question is how long will the main game be in comparison to origins, odyssey and Valhalla? Also, how much does dialogue options and choice play into this game in comparison to odyssey?”
One of the developers, who was not identified answered, “The length of the game is always hard to evaluate in an open world game as different players will have very different ways to consume the content. I think Shadows main journey is comparable to Origins/Odyssey and Valhalla. As for choices, they are present, and some have an impact but play less of a branching role than on Odyssey on the core narrative.”
Dumont then revealed the game had a Canon Mode. He explained, “Choices come more into play when recruiting allies and romance some of the characters. Since the fan base is divided on branching dialogues, we have incorporated an option called CANON MODE which allows you to play the game with choices already made for you, to give you a choice free experience. Hope this makes it fun for everyone.”
Elsewhere during the AMA, Dumont and Benoit revealed that certain sections of the game can only be completed by either Naoe or Yasuke.
Benoit stated, “For the main missions, there is a lot of flexibility to use the character you want. Most of the open world content is pretty much open for both characters, but there will be specific activities crafted for Yasuke or Naoe. For example, Naoe has been trained in Kuji-kiri meditation techniques, so she’s the only one that can do it in the open world, while Yasuke has been trained to learn new Kata, so this activity is for Yasuke.”
“In addition, Naoe and Yasuke also each have their unique personal stories at key moments of the game. These can only be played by one of the characters,” Dumont added. “This allows us to have a deeper dive into their own personal motivations. Some cool surprises in there!”
Davies also addressed the choices that players will have and how it impacts the game, “In Shadows choice takes on many forms, impacting who we play as, and quest and other gameplay outcomes. In terms of the story of our league, we get to explore core themes like community and chosen family through choice since Naoe and Yasuke can choose who to recruit as allies and who to connect with as friends and lovers, either for a short, sweet time or longer term.”
However, no matter what choices you make throughout the game, it will not affect the game’s ending.
Davies made that clear, “The story of Shadows culminates in a single, cannon ending. That said there are many unique paths leading to this point, and in particular that will determine who is (and isn’t) at your side along the way.”
The game is also rewriting previous Assassin’s Creed lore. Dumont detailed, “Shadows will lay the groundwork for a new chapter of Modern narrative that will be different than what we have done in the past but that is connected to our modern day lore and will develop over time in the Animus Hub and subsequent titles. The franchise team will have more on this soon.”
He then shared, “As for the transmedia, we’ve had to retool some of the AC memories lore.”
An alleged plot leak from YouTuber Endymion indicated that the original plan for the game was seemingly to flesh out the story of Taka Yaumauchi, who was introduced in Assassin’s Creed Memories, which was an iOS exclusive mobile game launched in August 2014 that was shuttered in March 2015. The game featured Yamauchi Taka and his mission to recover the Sword of Eden.
What do you make of this admission that they reworked the Assassin’s Creed Memories lore and are adding in a Canon Mode?
If you can't make choices and have to follow a limited set of directives, you aren't in a free world game. You are in a tyrant's game.
Yet another way for asshats to push politically correct LGBT+ nonsense.
You aren't selling a game. You are selling a movie.
Great, another interactive movie.