Summary
- Assassin's Creed Shadows main story takes 30-40 hours, with side content extending gameplay to 80 hours.
- Shadows will follow the RPG formula embraced in Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla.
- Ubisoft aims to strike a balance between smaller and larger-scale games in the series.
Assassin's Creed Shadows Creative Director Jonathan Dumont has revealed how long it will take to beat the upcoming open-world Ubisoft game. It seems that Assassin's Creed Shadows is set to be one of the bigger games in the series, especially compared to the most recent release, Mirage.
After Assassin's Creed Mirage returned the series to its smaller-scale roots, Shadows is bringing back the RPG formula that was embraced in Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. These titles are much larger than the earlier Assassin's Creed games, with an abundance of side content for players to explore. It looks as though Ubisoft is planning to alternate between the two, in an attempt to keep both new and old players on board. It's a tricky balance for Ubisoft to strike, and the next few years will tell how successful this strategy can be.
Assassin's Creed Shadows' Canon Mode is a Result of Fan Feedback
Assassin's Creed Shadows' new Canon Mode will usher in a new way to play the next entry in Ubisoft's most popular franchise.
Speaking to Genki, Assassin's Creed Shadows Creative Director Jonathan Dumont has said the main story is about 30 to 40 hours long for most players, although gamers who also complete the side content can spend above 80 hours with the game. According to How Long to Beat, Assassin's Creed Origins takes around 30 hours to beat the main story, while Odyssey takes just over 45 hours. This lines up previous reports that Assassin's Creed Shadows will have a similar map size to Origins and Odyssey, indicating the content within is around the same length, too.
Assassin's Creed Shadows Will Take Most Players Around 30 to 40 Hours to Beat
With Assassin's Creed Shadows' release date fast approaching, gamers are learning a lot about what they can expect from Ubisoft's latest title. Just recently, Assassin's Creed Shadows revealed its in-depth progression system, which will change how gamers play as Naoe and Yasuke throughout the game. Of course, it'll be nice to go into the game with some secrets left to discover, but it's cool to get a glimpse into the core systems behind Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Looking beyond Assassin's Creed Shadows, it seems that Ubisoft has very big plans for the franchise in the future. Some rumors last year even suggested that Ubisoft plans to release an Assassin's Creed game every six months for the next decade, which is an incredibly aggressive push for its flagship franchise. If it works, then it could pay off massively for Ubisoft, but it equally runs the risk of franchise fatigue among gamers. Only time will tell how it pans out.
Assassin's Creed Shadows
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 82%
- Released
- March 20, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft Quebec
- Publisher(s)
- Ubisoft
