Ubisoft just shared more details about "Assassin's Creed Shadows," particularly talking about the game's parkour system and control changes ahead of its official February 2025 release.
The franchise has always had parkour as an important aspect of exploration and environmental traversal that players have enjoyed.
But now, the studio is making some adjustments to this system that could shake up how fans approach various buildings and terrain.
Assassin's Creed Shadows' Parkour System
The developer shared an extensive breakdown of the upcoming game's new parkour options and the revised button map. One of the more important changes is that the game will swap the original crouch and dodge buttons.
This will allow a player to either crouch or lie in a prone position, and Naoe, one of the protagonists in "Assassin's Creed Shadows," can even kill enemies while in this stance. Both Naoe and Yasuke can perform dodges while crouched.
However, the latter is the only one who can dodge while in a prone stance. The other new parkour moves that were added to the game include the female ninja being able to perform a wall-run eject as well as a backward dodge, according to Game Spot.
It was also noted that both protagonists can perform some of the parkour and climbing moves. Ubisoft added that Naoe is more suited for these types of movements because she is light on her feet and can do a recovery roll while falling to the ground.
Brand New Moves
The studio also said that not every wall surface in "Assassin's Creed Shadows" will be climbable for either Naoe or Yasuke.
One item, the grappling hook, can help players overcome some of these limitations, but they will need to look for surfaces that have handholds.
Associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois said that the upcoming game merges dodge with parkour down mechanics. He added that this combination unlocks a wide array of new parkour moves for players to perform, Eurogamer said.
He noted that the new system also disconnects stance-switch from parkour, ensuring that players are able to use any stances without accidentally going down a rooftop. Despite the change, there are still many traditional parkour moves that have made a comeback.
Lemay-Comtois said that the decision to make some surfaces unclimbable was a "big deal for us." He added that it meant they had to be a little bit more thoughtful about creating interesting parkour highways within the game world, according to Games Radar.
