Assassin’s Creed Shadows vs Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla: World Size & Dynamics Compared

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The Assassin’s Creed series is renowned for its distinctive historical backdrops, which are meticulously crafted to represent significant periods and locations throughout history. For instance, the first game, Assassin’s Creed, was set during the Third Crusade in the Holy Land, while Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes players to Sengoku period Japan. Each installment offers a singular opportunity for gamers to explore these historic settings and timeframes, with subsequent mainline games delving deeper into the intricacies of the forgotten societies and cultures they depict. Since 2017, the Assassin’s Creed series has broadened its horizons by developing expansive open worlds that incorporate more role-playing game (RPG) elements. Given that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the latest title in the RPG branch of the series, it’s insightful to conduct a thorough comparison between Shadows and its RPG predecessors.

In these comparisons of the “Assassin’s Creed” world, we have excluded regions that are only accessible during the prologue, epilogue, or additional content (Downloadable Content) sections found in the role-playing game versions.

The Regions and Size of Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Japan

The game titled “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” is the second RPG entry in the Assassin’s Creed series developed by Ubisoft Quebec. Interestingly, it’s not the second RPG game released, but rather the fourth fully-fleshed out RPG Assassin’s Creed game, with “Assassin’s Creed Origins” in 2017 and “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla” in 2020 preceding it. The upcoming “Assassin’s Creed Mirage,” set for release in 2023, is often not included in this group due to its smaller scale and shorter gameplay primarily focused on the Round City of Baghdad. In contrast, “Shadows” offers players the opportunity to traverse nine distinct regions within central Japan during the late 16th century, including:

  • Wakasa
  • Omi
  • Iga
  • Yamato
  • Kii
  • Settsu
  • Harima
  • Tamba
  • Yamashiro

According to Creative Director Jonathan Dumont, announced in 2024, and later confirmed by DG VFX in early 2025, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be approximately the same size as Origins, with an estimated world area of around 84 square kilometers. This makes it the fourth largest game in the series, surpassing Origins but falling short compared to Valhalla, Black Flag, and Odyssey. The latter three games are larger due to their expansive sea areas – the Caribbean, Aegean, and Mediterranean seas in Black Flag and Odyssey.

The Dynamic Japanese World of Assassin’s Creed Shadows

In the games like “Assassin’s Creed Origins” and their subsequent open-world counterparts, the series delved deeper into role-playing game elements, but the environments within these worlds remained fairly static as players advanced through the story. For instance, both “Origins” and “Odyssey” showcased arid landscapes, yet they didn’t evolve significantly as the narrative unfolded. Sandstorms in Egypt’s desert or a consistent day-night cycle were occasional elements, but they failed to substantially modify the world or gameplay mechanics. “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla” boasted a more diverse setting with snowy mountains, rolling hills, and scattered forests, but its environment also seldom transformed. Ubisoft Quebec aimed to address this issue in “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” by introducing dynamic weather patterns, seasonal changes, and advanced lighting effects.

In the narrative of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the story unfolds across multiple years, and the seasons in feudal Japan transition organically as players progress through the game. The four seasons – spring, summer, fall, and winter – are cycled within the game’s storyline. Each season brings changes to the NPC behavior and game mechanics, as well as altering the game’s visual appearance. For instance, during the wintry landscape, characters like Naoe and Yasuke move slowly through snow-covered fields and can traverse frozen bodies of water. Rainstorms also occur in the game, making it easier to sneak within castles because the sound of footsteps is muffled by the rain. Despite being smaller than its predecessors, Shadows compensates with a more intricately detailed world.

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2025-03-30 17:11