Assassin’s Creed fans have wanted a game set in feudal Japan for years and, with Shadows this November, Ubisoft is finally delivering just that. The only problem is that the long-running stealth-action series is getting there four years after Sucker Punch released its own take on an open-world samurai game, Ghost of Tsushima, and the same year as another open-world samurai game, Rise of the Rōnin. There can obviously be multiple games about samurai — how many games have been set in the modern United States? — but the question is whether Ubisoft can do enough to make the game stand out.

Assassin’s Creed’s Seasons Of Shadows

A lengthy presentation at this week’s Ubisoft Forward gave an indication that the game does indeed have a few ideas that should help to give it a distinct identity. Shadows’ use of a seasonal cycle — which game director Charles Benoit mentioned during the Ubisoft Forward, and also during a gameplay deep dive after the main event — is one that stuck out most to me.

Changing seasons aren’t a new thing in video games. In sim games like Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley, seasons are tied to events that only happen at that time of year. The in-game weather changes, and the crops you can grow may change, too. Other games, like The Last of Us, use changing seasons as a narrative tool. It’s no coincidence that Ellie faces her toughest challenges in the first game during the winter, learning to survive on her own and take care of Joel in the bitter cold. And, when the game moves toward its conclusion, which is also a new beginning for Joel and Ellie, it feels natural that it happens in the spring. Seasons can be a thematic tool; the cycles that define our lives — growth, death, and rebirth — are made physical in the changes of the natural world.

Shadows’ Stealthy Snow Takedowns

It remains to be seen how Assassin’s Creed Shadows will use its seasonal structure to tell its story. But it seems evident that its use of the seasons in gameplay will be similar to Forza Horizon 4. In Playground’s UK-set racer, the open-world map shifted as the seasons changed. Certain races would change over time, tasking players with being mindful of ice in the winter, mud in the spring, and so on. Ubisoft is presenting Shadows’ calendar in a similar way, stressing the impact the weather will have on the player’s ability to navigate the world.

In the presentation, one example Benoit gave was that water will be frozen in the winter, but will thaw as the weather warms, allowing you to dive in and use the water as cover for stealth kills. Benoit also noted that heavy rain will also be useful for stealth, obscuring enemy line of sight and cloaking the sound of your footfalls. In the winter, he said that you would instead be able to go prone in snow drifts.

Another interesting wrinkle is that the seasons will not just have an affect on the flora, but on the fauna, too. Animals will look different in different seasons, and more puppies will appear in the spring.

We won’t be able to see how much these seasonal changes actually come into play until the game releases this November. But I’m eager to see how much this variety actually affects the way you play the game from session to session, and how often I’ll actually be marking locations on my map to return to in the future. From what I’ve seen, Shadow’s dual protagonists and its emphasis on the changing seasons are the primary mechanics setting it apart from its open-world samurai competition, and I’m anxious to get my hands on the game so I can judge for myself whether those distinctions are enough.