Ghost of Tsushima somehow managed to do Assassin’s Creed in Japan before Assassin’s Creed Shadows came out. It offered a robust, expansive, almost Ubisoft-esque open world full of interesting things to see, characters to meet, and a plethora of quests to complete. On top of all of that, it offered a phenomenal combat model that still trumps most AAA third-person action games and a smattering of stealth mechanics that proved helpful in a pinch, especially for taking down Jin’s many foes.

It was so good that few believed it could be beaten by Ubisoft’s long-awaited attempt at bringing the Assassin’s Creed formula to feudal Japan, myself included. However, AC Shadows is now one of the highest-reviewed Assassin’s Creed games in a long while, proving that Ubisoft is capable of innovating on its own gameplay philosophies and delivering a genuinely game-changing experience that is satisfying from start to finish. Shadows is so good, in my opinion, that it beats Ghost of Tsushima in almost every way, save for one key feature that no one can get quite right.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Is Better Than Ghost Of Tsushima

It Has A Stronger Open-World & Stealth

Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ unexpected level of quality is not lost on me at all. I am not quite the Ubisoft detractor that many others are – after all it has developed many of my favorite games – but I am very aware of its bad run of games, especially with its once beloved Assassin’s Creed series. That’s largely why I was worried that it wouldn’t be able to live up to the level of quality that Ghost of Tsushima offers. Fortunately, as aforementioned, this is absolutely not the case, as, in many ways, AC Shadows beats Ghost, especially where it counts.

Perhaps the biggest way Assassin’s Creed Shadows beats Ghost of Tsushima is in its stealth mechanics. I wasn’t particularly fond of Ghost of Tsushima’s surprisingly and rather ironically limited stealth sandbox. It certainly added a tad more variety to the open-world gameplay, but it never felt as robust as it should have done, especially given Jin’s status as the legendary Ghost. Shadows is a completely different story, with its stealth not only being a core foundational element of its gameplay loop, but also endlessly fun.

Of course, it comes with a slight caveat. The stealth is fun only when played on AC Shadows’ best difficulty setting, as it can otherwise feel a little too easy. On the hardest difficulty, Shadows’ stealth gameplay feels suitably tense and forces players to devise a strategy to tackle each heavily guarded castle. However, even then, Shadows’ more varied stealth options, such as additional tools, Naoe’s more versatile movement abilities, and myriad of dynamic world elements, such as changing seasons and lighting, hugely trumps Ghost of Tsushima’s stealth.

It isn’t just stealth where Shadows succeeds. Its open-world is more varied, with the aforementioned changing seasons and greater diversity of NPCs helping to make it feel far more alive. Shadows’ immersive realism helps to make its rendition of Feudal Japan feel significantly more detailed and lifelike, unlike the more stylized world in Ghost of Tsushima. Furthermore, the world events have a more tangible benefit and feel more varied, with some requiring detailed knowledge of the period in order to earn their reward.

Ghost of Tsushima’s Combat Beats Shadows’

It Is Vastly Superior

However, as great as Assassin’s Creed Shadows is, Ghost of Tsushima beats it completely in one department. My favorite aspect of Ghost of Tsushima was its combat, not just because it was a true spectacle to behold, but also consistently fun throughout the entire runtime. Ghost of Tsushima isn’t a short game either – at least it wasn’t for me – and yet its combat never grew stale. The fluid animations coupled with its almost Arkham-esque back-and-forth balletic movement makes it feel like the most realistic third-person melee combat I’ve ever experienced.

It is so good, that it’s the main reason why I’m excited for Ghost of Yotei. By contrast, Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ competent combat model feels significantly inferior. That isn’t to say that AC Shadows’ combat is bad, as that is far from the truth. I rather enjoy barreling through ashigaru as Yasuke or desperately attempting to hold my own as Naoe. However, it often feels far too clunky, with the lock-on struggling to pick a target, and animations never feeling quite as fluid.

Where Assassin’s Creed Shadows really struggles with combat is its difficulty.

However, where Assassin’s Creed Shadows really struggles with combat is its difficulty. Once players unlock Shadows’ best Legendary gear, combat becomes unbelievably trivial, with even Naoe able to take on the toughest foes. This really shouldn’t be the case, and absolutely isn’t in Ghost of Tsushima. Sucker Punch Productions managed to maintain a level of difficulty across all three of Ghost’s regions that is as satisfying as it is challenging. Even by the final boss, Jin feels suitably powerful, but never overpowered, and that’s why it shines.

Shadows Still Has Pretty Great Combat

It Has A Lot Of Variety

That being said, Assassin’s Creed Shadows combat is still extremely fun. Yes, I find it to be too easy at times, but at least with Yasuke that power fantasy makes sense. Even the game’s Expert difficulty implies that Yasuke shouldn’t have too much trouble with combat. Ubisoft has clearly designed him to fight like a powerful Oni to better contrast with Naoe’s more nimble and fragile fighting style, and I can completely understand why.

The modern RPG style of Assassin’s Creed games has been moving closer and closer to being a more melee-focused experience, and as a result, delivering that power fantasy is an important choice. Shadows attempts to balance this with the traditional Assassin’s Creed combat, and that’s great for those who miss it, but it doesn’t fit well with this new model, especially when integrated with Ubisoft’s deep desire to level gate everything.

I’m really glad that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is as brutal and easy as it is, and this is largely where I enjoy it more than Ghost of Tsushima. After all, fighting as Jin could, very occasionally, feel frustrating, as I just wanted to engage in a cinematic tense 1 v 100 fight and come out the victor. At least Shadows lets you do that. However, combat aside, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the superior game, and I’m really thankful it is, as, were it to be worse than a five-year-old game, it would have been extremely disappointing.