Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a return to form in more ways than one – and its creative director is already teasing the one feature hardcore AC fans have been waiting for. Assassin’s Creed, although originally a stealth series, has made the jump to historical action RPG in recent years. While each game still includes at least the occasional sneaking mission, the main emphasis is on one-on-one combat with swords and axes instead of quiet assassinations with hidden blades.

That’s all going to change, though, in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. In an interview with Screen Rant, AC Shadows‘ creative director Jonathan Dumont suggests that fans will appreciate its renewed focus on stealth over combat. “Longtime fans of the series, I think they will enjoy, a little bit, coming back to the roots of the parkour, and stealth, and how much we spend time trying to craft the light and shadow detection.” In other words, Shadows is going back to basics, bringing back the stealth and acrobatic traversal of the series’ first few games.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Is Going Back To Its Roots, While Also Going Deeper

How AC Shadows Is Developing Its Stealth Mechanics

So Assassin’s Creed is going back to stealth, but it’s not exactly leaving more direct methods of combat behind: AC Shadows‘ dual protagonists allow players to choose the fighting style they prefer for individual missions. The samurai Yasuke will represent the RPG-style combat of recent Assassin’s Creed games, facing enemies head-on. The shinobi Naoe will represent classic, stealth-style Assassin’s Creed, sneaking silently through the shadows.

But at the same time, AC Shadows is deepening its classic stealth mechanics with a couple of new additions. There’s the system of light and shadow detection, mentioned above – it’ll be easier for enemies to spot Naoe when she’s in a well-lit area, so players will need to pay close attention to the lighting. But there’s more: in his interview, Dumont goes on to mention “all the gadgets that we have” and certain aspects of the game being “changed by the weather system.”

Gadgets have always been a big part of the Assassin’s Creed approach, but it looks like we’ll see some new ones – or the return of some old favorites – in Shadows. The weather system sounds pretty new; while other AC games have had weather, so to speak, it’s never had much of an impact on stealth. It’s easy to see how something like that could interact with the lighting system, making Naoe much easier to see on a bright, sunny day than in the midst of heavy rain.

AC Shadows’ Return To Stealth Is Exactly What The Series Needed

An Overdue Return To Form

Frankly, it’s about time Assassin’s Creed went back to its classic stealth roots. I’ve always enjoyed the historical simulation aspect of the Assassin’s Creed series, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to finish one of them since Origins left the classic stealth gameplay formula behind. Things change and series make alterations over time, I get that, but complete genre swaps are too much for me to bear.

I’m sure I’m not alone, but at the same time, I’m sure action RPG Assassin’s Creed has its fans. That’s why Shadows could be the perfect balance. By allowing players to pick their approach to each mission with its dual protagonists, it’ll offer the best of both worlds: stealth for those who want it, action for the rest. Of course, there’s always an inherent risk in trying to please two disparate sides of your fan base at once. You could end up going too far one way while neglecting the other, or taking half-measures to make both aspects work.

But as long as both sides of it are equally fun, and have seen meaningful advancement since the last game in the series, then I don’t see a problem with splitting the gameplay in two. It’s still too early to tell, but it’s a promising look for Assassin’s Creed Shadows.