While not as good as some Assasins Creeds of the past, Shadows is a solid entry to the franchise and is a marked improvementfrom Assasins Creed Mirage. The gameplay mechanics are reminiscent of the old school Creed games but also offers more choice between all out combat and/or stealth approaches.
Unfortunately the confusing quest structure based on exploring the map really make the game more arduous than past entries in my opinion and really seem to interrupt the flow of the story which also leaves more to be desired. Rather than feeling like I'm in feudal Japan it seems like your in a past version of the Far Cry game that takes place in Asia. The character development is good but the characters themselves seem underwhelming which is sad given that Yasuke one of the playable characters was such an interesting part or Japan's history.