Carlo67

To start off I generally really enjoy the AC games, especially the 3 Italian based games. Origins was good (the Otherworld expansion was really interesting), the Greek one was bloated but had some interesting things Eg. Atlantis, but I've had to delete Shadows as it was no fun what so ever. It's not an AC game, I was over 40 hours in with most of the map still to uncover and no Assassin plot content to speak of. Naoe could do stealth, up to point but was awful at open combat. The other character, Yasuke, could tank a few enemies but would easily get overwhelmed in a Castle/Fort, so separating the 2 skill sets is massively frustrating. Get to a point when you need to tank a mini boss, no, you can't change characters. Need to sneak so you don't get mobbed, no, can't change characters. Frustrating. The combat is not solid enough to warrant muddling thru on Normal, I dialled it down one and at times it was still frustrating. Health rations can only be restocked at certain points, not made clear on the map so after two difficult encounters in a row and you may as well reset your progress. Then there's the bloat, The Bloat. I can open up the map on an AC or Far Cry game fairly easily, exploration is generally ok but here, Jeez. Most of the map is hills with impenetrable trees/bushes, some inclines are impossible to climb, your horse may climb them but get stuck on trees and bushes. There's a path follow system to auto follow the paths so you may as well just click on auto pilot and sit back, check your phone, do some chores, for the couple of minutes it'll take to cover the journey, so any chance of a random encounter or organic sign posting to a shrine/treasure/cave/chest/random quest is gone. Awful game design. Don't get me started on the history. If you haven't already, play Ghost of Tsushima. Or play it again. I'm waiting for the next one Ghost of Yotei. Final thoughts, AC Shadows is dull, desperately repetitive and dull, bloated, poorly designed and dull. One protagonist who could sneak and fight effectively would have been so much better, a bit like Ghost of Tsushima.

A solid meh out of ten. Romio and Juliet set against a mafiosa backdrop on a pretty island. Frustrating combat (set it to Easy and enjoy the story), good driving mechanic, invisible walls in shrub form everywhere. Good voice acting, you've played this game before; protagonist goes on a solo murder spree for "insert reason here", tries to change, pays for past mistakes, almost everyone dies yada yada yada. Effective stealth mechanic till it's not, shoot out, knife fight, rinse, repeat. Many collectibles, some only in mission, the rest highlighted on map for tedious mop up at some rather unclear point. I guesse that's why there's a replay chapter option. It's brevity is a plus.

Very frustrating at the moment, cannot get past White Clad Noble, too much of a difficulty spike and I don't have lots of free time or the reflexes at my age to "click" with the combat style. I've done all the Souls games but Sekiro stumped me too. Shame as I spent £55 on a digital copy I can't progress thru and can't trade in for a more enjoyable game. Totally blocked at this point and not enjoying this game at all. If it works for you, great but I was hoping for a more GOW style game, not a laggy Sekiro rip off.

Almost unplayable at times, buggy, glitchy and some of the most frustrating platforming I've encountered in years. Nostalgia got the best of me here, spent most of my time re doing sections and being hopelessly lost. Ah well, hope Kain 2 is better.