Constantinos Zaou

As a fan of RPG games, I decided to give AC Shadows a chance. I've played Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla, and I can say that this game is improved in terms of graphics, gameplay and especially combat, but it failed to deliver a consistent and satisfying story. I feel that the game lacks soul; it tries so hard to connect the woke tropes of diversity, equity and inclusion with the Buddhist tropes of suffering, compassion and enlightenment, that it ends up feeling more like a lecture than a lived experience. Instead of letting the Japanese themes emerge naturally through the characters and world, the narrative constantly reminds you of its woke western moral intentions. This breaks immersion and weakens what could have been a deeply personal journey. The problem is made worse by the cutscenes, which are stiff and awkward, with poor motion capture and lifeless facial expressions that strip away any emotional weight. Even in immersion mode, the voice acting feels flat and disconnected. The characters often act as mouthpieces for ideas rather than as believable people shaped by their circumstances. Beneath all of this, you can sense the potential for something, but it gets buried under a plainly bad storytelling; maybe if the narrative was linear it could be slightly better. It’s a real pity, because the artists and environment designers have done a phenomenal job crafting an immersive, living Japan that begs to be explored, yet the narrative fails to make that world feel alive. It’s as if the writers completely let down the incredible work of the visual and design teams, leaving players with a breathtaking setting that deserves a far better story to match its beauty.

It reminded me the golden days of Game of Thrones; but it was also something different.

A magnificent movie, with incredible plot, fight scenes, visuals, twists, and with an impactful outcome. I understand where it might have gone wrong, but definitely it does not deserve a low rating in any way. Come to think of it, the material for this movie was so hard to compile, and I think we should all appreciate the work that was done here. The critics have clearly missed this one; they need to reconsider.

There are those movies that when they end and you leave the theatre, you begin to regain consciousness, because honestly you have not been watching; you have been experiencing. Consequently, the moments start to connect with each other, as your mind processes what it has been through, and you appreciate every bit even more. Honestly it did more than justice to the book, and in many ways it was even better. All in all, it showed astonishing work from the director, the actors, and everyone who worked to bring this masterpiece to the big screen.