Assassin's Creed Shadows will feature more than 700 cinematics outside of combat and exploration, devs say, 'this was an opportunity to connect to the characters themselves on a deeper level'

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Assassin's Creed Shadows will feature more than 700 cinematics
Realization director David Nibbelin said these cinematics will allow players to connect to the characters on a deeper level
Players will experience "two perspectives of Japan" through the eyes of Naoe and Yasuke

Ubisoft has revealed that Assassin's Creed Shadows will feature more than 700 cinematics, but it has stressed that it won't be "all chit-chat."

Speaking to TechRadar Gaming during a recent Assassin's Creed Shadows preview event, realization director David Nibbelin said that the development team focused heavily on these cinematics and that it felt important for players to connect to the game's protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke, in between combat and open-world exploration.

"We needed to find a way to make sure that cinematics were compelling content that the player really wanted to put the controller down and enjoy," Nibellin said. "So for us, when we look at cinematics, we can't just think of them as telling a story. It seems kind of silly, but what we want you to do is, we want you to feel these scenes.

"We want you to think of them not as simply what happens next, but as a moment, to recognize consequence, to reflect on the choices you made as a player through gameplay or through selections, actually get an emotional payoff, so that you can connect with the player the characters that you're playing as."

Nibellin continued, saying that these cinematics will allow players "to connect to the characters themselves on a deeper level" and that the team approached this idea by showcasing "two perspectives of Japan through the eyes of our protagonists."

"When you think of Naoe and Yasuke, you think we have two very different viewpoints of this world," he said. "Yasuke who comes in seeing the very creme de la creme, the very top of the elite level. He's meeting Oda Nobunaga, and then Naoe, a farmer's daughter in the hills of Iga, she's seeing it from a very different side...

"It's easy to see big armies and big figures and think [of] the more generic historical context, but what was it like for these two experiences coming into this world? So when you connect through history, it needs to be through them."

The developer also teased that players will be able to experience Naoe and Yasuke's personal stories, their familial dynamics, and how they both deal with loss and romance, while at the same time rooted firmly in Japanese tradition.

Assassin's Creed Shadows was delayed earlier this month and is now set to launch on March 20 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.