Defaults of Parkour in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
After enjoying the open world in Assassin's Creed Shadows for a few hours, parkour is the one thing that sticks in my mind the most long after finishing the missions. Having a feature that once defined the series, parkour became the most essential and favorite part of Assassin's Creed gameplay. It was what made the world feel responsive and rhythmic; the joy of finding a creative route across the rooftops was something else. Regrettably, Shadows continues the series' diminishing return on this. It doesn’t completely fail, but it also doesn’t quite succeed. What is left is a system that feels functional, even sometimes stunning, but it is also lacking. The first trailers for Shadows built anticipation for feudal Japan. The environments looked diverse and built for conquest; layered rooftops and tiered castles provided plenty of passage and vertical integration. As I climbed my first Japanese castle wall, I felt the nostalgic connection with the archit...