The Evolution of Assassin’s Creed’s Stealth

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Assassin's Creed Shadows, launching on November 15, represents a re-imagining of stealth for the series. The two playable characters, the samurai Yasuke and the shinobi Naoe, are built for combat and stealth approaches, respectively - and while Yasuke is still capable in stealth situations, able to sneak, assassinate, and kill quietly with his bow, Naoe has a considerable bag of tricks at her disposal. She can go prone to escape enemies' notice, squeeze into small spaces, and hide in the ambient shadows cast by objects at night - as well as make more of those shadows by extinguishing light sources.

A master of her environment, Naoe can hide underwater (while breathing through a bamboo shoot), take advantage of thick fog and rain to stay undetected, and use Eagle Vision to spot enemies through walls before driving her katana home through the thin barrier of a shoji screen. Her shinobi bells can be used to attract guards, and her thrown kunai can silence them from a distance. She also has acrobatic climbing and parkour skills that Yasuke doesn't, as well as a physics-based grappling hook she can use to climb, swing, launch herself at unsuspecting targets, grab and pull enemies out of sight for quiet takedowns, and quickly hide in the rafters of buildings. Depending on her weapons, she can assassinate enemies in unique ways, and perform double assassinations with her Hidden Blade and tanto.

To understand why these are such big changes, let's take a look back at how stealth has evolved over the course of the series, from the hide-in-plain-sight ethos of the first game to the culmination and refinement of the franchise's stealth techniques in Assassin's Creed Mirage. You can experience the changing art of secrecy and