Summary
Assassin’s Creed Shadowshas been taking a beating lately, being met with controversy after controversy, primarily surrounding its take on feudal Japan and its samurai protagonist. As if that weren’t enough, it is constantly compared to Sucker Punch’s 2020 hit,Ghost of Tsushima, which set multiple precedents in the game industry. Even so,Assassin’s Creed Shadowsmay rise aboveGhost of Tsushimain some ways while remaining inferior in others.
Initially,Assassin’s Creed ShadowsandGhost of Tsushimaappeared to be obvious competitors, withGhost of Tsushimaoften being acknowledged as the standard forgames set in feudal Japan. The two are very similar, to the point that the claim thatAssassin’s Creed Shadowswill be riding in on the coattails ofGhost of Tsushima’s success is somewhat warranted. However, if these two titles (and others) have proven anything, it is that their common setting allows for multiple games to thrive without each one casting too large a shadow over the rest. Furthermore, aGhost of Tsushima 2andAssassin’s Creed Shadowsare likely at entirely different stages of the developmental process, meaning they are both set up to get the lion’s share, regardless of how similar they may be.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Ghost of Tsushima Can Both Thrive in the Same Climate
Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Ghost of Tsushima Only Reinforce One Another
In the same way that two opposing viewpoints can be true at once, bothAssassin’s Creed ShadowsandGhost of Tsushimacan thrive in the same climate. A complaint has been thatAssassin’s Creed Shadowsis copyingGhost of Tsushimaby adopting the now-popular feudal Japan setting. However, ifGhost of Tsushimahad spectacularly failed,Assassin’s Creed Shadowsmight instead be praised for its rendition of feudal Japan, whether it is historically accurate or not. Trends have justifiably always been a target in business, so ifAssassin’s Creed Shadowsis hopping on the feudal Japan trend, its doing so is nothing new. In fact,Assassin’s Creed ShadowsandGhost of Tsushimasharing their setting only serves to reinforce support for each game by drawing more attention to it.
With the upcoming release ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows,Ghost of Tsushimahas received considerably more attention. Of course, the same thing happened when Team Ninja’sRise of the Roninwas released, and it still performed well in spite of persistent comparisons toGhost of Tsushima. On the flip side, a spotlight has also been shone onAssassin’s Creed Shadowsfor taking afterGhost of Tsushimain many ways. Regardless of how similar the two may be, however, it can’t be denied thatAssassin’s Creed Shadowshas been in the limelight more than it might have been if it were released beforeGhost of Tsushima.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Ghost of Tsushima’s Sequel Won’t Share Release Windows
It’s fairly safe to assume thata sequel toGhost of Tsushimais currently in development. Unfortunately, Sucker Punch has yet to officially confirm that to be the case, chalking its development up to nothing more than rumors and supposed leaks. Nevertheless, even if it is in development, the release ofGhost of Tsushima’s sequel will be considerably separate from the release ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows, meaning the two won’t be launch window competitors at the very least. As such,Assassin’s Creed Shadowsdoesn’t necessarily need to worry about getting overlooked by fans looking forward to the nextGhost of Tsushima, especially since a sequel is highly unlikely to even be announced until next year.
Thecomparisons drawn betweenAssassin’s Creed ShadowsandGhost of Tsushimaare perfectly understandable, but that doesn’t mean either one of them will overshadow the other. It’s easy to believe thatGhost of Tsushimawill always be the feudal Japan standard, butAssassin’s Creed Shadowsmay still surprise.
