Assassin’s Creed Shadows Won’t Have Classic Social Stealth, Fans Call It “Huge Step Back”

Assassin’s Creed Shadows will not feature “social stealth,” Ubisoft has confirmed. While the game will feature plenty of traditional stealth elements (mainly when playing as Naoe), it appears as though Ubisoft has opted to ditch the social stealth elements that have been seen in past instalments.

If you’re new to the Assassin’s Creed franchise, you might be wondering what the difference between stealth and social stealth is exactly. Ever since the very first Assassin’s Creed game in 2007, social stealth has allowed the game’s protagonist to remain hidden by employing tactics such as blending in with a crowd or sitting on a bench. The aim was to remain in public environments while still being inconspicuous.

The feature hasn’t been in every Assassin’s Creed game, but many see it as a staple of the franchise. It often allows for missions where the player must stalk an enemy and remain hidden whilst doing so, but it also just offers players another way to stay hidden if they’re trying to avoid enemies.

Unfortunately, despite returning in the last Assassin’s Creed game, Mirage, it looks like Ubisoft has once again decided to ditch the feature.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Won’t Feature “Social Stealth”

As reported by Stephen Totilo, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will not feature social stealth. Ubisoft clarified a previous statement to Gamefile after the game’s producer reportedly misspoke on the matter.

Shadows will feature two protagonists that players will be able to switch between: Naoe and Yasuke. The former is a Japanese shinobi who will allow the player to take a more stealth-like approach, while the latter is a real-life historical samurai.

Players will still be able to make use of various stealth elements in the game, such as sneaking around in the shadows and assassinating unsuspecting enemies, but there won’t be any social stealth, according to Ubisoft.

“Naoe is not distinguishable in the crowd. She is unnoticeable by military NPCs while in the open world – unless she starts doing illegal things, like swinging her sword, climbing, or using prone navigation in the street. Naoe is invisible by default for NPCs in the open-world,” Ubisoft said. As for Yasuke, Ubisoft says it is “impossible” for the character to blend in unnoticed.”

Plenty of stealth action was shown during the recent Ubisoft Forward event, but fans believe the removal of social stealth is a “step back” for the franchise.

“Social stealth is one of the very pillars of Assassin’s Creed, how can they do that?” another user stated.

It’s clear that fans aren’t happy with the removal of social stealth, but is that the only thing fans should be concerned about? DualShockers recently had the opportunity to check out Shadows at Summer Game Fest, but we weren’t exactly blown away. Check out our full hands-off preview here to find out more.

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