Assassin's Creed Shadows has reached the end of its narrative journey with the release of "Black Tides," the game's final story expansion. This concluding chapter, which ties into the upcoming "Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced," is being lauded for its surprisingly strong storytelling, pacing, and animations, presenting a stark contrast to the base game.
While "Black Tides" is not without its flaws, including some frustrating boss encounters, its narrative missions and overall structure represent a significant improvement over the original "Assassin's Creed Shadows" experience. This has led to a sentiment that this expansion, along with the preceding post-launch content, should have formed the core plot of the base game.
Doubts Cast on the Base Game's Narrative
Since its initial release, the structure and conclusion of "Assassin's Creed Shadows" base game have increasingly drawn criticism. Although the opening act of "Shadows" is acknowledged as strong, offering a more engaging experience than the early hours of titles like "Odyssey," "Valhalla," and "Mirage," the subsequent acts falter significantly. Act 2 is described as excessively long and unfocused, featuring numerous repetitive target hunts that lack the cohesive structure needed to develop the protagonists Naoe and Yasuke compellingly. This protracted 35-hour section of the 50-hour story is considered disjointed and aimless. Act 3, meanwhile, shifts focus away from Naoe, the preferred protagonist, towards Yasuke. While this conclusion finally begins to integrate "Shadows" into the broader Assassin-Templar conflict of the "Assassin's Creed" mythos, it ends abruptly.
Expansions Elevate the Experience
Over the year following "Shadows'" launch, several story-driven expansions were released, each seemingly enhancing the appreciation for the base game. "A Critical Encounter" refocused the narrative on Templar assassinations, while "A Puzzlement" introduced Isu elements and hinted at Kassandra's presence. "Claws of Awaji" directly addressed the cliffhanger ending of the base game. "Black Tides" further builds upon these by addressing issues with Act 3, injecting emotional stakes into Naoe and Yasuke's partnership and ensuring their journey culminates within the series' lore.
In "Black Tides," Naoe and Yasuke confront Black Cross agents Eamon Hathaway and Nirmala. These elite Templar operatives dismiss the efforts made by Naoe and Yasuke during the main game, revealing their focus on the Observatory, an artifact also sought by Edward Kenway over a century later during the events of "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag." Although the search for the Observatory, located in Jamaica, concludes without either side finding it in Japan, the expansion provides a potential explanation for how the Assassins acquired a blood vial before the Templars. It also offers a fascinating hint as to how Achilles Davenport identified an Isu artifact in "Assassin's Creed Rogue."
The expansion suggests that Naoe and Yasuke's discoveries informed the Assassin Brotherhood's leadership, potentially influencing future events. "Black Tides" also posits that Yasuke's imposing physique and resilience stem from a significant amount of Isu DNA, likening him to a demigod similar to "Odyssey's" Kassandra. This revelation retroactively explains Yasuke's near-supernatural abilities within the action-RPG framework, while Naoe's skills remain more grounded. This narrative twist is compared to significant lore reveals like Minerva speaking to Desmond in "Assassin's Creed II" or John Standish's true identity as a Sage in "Assassin's Creed Unity."
A More Cohesive Vision
"Black Tides" successfully recontextualizes "Shadows'" main plot as a minor endeavor within the larger global politics of the "Assassin's Creed" universe. It incorporates enjoyable references to other entries, including Shao Jun and a humorous nod to Kassandra's recurring presence. The expansion concludes with a cliffhanger that feels more satisfying and rewarding than the base game's ending, and it sets the stage for "Black Flag Resynced."
Visually, "Black Tides" also surpasses the base game. The cutscenes are sharper, featuring more expressive character models and improved voice acting. The animations are more lifelike, a welcome return after concerns about character movement in recent "Assassin's Creed" titles utilizing the Ubisoft Anvil engine. This improvement offers confidence that "Black Flag Resynced" can achieve a similar level of visual fidelity and performance. Crucially, "Black Tides" avoids undermining its dual-protagonist concept. By structuring missions exclusively for Naoe or Yasuke, the expansion allows their relationship to develop organically through the narrative, rather than relying on player choice. This focused approach highlights the potential of the dual-protagonist system, a feature that "Shadows" arguably should have embraced from its inception.
The Question of Timing
The primary takeaway from "Black Tides" is the question of why these improvements and narrative developments were reserved for paid expansions and updates released over a year after the game's initial launch. It is suggested that a more concise, narrative-driven Act 2, inspired by "Claws of Awaji," and a Templar-focused Act 3 culminating in "Black Flag Resynced" could have significantly elevated the base game. Such a reimagining might have featured more engaging villains and livelier cutscenes, contrasting with the perceived puppet-like character animations in the original release. Despite these reservations, "Black Tides" has generated renewed anticipation for "Black Flag Resynced," with hopes that future installments will further explore Naoe and Yasuke's narrative threads and leverage the advancements shown in this final expansion.