If you are sitting in front of your screen, wallet in hand, wanting to dive into feudal Japan, wondering which game deserves your time first,Ghost of TsushimaorAssassin’s Creed: Shadows, the decision can be hard.
I absolutely loved Ghost of Tsushima’s slick combat and vibrant art style, but I’ve also been heavily drawn towards the dynamic stealth and deep customization ofAssassin’s Creed: Shadows.Both games seem to nail what the other lacks perfectly.
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The mission design is simply archaic, with restrictions like failing the mission if you take just a few steps out of the mission area.
Which is why looking at Ghost of Tsushima and Assassin’s Creed: Shadows side by side is so interesting, one takes you through the journey of a lone warrior who has left the ways of the samurai, while the other drops you in a land torn by civil war and corruption, both bring Katanas, Stealth and drama to the legendary era, but the question is which game is better?
11Combat System
Ghost Of Tsushima
Combat can be a game’s saving grace, and there is a clear difference between the two. Ghost of Tsushima’s Combat is addictive, from its standoffs to the final hit; each blade that pierces the Mongols is satisfying.
Fighting enemies feels fluid with beautiful swordplay, clean finishes, and four stances that force you toplan your attack against rushing enemies,perfectly mixing swordplay with strategy.
On the other hand, although the finishers and the atmosphere before a fight are also done right in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, they are overshadowed by clunky and inconsistent combat, especially how the enemies fight you one by one, killing the urgency and challenge compared to Ghost of Tsushima.
10Stealth Mechanics
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows
Stealth is similar in both games, but I’ll have to give this point to Assassin’s Creed: Shadows as it has betterdynamic and complex stealth mechanics.
While Ghost of Tsushima has clean takedowns, it just doesn’t utilize stealth properly. I rarely felt the need to use my gadgets, and the limited assassination animations also get pretty repetitive, though my main problem is with the AI that often looks away from the path you’re supposed to take, making stealth easier than it should be.
Whereas Assassin’s Creed: Shadows has more animations, better patrolling AI, a wider range of movement, and the level design forces you to use some kind of gadgets to gain an advantage, which makes each encounter different from the last.
9Story & Narrative Depth
Both games have excellent stories and revolve around revenge, but it’s the narrative depth of Ghost of Tsushima that wins my heart.
I love how it’s woven into the gameplay, from your first stealth kill, where Jin despises the idea of killing someone while hiding, to him coming up with the plan of poisoning the enemy camp in the final chapter. As the game progresses,you slowly start caring less and less about honor,and it’s all done through gameplay, which keeps the story on your mind even when doing other activities.
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By no means is Assassin’s Creed: Shadows' story bad. I really like the dual protagonist take Ubisoft went for, but its pacing and bloated narrative can sometimes overshadow its beautiful story, pulling you into doing side activities.
8Visuals & Art Style
Ghost of Tsushima is stunningly beautiful. Everything from its golden sunsets to the white fields and crimson leaves feels divine,something that I stopped numerous times to admire. The game doesn’t aim for realism; it presents you with Feudal Japan through artistic expressions, vibrant color, and the magical atmosphere of a dreamlike world.
On the other hand, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows nails realism perfectly, but although it’s graphically superior and has impressive details, I felt a lack of cinematic and artistic touch that made Ghost of Tsushima a beautifully painted masterpiece.
It doesn’t mean the game is ugly—it delivers with its rich world and textures, but still fails to leave a lasting impression like Ghost of Tsushima.
7Cultural Authenticity & Tone
Both games do a good job with their Tone of the legendary Era, but Ghost of Tsushima not only gives us the setting, it embodies the samurai legacy in its story and gameplay. The game respectfully depicts Feudal Japan andis rooted in Samurai values of Honor and duty,which can be seen in almost every section of the story.
On the other hand, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows has detailed worldbuilding that closely resembles feudal Japan, but has had some controversies revolving around Yasuke, one of the main protagonists. Then again, even without its controversies, the setting is there, but the game relies less on it and more on just the action and story, unlike Ghost of Tsushima.
6Customization
Customization is what makes your next encounter better than the last, or just makes you look cool.
It’s only natural that this point goes to Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. The customization is endless;everything from its headgear to armor can be modified. You can even tailor each piece of armor to your liking using dyes, and with two protagonists, each with unique gear, the options feel practically never-ending.
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Ghost of Tsushima, on the other hand, is more limited. While it does havesome armor customization and dyes, it falls short in comparison to Shadow’s depth of customization options, but I don’t mind this approach asit goes hand in hand with the minimalist tone of the game.
5RPG Systems
I love both lite and heavy RPG games, so I can’t give this point to one over the other becauseboth Ghost of Tsushima and Assassin’s Creed: Shadows do an excellent job of implementing RPG elements into the gameplay.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows leans more on the heavy side with its detailed skill trees, gear customization, and choices. The game is made in a way that every stat or build I changed affected my gameplay in some way, which I always appreciate.
Ghost of Tsushima is the complete opposite and keeps it light on RPG elements. Sure, there are upgrades, new skills, and some crafting as well, but either they are cosmetic or slightly buff your abilities in combat, it focuses more on just the narrative and the story.
4Side Content & Replay Value
Both games deliver in these aspects, and it’s a close call, but Assassin’s Creed: Shadows has more replayability.
Ghost of Tsushima has amazing mythical tales side missions, butAssassin’s Creed definitely has more variety,with its constant seasonal changes, dynamic encounters, and faction quests that constantly refresh the side content.
The main story also allows for multiple replays,whether you prefer balancing your time with both protagonists or completing the story with each one.Sure, it is long, but I had fun and a different experience with each protagonist.
Ghost of Tsushima, on the other hand, has a short story and addictive combat, but the limited side missions and activities can’t match the long-term engagement of Shadows.
3Cinematic Presentation
I believe very few games can reach the bar set by Ghost of Tsushima in terms of Cinematic Presentation.
The cutscenes beautifully blend into gameplay, and the camera angles during duels make it feel like a Samurai film, but what I love the most is itsHUD-less gameplay,there are no markers or text on the screen, and it uses a gust of wind to guide you, which makes even simple things like riding a horse feel incredibly immersive.
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The ‘go anywhere, do anything’ thing is so overrated.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is graphically impressive, but it lacks the cinematic depth of Ghost of Tsushima, because Ubisoft gives more control to the player over the tight cinematic control, which takes out the immersion when transitioning between gameplay and cutscenes. It also has a UI-heavy approach, which can sometimes pull you out of the moment.
2Immersion & Interaction
Maps of both games are beautiful, though Assassin’s Creed: Shadows has a larger map, with more cities to explore, but what really gives it the edge in terms of immersive gameplay and interaction is how alive the map and cities feel compared to Ghost of Tsushima.
The map is denser with more trees and other props, whereas the cities are full of details and life, even the NPCs in the background and how they react to Yasuke feel more alive, which brings more immersion to your gameplay.Shadow also features seasonal changes that affect the missions, patrols, and environments.
I understand, Ghost of Tsushima’s war-centric setting naturally has fewer NPCs, but even with towns filled with them, they just don’t feel as alive and immersive. Another thing that hurts the immersion is that, despite the beautiful open world, there is very little to interact with other than scripted activities.I think Suckerpunch focused more on cinematics and story, which is why it’s the studio’s best game.
