If there was a game we all thought it would be a massive flop and disappointment this year, that game was Assassin’s Creed Shadows. A clear case of Ubisoft taking too long to deliver what people had been clamoring for more than a literal freaking decade, the long-awaited “Assassin’s Creed in Japan” was announced long after the release of the widely acclaimed Ghost of Tsushima (the game that was also, basically, Assassin’s Creed in Japan), had its release date delayed a couple of times, was subject to unnecessary racial controversy, and, well, it was a AAA game by Ubi released in the year of the lord 2025, after many disappointing outings by the company.

But it ended up being far from a disappointment. Was it better than Tsushima? Absolutely not. But thanks to some solid characters, a story that wasn’t half bad, and the fact that the Assassins are basically ninjas, thus making them feel right at home in such setting, Assassin’s Creed Shadows felt like a somewhat interesting surprise. And it’s now available on the Switch 2, following in the footsteps of Ubi’s own port of their other AAA open world title, Star Wars Outlaws. Skipping the premise and gameplay aside, which you can read in more detail here, how does the port fare on Nintendo’s new portable system?

Outlaws was a somewhat surprising port in terms of visuals and stability, only hampered by its framerate cap and mandatory usage of ray-tracing. Well, it was also hampered by its generic gameplay, but that’s besides the point. Assassin’s Creed Shadows is also a massive open world game running on Ubisoft’s proprietary engine, but instead of multiple planets acting as smaller maps to explore, there is one ginormous Japanese map acting as your playground, being a bigger hindrance to the system’s GPU and RAM. As a result, the Switch 2 port of Shadows suffers from a few setbacks.

It does look like you are playing Shadows on an older PC. Concessions had to be taken, corners were cut. This doesn’t mean that the game is ugly per se, but you can clearly notice inferior textural quality, lighting effects, and amount of trees and other assets onscreen. All of those, of course, can be mitigated by playing the game on portable mode, which is undoubtedly the best way to experience this port. But even though this port is full of visual concessions, the framerate isn’t the smoothest of rides.

The Switch 2 port of Shadows runs at a 30fps cap, but that doesn’t mean it’s a smooth 30 like Outlaws. There are constant (but minor) dips, which aren’t that much of an issue when you’re just exploring the land or playing as the brute Yasuke, but can be an occasional hindrance when either trying to act fast and stealthy with the actual Assassin / ninja Naoe, or when using her combat skills, which require a bit more precision and faster reflexes. In no moment do they feel like dealbreakers, but it’s worth mentioning nonetheless. Finally, I find it amusing that the game is booted up in the same Animus launcher as the PC version… maybe that’s a hint that we’re getting ports of other versions in the future?

I guess we were all expecting for Assassin’s Creed Shadows to suffer some setbacks before getting properly ported to the Switch 2, so I’m not overly disappointed. It’s still somewhat good-looking (in parts), and despite the framerate dips, it’s still a neat and fully playable experience. What’s more, there’s the added benefit of portability and some quality of life perks when it this mode, with larger fonts and touch-based controls. It might not be a good showcase of what to expect from AAA ports onto the Switch 2 (it does feel a bit rushed, I’m not gonna lie), but I had a good time with it regardless. It ain’t Tsushima, but it is a decent alternative.

Graphics: 6.5 You can clearly see that corners were cut in order to make the game run on the Switch 2. It looks like how the game would look on below minimal settings on PC. Sadly, the framerate has been limited to just 30fps, and even then, dips occur.	Gameplay: 7.0 Strong stealth elements and combat when you’re playing as Naoe. Somewhat lackluster brute combat when playing as Yasuke. Open world traversal is also decent. The framerate limitation is a bit disappointing, though.
Sound: 7.5 Stick to Japanese voice acting, and you won’t regret it. The music is good and the performances are better than anticipated. The occasional rock song with shamisen is played during certain cutscenes.	Fun Factor: 7.0 It is an interesting game, no doubt about. Having this game on-the-go is certainly a positive, even if it suffers from the same issues most Ubisoft open world games do. It ain’t Tsushima, but it is a decent alternative.
Final Verdict: 7.0

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is available now on PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch 2.

Reviewed on Switch 2.

A copy of Assassin’s Creed Shadows was provided by the publisher.