Playing Assassin’s Creed in Japan has been a request from fans of the franchise for a long time. And this time it’s the right one, Assassin’s Creed Shadows plunges us into the heart of feudal Japan, in the 16th century. With such an interesting playing surface, it’s time to take stock of everything we know about the Assassin’s Creed Shadows map.
How big is the Assassin’s Creed Shadows map?
Ubisoft has confirmed that the Assassin’s Creed Shadows map will be different from the Valhalla and Odyssey episodes which offered huge maps. Simon Lemay-Comtois, associate game director, confirmed that the Assassin’s Creed Origins map will not follow this trend and will instead be close to an Assassin’s Creed Origins in terms of scale.
The goal is to create a less gigantic map, but much more varied and pleasant to navigate, a true immersion in feudal Japan. While the size of the Assassin’s Creed Shadows map should therefore be around 80 km2 while we were around 142 m2 on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and more than 200 km2 on Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
The size of Assassin’s Creed maps is a topic that comes up with each new installment of the series, and many fans are calling for maps to be smaller, but more interesting to navigate. With Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Ubisoft is therefore returning to something more targeted.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Full Map Images
Ubisoft has officially revealed images of the map within the Collector’s Edition of Assassin’s Creed Shadows which is sold with a map of the world, its 9 regions and points of interest such as castles, waterfalls and other traditional Sumi villages -e.
The full map was revealed by user ACV_R on Reddit and shows the extent of the game, which appears to run from Takeda Castle in the west to Nabari in the east.
What regions to explore in Assassin’s Creed Shadows?
The Assassin’s Creed Shadows map is divided into nine regions based on the real historical provinces of Japan. This includes Iga (home of the Shinobis), Arima (site of a major battle), and Omi (an agricultural region).
Overall, the game map revolves around Kansai Prefecture, a region steeped in history and cultural importance that was once home to powerful daimyo, feudal lords. Here is the list of the nine regions of Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
- Harima
- Iga
- Kii
- Omi
- Settsu
- Tamba
- Yamashiro
- Yamato
- Wakasa
The large body of water in the middle of the map is Lake Biwa, located northeast of the former imperial capital Kyoto. It is the largest freshwater lake in Japan and the third oldest lake in the world, after Lake Baikal (Russia) and Lake Tanganyika (Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia).
Since the game will travel to Kansai, this means that the two most notable cities of the time will be Kyoto and Osaka. Fukuchiyama has already been revealed in several gameplay phases. Note also that on the image of the map, two eastern regions are completely blurred and not detailed, these are Ise and Shima. Ubisoft could make them accessible in one of the two future expansions planned for the game.
Which biomes for the Assassin’s Creed Shadows map?
The Assassin’s Creed Shadows map will be large and varied enough to offer a range of different environments. Since the game is set in a flourishing era, it allows for a wide variety of locations such as towns, trading posts, farmlands and colossal castles which have been depicted at a scale close to 1:1.
But of course, Japan is also a land where nature occupies a considerable space. Thus, the episode Shadows will give pride of place to the southern mountains and the dense forests of the country. It will even be possible to discover beaches to the north and all this will be punctuated by monuments, temples and other hamlets.
The weather will also play an important role in Ubisoft’s new game since it will not only change the landscapes, but also influence the gameplay. The winter plains will give way to flowers and plants in spring, which will allow, for example, hiding in bushes and tall grass. Likewise, water freezes in winter, which will allow entry into swimming pools and ponds. Icicles form on the edges of roofs and can fall, which can reveal a location.
As a reminder, Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes place in the Azuchi-Momoyama period of Japanese history while the story begins in 1579 and continues until the early 1580s. The game will allow you to play as one of the two protagonists with the possibility of switching from one to the other during the campaign.
