Realism and excessive complexity stab at Assassin's Creed Shadows' excellence

REVIEW: Too many overlapping systems and a late-blooming plot hamper what is a visually stunning and poignant game.

Despite the desperation on Naoe’s face, this is more fun than it looks.

The brightly garbed Ronin isn't happy. A few inches to the left with my stray kunai throw and he would have been dead. But I missed, and now he's on the warpath. Along with his crew, he's chasing me through a wheat field. I'm using the reeds for cover as I pick them off one by one, but he's on alert now and it's broad daylight. One misstep leads to yet another chase, and he's not relenting.

Ten minutes after the botched toss, I've drawn him at least a kilometre in-game away from the bar he was drinking at. The sun is starting to set, helping my stealth efforts. Then, I see my chance. I slink up out of the shrubs, and before he can turn around, shiv the Japanese mercenary with my hidden hand blade. The job is done, an assassination recovered. One target down, another six to go.

It's these moments of intense gameplay where Assassin's Creed Shadows truly shines, creating unique player stories where each assassination be…