Assassin's Creed Shadows romance borrows the best part of Odyssey letting us choose "lovers, either for a short, sweet time or longer term"

Naoe and Yasuke walk in the sunset in a screenshot from Assassin's Creed Shadows
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Assassin's Creed Odyssey is my favorite pick of the series' pseudo-roleplaying games, partly because of its lush summery setting and partly because you could bang enough people to fill a small Greek island. And thankfully, Assassins' Creed Shadows is borrowing from its predecessor's best bits by letting us choose "lovers" for a short stint or a longer relationship.

During today's Assassin's Creed Shadows Reddit AMA with developers, associate narrative director Brooke Davies revealed that "choices take on many forms" in the upcoming stabathon, impacting who we play as and the outcomes for several quests. 

"In terms of the story of our league, we get to explore core themes like community and chosen family through choices since Naoe and Yasuke can choose who to recruit as allies and who to connect with as friends and lovers, either for a short, sweet time or longer term," Davies continued. 

In that sense, Shadows seems to be expanding on Odyssey's thirstiness. Not only can you seduce potential partners, but you can also seemingly commit to them. (Kassandra would never, though I guess Naoe and Yasuke are cut from a different, probably less horny, cloth.)

Recruitable companions would make sense in a game like Valhalla, where players were constantly returning to their home village, or Odyssey, which had a massive ship serving as a homebase, but Ubisoft have yet to properly reveal a similar hub for Shadow's duo. A sim-like base-building feature was leaked a few weeks ago, however, so maybe that's where our friends and/or lovers will hole up. We'll see how it all shakes out when Assassin's Creed Shadows comes out on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS5 on February 14. 

Assassin’s Creed Shadows could be between 30 and 60 hours long as the developers reveal it’s “comparable to Origins/Odyssey and Valhalla.” 

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

Read more
Naoe and Yasuke walk in the sunset in a screenshot from Assassin's Creed Shadows
Reflecting on Assassin's Creed's romances has me looking forward to "the more developed relationships" in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows devs added a Canon Mode removing RPG choices after Odyssey fans "expressed their disappointment" over not having a "definitive" story
Assassin's Creed Shadows romance options Naoe pulling Gennojo in for a kiss
All Assassin's Creed Shadows romance options
Assassin's Creed Odyssey screenshot
After replaying the best Assassin's Creed RPG, I hope Shadows uses the series' strengths to separate itself from Ghost of Tsushima
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Assassin's Creed Shadows director on splitting time between the two heroes: "The core of the game can be pick your character and the game adapts"
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Assassin's Creed Shadows' "Canon Mode" gives you the official RPG experience – but it'll cost you almost every romance option
Latest in Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe "justice must be served" or "killing them isn't justice" Yaya and Mistumune choice
Should you side with Mitsumune or Yaya in Assassin's Creed Shadows?
Assassin's Creed Shadows money naoe and merchant
How to get money in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe in outfit
Best Assassin’s Creed Shadows armor for Naoe and Yasuke
Yasuke pets a dog in the hideout in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows lets you add dozens of cute animals to your hideout, and all you have to do is pet them
Yasuke riding through a village looking for Knowledge in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows' prologue is the most gripping in franchise history, but I'm fixated on the tiny details
Assassin's Creed Shadows protagonist Yasuke
Joining the chorus of positive reviews, Baldur's Gate 3 developer says Assassin's Creed Shadows has the series' best combat "in years"
Latest in News
Baldur's Gate 3 the vampire Astarion covered in blood
Baldur’s Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon warns games industry that "AI will have deep ramifications" if not properly regulated: "I believe in experiencing life and art through human expression, not software"
Putting cigarettes in fish mouths in Thank Goodness You're Here
Thank Goodness You're Here's developer says it was trying to design a game normally before realizing "we're s**t at video game design"
MindsEye
GTA veteran's new open-world game will belong to everyone – almost like a wild mix of Roblox and Minecraft servers: "It won't just be ours"
Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars fans have ignited an age-old debate, and there are some seriously hot takes
Bill getting teary-eyed in The Last of Us
A potential The Last of Us season 1 plot hole has sparked a lot of debate among the fans
Jason Momoa next to Lobo
Jason Momoa has gone method taking on the role of Lobo: "I asked everybody to call me by my character's name"