Forget the hidden blade: if you're not yeeting enemies in Assassin's Creed Shadows, you're missing out

In Assassin's Creed Shadows, I come across an opportunity I can't ignore. An unsuspecting guard stands at a perilous high point, keeping watch for would-be intruders like me. There's no railing or obstruction in front of him, which makes his position perfect for what I plan to do next. I stealthily crouch down as Yaskue and begin to creep up behind the unfortunate archer, whose fate is about to be mercilessly sealed. As a result of my large stature and heavy armor, I deliberately inch forward ever so slowly to get as close as possible without being detected. I practically hold my breath during my approach, because I'll never forgive myself if I screw this up.

When I get right up behind the poor guy, he's going to notice me – so I have to time this just right. Just as the guard begins to turn around and cotton on to my presence, I stand up and unceremoniously yeet the archer off the edge with a powerful kick. He soars majestically through the air to his doom, and I'm very pleased with myself. Heck, I pretty much guffaw as he slams into the ground. What can I say? I love it when a plan comes together.

For all of the weapons and stealthy approaches you can take in Assassin's Creed Shadows, I cannot stop myself from repeatedly using Yasuke and Naoe's respective kicking abilities – in my book, they're the best skills in the RPG.

Kick it with me

It's endlessly fun to kick enemies in Assassin's Creed Shadows. Sure, it's always satisfying to shove a foe off the edge of a high ledge, but Yasuke's kick is downright fun to use in almost any combat situation. The powerful War Kick is one of Yasuke's signature samurai abilities, and it essentially punts enemies away which of course inflicts some good damage.

But it often serves as a great way to control the battlefield. Surrounded by lots of enemies at once? Kick 'em out of the way and give yourself space to whittle down the group. Got a particular pesky ronin getting too close for comfort with their katana? A kick will put some distance between you and any threatening blade. Plus, I can't deny that it's just incredibly entertaining to send a guard or bandit flying onto their back.

It brings to mind the supercharged Sparta kick Kassandra can do in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and given Yaskue's strength and size, it makes sense that his kick would make an impact in a similar way. But the samurai isn't the only one with an excellent leg-based ability. Instead of the overpowered War Kick, Naoe has nimble shinobi-style Lightning Kicks. Once again perfect for using against groups of foes, Lightning Kick allows her to knock the closest two enemies to her over. With a slick sweep of her legs, she makes foes fall flat on their backs which she can then use to her advantage by performing ground attacks – aka stabbing them while they're down.

I love that Naoe can get her kicks in a way that suits her, and it's every bit as satisfying as booting guards as Yasuke –- albeit a little less useful when it comes to taking advantage of unsuspecting archers on elevated platforms. Both protagonists have lots of different weapons at their disposal, and I've really been enjoying wielding many of them. Thrashing and walloping my opponents with Yasuke's club-like kanobo never gets old, and swinging around Naoe's kusarigama has its own appeal, but I simply can't stop with the kicking.

I've been having a blast making use of these particular abilities as both Naoe and Yasuke, and it's only been thanks to the skill points I've invested to improve these abilities. I mean heck, I can even send heavy enemies soaring now. I'm sure I'll be putting the boot to a lot more enemies in the future to get my kicks where I can. Attacking from the shadows with a hidden blade has had its time to shine – now, it's all about striking with the foot.

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