Assassin's Creed Shadows Announced, GTA 6 Release Window Revealed

Assassin’s Creed used to be one of my favorite franchises from any studio. The series kicked off with Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad as the title character who shepherded us through his story with the Brotherhood of Assassins, but in my opinion, the series hit its stride during the time of Ezio Auditore in Assassin’s Creed 2, Brotherhood, and Revelations. These 3 games built on the amazing mechanics and storytelling that were introduced in AC 1 and brought Renaissance-era Italy to life in a beautiful way.

AC3 was a ho-hum entry that most people forget exists, and AC4: Black Flag brought the series to a completely different level, so much so that Ubisoft decided to make a non-AC pirate game, Skull and Bones, 10 years too late. After Black Flag, the series bombed out. People lost interest in the super loose overarching narrative that followed Abstergo, the company responsible for the Animus which simulates all of the memories that you play through in the game, and as Ubisoft always does, they started to nickel and dime gamers for every piece of content they could.

This week, we were introduced to Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the newest franchise entry set in feudal Japan. Fans have been asking for an Assassin’s Creed set in Japan since the series released, and in that time, Ubisoft has given us entries in England, France, Italy, Norway, Egypt, Greece, The Caribbean, and the list goes on. But, now that it is here, how does it look?

The trailer looks decent, but as we know now, you can’t judge a game based on a trailer with no gameplay. Here is what we know about the game from Ubisfot’s site.

1. 2 main characters for players to choose from: Shinobi Assassin Naoe and Legendary Samurai Yasuke

2. Set in the late Sengoku period in Japan during times of civil war and upheaval

3. There will be a season pass, pre-order bonus, and 4 editions of the game (normal Ubisoft nonsense)

I have been waiting for an Assassin’s Creed game set in Japan since the first game was released in 2007, but since then I’ve played Ghost of Tsushima, the award-winning Samurai game set in Feudal Japan from Sucker Punch. Given Ubisoft’s declining game quality, I’m not sure that Shadows can live up to what Ghost has already done. Will I still play Shadows? Probably…

How old were you when GTA 5 was released? A baby? A young child unspoiled by the cruelty of the world? 2013 was a long time ago and, in that time, we have all thought about what the world would be like when GTA 6 comes out.

Well, I’ve got some news for you. The world won’t be like that awesome image above of a man walking a robot dog among a sea of shiny buildings and vehicles that would blind you if you looked directly at them. The world will be like whatever Fall 2025 looks like, because that is the new expected release window for GTA 6.

There was never a firm release date set for Rockstar’s next GTA entry, but most industry folks were speculating that we would likely see the game on shelves around Holiday 2024. Even this announcement is likely to change once we get closer to Fall 2025.

We don’t know much about GTA 6, but here is what we do know. The game will be set in Vice City, a fan favorite location. It will feature 2 protagonists, one male one female, and it will have a ‘Bonnie and Clyde-esque’ story. So it’s going to be about bank robbers in Miami. Sounds like a GTA game to me!

Game Recommendation

This week’s game recommendation is one of the best games I’ve played in the last 10 years or more, Baldur’s Gate 3!

Baldur’s Gate 3 features some of the best storytelling, gameplay, graphics, and depth that I have ever witnessed in a game. Larian Studios put everything they had into developing this game, and you can tell from the moment you start it. You have full control over how the game plays out based on the decisions you make throughout your playthrough even down to the smallest detail.

You can be good, you can be bad, you can break the game, you can steal everything, kill anyone, and the game will account for it as best it can. It is truly one of the most immersive games I’ve ever played.

Cheat Code

The cheat code for this week is a legendary cheat code for a legendary game: Doom!

The God Mode cheat code for Doom is: IDDQD