When playing Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the moment the wind blows, the environment seems to come alive. Leaves swirl in the air, grass sways gently, and even Naoe’s hair gracefully moves in the breeze. This captivating effect enhances the game’s dynamic seasons and weather like nothing else. Surprisingly, as revealed in a chat with some rendering engineers at Ubisoft, this wind isn’t what it seems—it’s actually an invisible fluid simulation.
That’s right, the realistic wind effects you experience come from fluid dynamics cleverly woven into the game. It’s a method utilized across different games, from God of War to Dwarf Fortress, to create lifelike environments. So, it’s a no-brainer that this technique works wonders here too.
The talented Ubisoft team dubbed the weather system in Assassin’s Creed Shadows “Atmos,” designed specifically to complement the game’s seasonal theme. As you follow Naoe on her journey of revenge, her life transitions through different periods, mirrored by the changing seasons. One minute you’re trudging through snow-laden landscapes in Japan; the next, you’re racing through lush green fields as winter gives way to warmth. As you progress, you even gain the power to alter the seasons at will.
Pairing these effects with innovative ray-traced lighting makes Assassin’s Creed Shadows arguably one of the visually stunning games yet. In my opinion, this is the first time ray tracing has truly enriched the mood and storytelling aspect of a game. The specialists at Digital Foundry break down the technical details, but essentially, the integration of ray tracing with older tech yields more realistic lighting. Inside buildings, shoji screens cast a cozy glow, while outside, objects cast rich, dark shadows where sunlight can’t quite reach. Turn off ray tracing, and you strip away that vivid contrast, leaving a somewhat muted visual. Digital Foundry fittingly refers to it as a “generational divide in lighting fidelity.”
Assassin’s Creed Shadows makes a compelling case for upgrading to a PlayStation 5 Pro or a top-tier gaming PC with a 50-series Nvidia graphics card. On the PS5 Pro, you can enjoy a seamless 60 frames per second with ray tracing, and an update will introduce Sony’s PSSR upscaling tech. If you’re on a PC, features like DLSS and Frame Generation ensure you hit that 60 fps benchmark with a card like the RTX 4070 or above.
Tapping into this power isn’t just about visuals—it’s about the dynamic features enhancing gameplay as well. From the wind’s interaction with the world to slicing through bamboo, these details heighten the interactivity and tactile feel of the game. Much like the sensation experienced in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Assassin’s Creed Shadows sets a new standard. It leverages the full might of modern technology not merely for hyper-realism but to craft an immersive, breathing, vibrant world.
