Assassin's Creed Shadows: Settings you need to change before playing

Assassin's Creed Shadows is the latest addition to Ubisoft's renowned series, taking you to an open-world setting in feudal Japan. The game features a rich storyline, action-packed gameplay, and the iconic parkour. But for the best gameplay experience, you must tweak a few settings before you start playing.

This article contains all the recommended settings in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

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Useful Settings to Change Before Playing Assassin's Creed Shadows

These changes can be improving audio immersion, adjusting exploration preferences, or even fine-tuning display options, but they would significantly enhance your adventure.

Follow everything below to get the best experience while playing Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Languages and audio

Assassin’s Creed Shadows offers multiple language options — Japanese, English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese. You can personalize voice and text settings by navigating to Options > Audio > General Subtab > Voice Language. Then, select the preferred audio language to best understand the game.

English subtitles in Assassin's Creed Shadows. (Image via Ubisoft/Sportskeeda Gaming)

If you are looking for a more authentic experience, then the game comes with an Immersive Mode. Navigate to Options > Audio > General Subtab > Immersive Mode and enable it. This setting will let all in-game characters speak their native languages — Japanese or Portuguese — while the subtitles will be in your preferred language.

If the subtitles are not in your preferred language, then head over to Options > Interface > Text Language and select the one according to your choice.

NOTE: Adding an audio language other than English would require the game to be restarted.

Game experience

One of the most important settings is Guided Exploration Mode, as it determines whether quest markers automatically appear on the world map. If you prefer a streamlined experience, then head over to Options > Gameplay > Guided Exploration Mode and enable it.

Like the past few Assassin's Creed titles, the newly-released Shadows also lets you choose the dialogue to build the narrative according to your taste. If you want a predetermined storyline, Canon Mode should be your selection while starting the game. It would automatically choose the dialogue that aligns with the game’s intended narrative.

NOTE: Canon Mode setting is only available when launching a new game.

You can also change the difficulty settings to fine-tune combat and stealth or guarantee every assassination irrespective of the health bar in Assassin's Creed Shadows. You can change the game's difficulty by visiting Options > Gameplay > Difficulty Tuning.

NOTE: Selecting Stealth Expert Mode would increase the enemy's perception, making it harder to remain undetected, even on rooftops.

Controls

Customizing the controls is crucial for comfort and efficiency in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The Control Remapping option allows you to reassign key inputs for both character's movements and combat actions. To change the controls, navigate to Options > Controls > Customize Control and remap the keys according to your preference. If you prefer inverted camera controls, toggle Invert X-Axis or Invert Y-Axis under Options > Controls.

Controller settings in Assassin's Creed Shadows. (Image via Ubisoft/Sportskeeda Gaming)

Players looking for simplified inputs for melee combat in Assassin's Creed Shadows can select the levels for Melee Attack Mode or Quick Time Events (QTEs). This setting reduces melee combat to a single button press or allows you to even skip QTEs entirely. You should visit Options > Gameplay > Melee Attack Mode or Quick Time Events and adjust the levels.

Display options

Fine-tuning the display settings ensures a smooth and visually optimized experience. If you prefer reduced blood effects, you can toggle Dismemberment or Blood FX on or off via Options > Gameplay. If you are sensitive to screen movement, the Screen Shake effect can be disabled via Options > Gameplay.

The game is also colorblind-friendly, as it features the Colorblind Mode that can be toggled on or off under Options > Video > Image Calibration.

Lastly, Assassin’s Creed Shadows includes post-processing effects like Motion Blur and Chromatic Aberration. If you prefer a clearer image, disable these features via Options > Video > Display Subtab.

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Adjusting these settings before playing Assassin’s Creed Shadows will help you get the best possible experience whether you want cinematic realism or streamlined gameplay.