Summary
Assassin’s Creed Shadowsfinally took players to the much-requested fan setting of Feudal Japan, letting you experience both the life of a shinobi and a samurai with its two contrasting protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke. The game has everything you’d expect from a modern Assassin’s Creed game, including action-RPG gameplay mechanics and your usual open-world activities.
If you’re looking for some more similar experiences, there are plenty of games worth playing that are either set in Japan, rooted in its mythology, or have similar fast-paced and tactile combat systems.
Rise of the Ronin takes place in historical Japan, this time being set in the 19th century during the Bakumatsu period, as opposed to Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Feudal Japan. Still, both of these games have a good amount of similar open-world shenanigans. The freedom to approach missions and objectives in multiple ways feels very similar to Ubisoft’s style.
Rise of the Ronin was developed by Team Ninja, who have multiple popular IPs under their belt including Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden, and Nioh. The game flew under the radar a bit after release, but if you liked the atmosphere and gameplay loop of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, this one should hit the spot.
Bloodborne is the perfect gothic, dark fantasy game brimming with atmosphere. It’s set in the dark and twisted city of Yharnam, heavily inspired by the Victorian era, where a blood disease has turned the population into different kinds of monsters.
You play as a Hunter and explore various locations in the city all while trying to survive its lovecrafting and eldritch horrors. Combat here is fast and aggressive, relying on quick reflexes with precise dodging or parries with your firearm.
The Like A Dragon series is obviously very different from Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but if you want to see a different, modern side of Japan, these games are as good as it gets. The seventh entry, Yakuza: Like A Dragon, is theabsolute best of the franchise.
It’s a brand-new story with a brand protagonist and supporting cast, all while containing a decent amount of connections to the past titles, making this a pretty good starting point if you’re looking to get into the series without wanting to play the several games that came before it.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 has some solid world-building in a medieval fantasy setting. There’s very little handholding here unlike most open-world games, with a few game mechanics that definitely aren’t friendly to casual players but make the game that much more rewarding and immersive.
The game’s combat is rather weighty and impactful, with different classes and abilities to experiment with. The standout of this game has to be its Pawn system, which are AI companions created by other players that you can recruit.
Okami is a unique and beautiful game where you play as Amaterasu, the sun goddess, who has taken up the form of a white wolf. The game’s art style is inspired by traditional Japanese painting, and the story is rooted in Japanese mythology.
You use a magical paintbrush to solve puzzles and fight enemies, leveraging a distinct type of game design, especially given game director Hideki Kamiya’s works ondrastically different gamessuch as Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, and Bayonetta. The presentation here is very charming, the visuals and music are great, and so is the Japanese folk-tale-inspired story.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is set in the Lord of the Rings universe, something that isn’t as common as it should be for video games, given the amount of lore and possibilities in that universe.
Here, you play as Talion as he builds an army to take down Sauron’s forces. The combat is fast, extremely brutal, and always satisfying. The Nemesis system was even more expansive here than its predecessor, and it’s a shame we haven’t had any game use it since.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was very different from the games FromSoftware had been making before it. It’s set in a fictionalized version of late 1500s Japan where you play as a shinobi, much like Naoe in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
The game’s combat system relies on precise parrying and timing to break your opponent’s posture and land a killing blow. This is a FromSoftware game after all, so expect to die a lot; far more than usual, as this is probablyits most difficult game.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is another game that pretty much flew under the radar. It was different from Tango Softworks’ previous Evil Within games, and even more so from its succeeding game, Hi-Fi Rush. This one’s an FPS set in a modern, open-world section of Tokyo where you battle spirits with your supernatural powers.
It’s not historically focused like Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but it shows a different side of Japan with an eerie, supernatural vibe. The combat is also unique, using hand gestures and spells rather than traditional weapons.
