Book Review: The Art of Assassin's Creed Shadows
March 25th 2025
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the latest release from Ubisoft in the long-running game series that has players taking the roles of different characters across a variety of historical settings. This time round, players take control of two protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke, in 16th Century Japan, a long requested setting by fans. There is more than just a new game for players to dive into though, there is an artbook too, The Art of Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
It was no surprise to find out this book was coming, Ubisoft have released many Assassin’s Creed artbooks, with this one also coming from Dark Horse, the publisher responsible for last three as well. The book also comes just days after the game launched, which has become uncommon in the last few years. Now that the game is out, fans can dive into the art that helped make it happen.
This review is based on these 5 points; build quality, content, credits, use of space and value. You will get my thoughts on each and you can see previews below, including a video.
Build Quality
Dark Horse are a very reliable publisher and no stranger to artbooks for video games, so you’re in good hands here. As always, this is a hardcover that comes in at their standard size of 9 x 12 inches (23.52 x 31.29 cm). I have no concerns with the binding and the print quality is fantastic too. If you collect artbooks, you likely have at least one of their books on your shelf, so you know what to expect and that’s not a bad thing.
Content
The book comes with 256 pages and covers a lot. Fans of the game will be able to spend a lot of time delving into the art and insights here. I’ll keep it more brief as there is a lot I could talk about, but that speaks to not only the amount of work needed to produce a large scale RPG as they show here, but their long history of releasing artbooks and making them enticing to players.
The book is split up in typical fashion, with the protagonists, environments, characters, wildlife and more getting their own sections. The art that is showcased is from various stages of production too, which I always like. Content includes detailed environments, unused character costumes, ink sketches, black and white art and a lot of ‘narrative’ pieces too. There is a great mix here that helps highlight what was involved in creating the game.
The two protagonists get a nice section at the start, providing a look at their concepts with more focus on the costumes, but some pages for the weapons too. The art gives you a good look at the details of their designs, with some superb artwork in settings too. Other characters are showcased later on, but unfortunately they get just one image each for the most part and without a look at early or alternative designs. It’s not ideal, but given the amount of art included in this book, you can’t have space for everything.
Often with Assassin’s Creed artbooks, my favourite sections are the environments. The art teams not only create incredible art, but a window into other cultures, as well as the past. This book is no different and it is the largest chapter. There is a lot of detail in many of pieces, with some ink sketches and black and white art mixed in too. Much of the art is more than just the settings, they depict moments and the life of people in them. It is mentioned that they wanted to create narrative-based concept art for the design team, and it makes them more dynamic. This chapter also includes a look at the building designs, textures and more, giving a deeper look at the development of the visuals. This again is my personal highlight of this entry in the artbook series.
There is also a ‘Narrative’ chapter too, which as well as including the other characters, also has concept art for key moments in the story. This shines a light on how the artists capture the feel and mood of a scene to guide the final result. There are also pages for storyboards, UI and key art, so you can see more of what is required from the team.
What I really like about this book, is that on top of the range of art, the insights are also thoughtful. They did a brilliant job of giving lots of information to the reader without filling the pages with text. It uses the opportunity to not just comment on the art, but also give historical information too, such as the names of weapons, what buildings would have been used for, traditions and brilliant mini pieces of history trivia for locations and scenes.
There are also notes from the team about intentions and what was needed from the concepts too. It strikes a nice balance and is very engaging. When I saw the small paragraphs on the pages, I was worried it would be vague and generic information, as found in other books. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised by the efficiency of being insightful without needing long paragraphs, allowing more page space to be free for the art. This is also helpful for some text placement, as it can be on top of the artwork, but as it is small and concise, it doesn’t distract or ruin the images when placed in the corner of a larger piece.
The only downside with the text is what is used for the other characters, as it only has descriptions of who they are, rather than the deeper insights featured for the main protagonists and other parts of the book.
Credits
The Art of Assassin’s Creed Shadows has done a great job with this, which has not always been the case for the series. It credits the artists on each page and lists them all in the back of the book too. You can’t ask for much more than this, so this part of the review is short and sweet.
Use of Space
As you can see in the previews, the pages are full and the images are good sizes too. Maybe it’s from experience of making these books, but they did an excellent job working with the page designer. The layouts change constantly, they are very readable and the text placement isn’t distracting either. A lot of the text is in a smaller front size than is seen in many books and I think this was a great decision.
What I find very impressive though, is the use of art crossing the centre fold. This can spell disaster for many artbooks, as parts of an image can be lost this way and can ruin them. There are instances where this happens, but very few times and it’s very minimal, which given how often the art does cross the fold, is noteworthy. Perhaps they have worked out a way to adjust their printing to accommodate for losing sections of artwork this way. Whatever they did, I hope they pass the knowledge on to others.
Value
As is the standard for a Dark Horse artbook, the full retail price is $50/ £45. I have no issue with this as books can often be found below this price. I always go to Amazon for prices, so that reviews can stay consistent when checking for current reductions and availability. Right now, this book is already over 30% off in the US and over 25% off in the UK, but of course this is subject to change.
At a price like this, you have a great deal, there is a lot included and Dark Horse deliver solid books. Even if the price drop was lower than this, I would happily recommend it to players wanting more from Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Verdict
The Art of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a great way to enjoy the talent of the artists at the studio. The variety of content, organisation, print quality and volume gives fans a great way to get lost in the art. The use of both historical and artistic insights gives the book even more value as well. With only a couple of minor setbacks, this is an artbook that continues the strong line of releases for the series. It’s easy to recommend and benefits from coming shortly after the launch of the game too, so I hope people pick this one up.
Though I don't review art as it is subjective, I continue to be blown away by what is created for Assassin’s Creed. For me personally, I’m happy the book successfully gives the art the showcase it deserves.
For those wanting to add this to their collection, you can order The Art of Assassin's Creed Shadows here;
Tags;
Based On: #AssassinsCreedShadows Series: #AssassinsCreed Publisher: #DarkHorse Studio: #Ubisoft
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