After a turbulent pre-launch period, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is here and, by all accounts, pretty great. It tries to appeal to fans of the series who have been around since the Ezio days and those who hopped on when AC went full RPG, and I found it successful in pleasing both. It’s also trying to create a one-stop shop for all your Assassin’s Creed games, and I’m not for that part.
Upon launching Shadows, you’ll be sent to the Animus Hub, named after the in-universe machine that allows people to experience the memories of their ancestors. It’s intended to be a way to launch all your AC games from one launcher. However, it instead blurs the line between what you own and what you could own as well as feeling like an attempt to get you to buy more Assassin’s Creed games, intentionally or not. You’re just a few accidental clicks away from owning an Assassin’s Creed title you didn’t mean to buy.
Selecting a game you don’t own really comes across like you do, in fact, own it.
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250329_0538381-scaled.jpeg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250329_0538381-scaled.jpeg?fit=740%2C416&ssl=1″ class=”ezlazyload size-large wp-image-614096″ src=”data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20width=%22740%22%20height=%22416%22%3E%3C/svg%3E” alt=”No, Assassin’s Creed, I don’t need a single launcher for all your games” width=”740″ height=”416″ title=”SHARE 20250329 0538381″ data-ezsrcset=”https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134300911.jpeg 1024w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134301776.jpeg 300w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134302933.jpeg 768w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134303750.jpeg 1536w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134304397.jpeg 2048w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134305826.jpeg 1000w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134306570.jpeg 560w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134307769.jpeg 1480w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134308290.jpeg 2220w” sizes=”(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px” ezimgfmt=”rs rscb4 src ng ngcb4 srcset” data-ezsrc=”https://aiptcomics.com/ezoimgfmt/i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250329_0538381.jpeg?resize=740%2C416&ssl=1″>
Selecting a game you don’t own is cleverly disguised to make it seem like you do actually own it and are about to launch it.
Let’s say Shadows is the only AC you own. Curious, you go to check out why 872 CE VALHALLA is above it showing Eivor staring at you menacingly. Is something related to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla included with Shadows? Was Valhalla a PlayStation Plus free game months ago and you forgot it’s in your library? Clicking the X button on your DualSense won’t take you to the game, but instead the store page for Valhalla, where it’s already easy enough to accidentally add items to your cart with wayward clicks.
What’s most frustrating is how something like the PlayStation store can allow you to purchase games you already own. I have a copy of Mirage on disc, which means nothing to the store in terms of my ownership of it. The store won’t recognize that my account has already played this game and doesn’t give any sort of “Hey, want to double check you don’t already own this game?” type of message when accidentally clicking the purchase button.
Now, I recognize that this might be making a mountain out of a molehill, but I think we need to be more vocal with minor complaints like this lest every game and app we open constantly advertises to us all the other entries we could stumble into buying. Will a 12-year-old who gets Assassin’s Creed Shadows for Christmas later this year understand he only owns Shadows and not Mirage, Valhalla, and every other Assassin’s Creed title showcased in the Animus Hub? We already know kids are susceptible to wracking up in-app purchases on phones, and now parents will have to worry about them accidentally buying full games on their consoles – if those parents are aware this is possible at all.
Battle pass in all but name.
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250329_0538392-scaled.jpeg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250329_0538392-scaled.jpeg?fit=740%2C416&ssl=1″ class=”ezlazyload size-large wp-image-614097″ src=”data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20width=%22740%22%20height=%22416%22%3E%3C/svg%3E” alt=”No, Assassin’s Creed, I don’t need a single launcher for all your games” width=”740″ height=”416″ title=”SHARE 20250329 0538392″ data-ezsrcset=”https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134310393.jpeg 1024w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134310716.jpeg 300w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134311483.jpeg 768w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134312416.jpeg 1536w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134313404.jpeg 2048w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134314757.jpeg 1000w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134315431.jpeg 560w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134316118.jpeg 1480w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134317469.jpeg 2220w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px” ezimgfmt=”rs rscb4 src ng ngcb4 srcset” data-ezsrc=”https://aiptcomics.com/ezoimgfmt/i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250329_0538392.jpeg?resize=740%2C416&ssl=1″>
Battle pass in all but name.
My other annoyance with the Animus Hub is how it seems to be soft launching a battle pass. By completing various timed missions in Shadows, you can unlock certain rewards (like armor, weapons, and crafting material) in the Projects tab. While this tab isn’t begging you to buy any premium cosmetics, it does feel like a test drive for future paid battle passes, either to be integrated in Shadows or future releases like Codename Hexe. And if that’s the case, one has to wonder if there will be any safeguards in the Animus Hub protecting people from mistakenly buying premium add-ons for games they don’t own, especially as there is already a cosmetics store in the Hub.
Don’t be surprised if this exchange starts asking you for real money in the future.
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250329_0538403-scaled.jpeg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250329_0538403-scaled.jpeg?fit=740%2C416&ssl=1″ class=”ezlazyload size-large wp-image-614098″ src=”data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20width=%22740%22%20height=%22416%22%3E%3C/svg%3E” alt=”No, Assassin’s Creed, I don’t need a single launcher for all your games” width=”740″ height=”416″ title=”SHARE 20250329 0538403″ data-ezsrcset=”https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134319856.jpeg 1024w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134320893.jpeg 300w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134320735.jpeg 768w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134321816.jpeg 1536w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134322143.jpeg 2048w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134323461.jpeg 1000w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134324610.jpeg 560w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134325795.jpeg 1480w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250331134326642.jpeg 2220w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px” ezimgfmt=”rs rscb4 src ng ngcb4 srcset” data-ezsrc=”https://aiptcomics.com/ezoimgfmt/i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250329_0538403.jpeg?resize=740%2C416&ssl=1″>
Don’t be surprised if this exchange starts asking you for real money in the future.
Separate from the non-battle-pass battle pass is an “exchange” – a storefront in all but name – where you swap the Animus Hub’s currency for some of the cooler looking gear in the game. Some of the selection updates daily and others weekly, training you to check it each time you boot up your game. While you can’t buy Animus bucks with real world money at the moment, are you really going to be surprised when Ubisoft adds that option?
Ubisoft’s Animus Hub comes after Activision Blizzard tried something similar with Call of Duty, creating a launcher intended to “optimize” (using air quotes here) getting to your COD games – and, you know, all the ones you don’t own. Others have written about how it needs to be ditched, and here’s to hoping people hate the Animus Hub in kind.
发表回复