Assassin's Creed Shadows is aiming to give series lovers the best of both worlds with Canon Mode – a setting that removes choices and dialogue options for those who don't want any RPGness in their AssCreed stories – but it was only added because some fans "expressed their disappointment" about RPG mechanics loud and clear.
Assassin's Creed first started stomping down the RPG route with Origins, and then the franchise really doubled down on the genre with Odyssey's dialogue options and many, many romantic partners before carrying on the trend in Valhalla. While the changes courted new fans, some oldheads who loved the series for what it was – a straightforward stealth sandbox – were somewhat left behind.
"When we introduced a choice of characters and dialogue choices in AC Odyssey, many of our fans loved the idea, but some expressed their disappointment in not having a definitive and canon narrative for the game that could be embedded in the AC lore meta story," creative director Jonathan Dumont tells GameRant. He continues to say that Canon Mode was created after the team spoke with fans and ultimately decided to create a "reference story within the franchise," which probably makes tie-in multimedia projects and potential sequels simpler to handle.
"This way players can enjoy the more RPG style of narrative or a more linear one, if they prefer," Dumont says.
Thankfully for those of us who play the series' pseudo-roleplaying games as a dating/hookup sim, Canon Mode won't interfere with romance options. You'll still be able to choose who Naoe and Yasuke flirt with, for "either for a short, sweet time or longer term." Associate narrative director Brooke Davies reiterated that "none of our love stories is canon, so players can choose for themselves who – or who not – to pursue."
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