I've spent 20 hours in Assassin's Creed Shadows chasing drip and decor, and it's proving to be my biggest source of motivation in the RPG

In Assassin's Creed Shadows, there's no shortage of objectives to clear, areas to explore, and locations to unlock, but there are two things that have been guiding my entire experience so far: drip and decor. Nothing motivates me quite like finding the very best swag, from attractive armor pieces for Naoe and Yasuke, to eye-catching weapons, and pretty tea sets or paintings I can display in my base. In fact, the majority of my time in the RPG so far has been actively shaped by the pursuit of all of those things. Whenever I'm deciding where to go next, my chosen path is often determined by where most appealing loot is housed, or which objectives offer up the most desirable rewards.

The more I play, the more I've come to realize that the many different ways you can decorate your base are proving to be the biggest influencing factors when it comes to how I want to explore and engage with the vast open-world.

Finding furnishings

I've always been all about customization, and Assassin's Creed Shadows happily boasts a lot of it – both in terms of the fits you can put together for the shinobi and samurai, and the home base you can assemble and decorate. The base really is a dream come true for me as a long time fan of the series, with Sims-like building features that make popping down rooms in any way I wish an absolute breeze. From setting down a tea room to creating a study and forge, it's very easy to carve out my very own space in feudal Japan.

But in my opinion, a home isn't a home until it's filled with cherished possessions that speak to the journeys I've been on as Yasuke or Naoe, or little knick knacks that add a personal touch. So naturally I absolutely love that each room you can build has various station sets that allow you to decide what kind of decorative items you want to furnish the space with – be it a weapon or clothing display, shelves for trinkets, or a wall to hang paintings on. As soon as I discovered the different possible layouts of each room, I was immediately impelled to go out into the world to find things that could breathe some personality and color into my base.

One of my favorite side activities so far revolves around sneaking up to animals and sketching them in the open-world. It's a sweet little pastime in its own right since it encourages me to take some downtime to appreciate the critters that inhabit the world, but it also has a practical purpose. Anytime I stop to get in touch with my artistic self as either protagonist, I unlock and catalogue the ink painting I've just completed, which can then be used to decorate a wall in my base.

As a result, I always make an effort to stop and head over to a sketch location when I stumble upon one during my travels, and I've already racked up quite the collection. One now takes pride of place on a wall in my tea room, which not only makes it feel more personal, but also speaks to some of the adventures I've been on and the sights I've seen.

Accessorizing assassin

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Shadows' transmog feature adds more fuel to the fire, sending my desire to secure the most stylish armor and weapons into overdrive. With so many different distinctive outfits to find and earn for both Yasuke and Naoe, and plenty of weapon types to wield, I adore the way transmog lets me pick my favorite styles without sacrificing my stats. While that's true of many transmog features in RPGs these days, Shadows is by far the Assassin's Creed series' best iteration of it, with the option to change up the cosmetic style of each piece of gear I have equipped for either character, right down to the handle, blade, and sheath of weapons like the katana or tanto.

In such a beautifully realized open-world, there's so much attention to detail paid to the decals of Shadows' weapons and armor, with different intricate patterns decorating scabbards and various kinds of embroidered material that can really make an outfit pop. And the transmog feature is really letting me make the most of them.

To get my hands on more of those striking designs and styles, I've been spending a lot of time honing in on castles dotted around the landscape that you can sneak or fight your way through. Each one houses a chest containing legendary gear that you can unlock by killing a certain number of daisho enemies.

Fortunately, the map will show you what the gear will be, and on several occasions, I've targeted a particular castle and put time and effort into clearing solely to get my hands the pretty armor within it – my favorite being a gorgeous black ensemble with gold threaded embroidery for Naoe that looks oh so sleek. With the ability to tailor the cosmetics of my equipped outfit with any one of the designs I've bagged so far, the prospect of uncovering more to add to my collection continues to be the biggest source of motivation for me.

I've really been enjoying just how much customization there is in Assassin's Creed Shadows, and the way it's been shaping my journey in the sprawling open-world so far. Who knows what fit or furnishing I'll get my hands on next, but expect to see shiny ornaments in my base and Yasuke and Naoe sporting more fashionable looks sooner rather than later.

Looking ahead to the future of the series with our roundup of upcoming Assassin's Creed games.