Games Inbox: Is Assassin’s Creed Shadows the best game in the series?

The Thursday letters page asks whether the Nintendo Switch 2 will have a touchscreen, as a reader gets excited about Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Expect the expected
I was going to say Assassin’s Creed is not really the sort of series I can imagine most people getting excited about but that’s probably part of its appeal. It’s kind of like a cosy game but with action and stabbing. You know what you’re getting, the graphics are good, and you can kind of play it on autopilot.

I realise that doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement but that’s the perfect sort of game for relaxing with, as far as I’m concerned. Or at least I assume that’s what Shadows is like, but it doesn’t sound like from your review that it’s any mad invention of the concept, which is exactly what I’d assume.

I know you ranked all the mainline games recently but where would you put Shadows, now that you’ve played it? It sounds like it’s probably the best of the modern games? Or maybe the best ever? Given how much I enjoyed Valhalla I’m sure I’ll like this one. Plus, you can never accuse Assassin’s Creed games of not being good value for money.
Cranston

GC: We’d say it’s the best post-Assassin’s Creed Origins game, yes. So that’d put it at number three in our list.

Second time lucky
I can’t believe how excited I am for Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition today. As a gamer since the NES days, I can’t remember having this much anticipation over a game release. It’s the first time I wished I’d bought online, so it would download in the morning, and I wish to take the day off.

Xenobalde Chronicles X was the last game I played on the Wii U and only stopped when, post-game, I got locked in a mission against something way too powerful and I couldn’t get out of it and I’ve been hoping it would be ported to the Switch since it was released. It seems the perfect game to see me into the Switch 2.
Kinetic induction (NN ID)
PS: Regarding game shops, I have got my last few from Currys. The last few have had 10% off, so I’ve had Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Zelda, and this for less than £40 each.

Missing in action
There’s a lot of talk at the moment about what Capcom might do with all their Monster Hunter money, which is probably a flawed concept in itself because the obvious thing is that they’ll just plough it back into more Monster Hunter (and gold-plated executive bathrooms).

But rather than Dino Crisis or Onimusha what I’d like to see come back is Devil May Cry. I’m confused as to why we haven’t heard about a new game already as I would’ve thought we’d get one anyway, since as far as I know Devil May Cry 5 was a success.

It’s been so long I’m going to guess that they were working on something and cancelled it. Capcom do this a lot, with Resident Evil 2 and 4 both having got a fair way before they realised it wasn’t working, and I think this is the sign of a good publisher/developer.

Even so, it’s about time we had some new action with Dante and friends. It’s over six years since the last one but it feels like longer.
Winston

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Light more fires
That was an astonishing figure, to learn that Ubisoft has 18,000 employees, only to iterate essentially the same game again.

Iteration isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though, I’m currently bashing, smashing, and crunching all the various beasts of Monster Hunter Wilds – a series which moves forwards only gradually but which deepens its gameplay every time.

Speaking of iteration, and also numbers of employees I suppose, I’m also looking forward to Hello Games next endeavour: Light No Fire; less of a bankable hit than Monster Hunter Wilds but I think they’re on to something again (if only they can tone down the hyperbole this time!) with the one big world.

Have we had any news about that recently? I remember seeing some wild speculation that it was nearly ready for launch when they dropped the trailer. High spirits, no doubt.
Shambling Reg

GC: There don’t seem to have been any updates since December 2023, but we’ve no reason to believe there’s a problem.

As if by magic
It looks like Inbox magic has struck again, because despite the developer not saying a word about it for ages they’ve suddenly announced that early access for Wreckfest 2 will begin on Thursday. So… that’s pretty spooky timing.

It’s only on PC and while the Steam page hasn’t been updated as I type this, apparently it’ll be £24.99. That seems more than reasonable to me, although it’ll go up 20% after two weeks, so it’s a kind of introductory offer.

There will be console versions but only after the early access is done. Looks like three tracks plus the testing grounds, plus four cars and a bunch of race types with the option of bots. All sounds good to me, so well done to that reader for wishing that into existence.
Tacle

GC: We hate to spoil the magic but the date seems to have been announced a month ago but not, we think, the other details.

Touching thought
Nintendo are known for usually keeping costs as low as possible for their consoles. With the touchscreen barely (or never) used by the vast majority of Switch games, since it’d prevent people playing in docked mode, I have a sneaky suspicion they’re going to drop touchscreen capabilities for the Switch 2.

Have Nintendo ever confirmed or denied this?
ttfp saylow (gamertag)
Now playing: Shady Part Of Me

GC: Nintendo hasn’t confirmed or denied anything, other than the Switch 2 exists and it’s backwards compatible. Although that feature may be the primary reason they keep the touchscreen.

Slow learners
The only positive I can take for that (laughably bad) AI generated trailer is that everyone immediately realised what it was, complained, and the publisher got so embarrassed they unlisted the video and threw the developer under the bus.

As you say though, I bet that won’t put anyone off in the slightest and we’ll see it happen again and again, until someone has the brainwave that trying to save a few dollars on making a normal trailer isn’t worth ruining the reputation of your game and making everyone hate you. Why that isn’t obvious from the start I couldn’t say.
Boycie

Background music
I agree with the recent discussions regarding video game music and that it is increasingly trying to encapsulate that big screen vibe. Although since Halo back on the original Xbox this has been going on for a long time. But ultimately it does seem to be what kind of game you prefer.

I can’t say I ever really hum any large game soundtracks, unless it has songs involved, like in Cyberpunk 2077. Otherwise, all big games are mainly background music to invoke atmosphere and tension but you won’t remember it.

The remake games like Resident Evil 2 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake are all highly reimagined music scores already recognisable from the retro years. But in the world of film and triple-A games, the film score rarely gets remembered unless it’s John Williams or Hans Zimmer.

But traditional gaming soundtracks are still there in Japanese role-players on Switch or Steam. Disco Elysium has a great soundtrack, from the band Sea Power, which is stunning and very poignant to listen too. Cult Of The Lamb is always playing in my head, as well as the awesome Stardew Valley.

I think ultimately games like Alan Wake and Assassin’s Creed may have one or two memorable tunes but otherwise it’ll be the back-up to what’s happening on-screen with the players interactions. But if done well, many film score composers say if you don’t notice the music, they have done their job well.

So don’t worry, traditional gaming soundtracks are still being produced, but more on the indie side of things. Listening and watching the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth score at the Royal Albert Hall, and the scores at The Games Awards, just shows that the more interesting and memorable of gaming music still has a massive part to play in the entertainment world.
Alucard

Inbox also-rans
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Super Smash Bros. Melee, F-Zero GX, and Fire Emblem would be awesome GameCube titles to add to the Switch!
Isaac

Just for an update, it’s now 3,648 days since the release of Bloodborne and the last time Sony seemed to give a damn about the game (if they even cared then, I don’t exactly remember wall to wall adverts.
Lomax

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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

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