Assassin’s Creed Shadows Update Adds Critical Role Crossover & Hard Mode
▼ Summary
– Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Title Update 1.0.6 adds a free quest, “A Critical Encounter,” developed with Critical Role, featuring a new Ally character voiced by Robbie Daymond.
– The update introduces a Nightmare difficulty setting, making enemies stronger, faster, and smarter while reducing player abilities and increasing stealth challenges.
– Players can now toggle headgear visibility during cutscenes and customize VFX settings, such as hiding loot indicators or enemy attack cues.
– The patch includes bug fixes for quests, visuals, and gameplay issues, such as NPC behavior, progression blockers, and localization errors.
– Ubisoft plans future content updates, including New Game Plus, story expansions, and the Claws of Awaji DLC, as part of the Year 1 roadmap.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows receives a major update tomorrow, introducing fresh content and gameplay enhancements. Title Update 1.0.6 brings an exciting Critical Role crossover quest alongside a punishing Nightmare difficulty mode, giving players more reasons to dive back into feudal Japan.
The free questline, titled A Critical Encounter, features Rufino, a character originally created during Critical Role’s Assassin’s Creed-themed session. Voiced by Robbie Daymond, Rufino seeks help from Naoe and Yasuke after uncovering a deadly conspiracy. Completing the quest unlocks him as an Ally, along with a Critical Role-themed banner for the hideout. Additionally, a weapon pack inspired by the show, including a tanto, katana, kanabo, and teppo, will be available for purchase in-game.
For those craving a tougher challenge, Nightmare difficulty ramps up the stakes. Enemies hit harder, react faster, and employ smarter tactics. Stealth becomes more demanding, with Naoe generating noise even while crouched, and combat requires near-perfect timing, imperfect parries now only partially block damage. Resources like adrenaline and shinobi tools are scarcer, forcing players to strategize carefully.
Beyond these headline additions, the update introduces quality-of-life improvements. Players can now toggle headgear visibility during cutscenes, ensuring their preferred look remains consistent. A new VFX customization option allows disabling specific effects, such as loot markers or enemy attack indicators. The open-world alarm system, previously limited to castles, now extends to entire provinces, repeated attacks on civilians or soldiers will trigger relentless guardian patrols.
Horseback riding gets a cinematic upgrade with three camera presets, while PC players benefit from an Ultra Low Spec mode for smoother performance on weaker hardware. The patch also squashes numerous bugs, including progression blockers in quests like A Chance Encounter and Diary of Lady Rokkaku, as well as visual glitches affecting gear and NPCs.
This isn’t Ubisoft’s first collaboration for Shadows, earlier tie-ins included Dead by Daylight and Balatro. Looking ahead, the Year 1 roadmap promises New Game Plus, story expansions, and the Claws of Awaji DLC.
Patch sizes vary by platform, ranging from 6.27 GB on PS5 to 19 GB on Xbox Series X|S. The update goes live June 25 at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET / 2 PM UTC. Whether you’re here for the Critical Role crossover or the brutal Nightmare mode, there’s plenty to explore in this latest refresh.
(Source: GAMESPOT)
