Assassin’s Creed Shadowsarrives on March 20 and will be the 14th main entry in the series, which has been running for 18 years. Over those 18 years,Assassin’s Creedhas had games set in Ancient Greece to Victorian London, all with a modern-day story running simultaneously. It’s a complicated timeline, but the central theme of the Assassins and Templars fighting to control the powerful pieces of Eden remains the same, andAssassin’s Creed Shadowsis no different.
After a brief return to the more linear, stealth-action-focused gameplay ofMirage,Assassin’s Creed Shadowswill return to the action-RPG style, and it will take place roughly in the middle ofAssassin’s Creed’schronology. Trying to play all theAssassin’s Creedgames in chronological order can be jarring as they jump forwards and backwards in time, so you might want to play them in order of release instead before you get toShadows.
Which Assassin’s Creed Game You Should Start With
Start At The Beginning Or With The Best In The Series?
With 13 games in the main series which have crossed multiple genres,it can be difficult to know where to get started in theAssassin’s Creedfranchise. Thanks to the overarching narrative of Abstergo in the present day, all theAssassin’s Creedgames are linked in some way, and you’ll notice links between them as you move through their stories. You canplay theAssassin’s Creedgames in chronological orderif you want, but because of the present-day story, it can get a bit confusing.
Do You Need To Play Any AC Games Before Assassin’s Creed Shadows?
Whether you’re new to Assassin’s Creed or a veteran of the franchise, AC Shadows doesn’t require any special knowledge, though it might help.
I’ve played all the mainAssassin’s Creedgames and, in my experience,it’s best to start with the first game in the series and then finish the Desmond arc in order of release. The firstAssassin’s Creedmay have older graphics and fewer assassin tools and weapons to play around with, but it stillnails the stealth-action gameplayand has some great storytelling. The following three games focus on Ezio’s story, which is the best in the series, and each one improves the combat and freerunning thatAssassin’s Creedbecame famous for.
Once you’re done withAssassin’s Creed 3,you can pick upAssassin’s Creed Rogueif you enjoyedAC3’ssetting and gameplay, or skip ahead toAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag.Black Flagis regarded as one of the best in the seriesand gives you a taste of what’s to come from open-world games likeValhallawhile being smaller in scope and still having a good focus on stealth gameplay.
Where AC Shadows Falls In The Assassin’s Creed Timeline
What Period Does The Newest Game Take Place In?
Assassin’s Creed’stimelinespans across most of recorded history. WithOriginstaking place in Ancient Egypt as early as 431 B.C., and each game having a modern-day story happening simultaneously, there are plenty of settings and periods for Ubisoft to experiment with.The original game started in the 12th centuryand the series then moved to the Renaissance before hanging around in the 18th century for a few titles. When the games became open-world RPGs, they jumped back in time, but nowAssassin’s Creed Shadows' timeline placementjumps forward again.
Every Assassin’s Creed Game, Ranked Worst to Best
Since 2007, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed video game series has released twelve mainline titles. Here are all 12 games, ranked from worst to best.
Assassin’s Creed Shadowsis set in the late 16th century, beginning in 1579. This meansShadowstakes place between the Ezio trilogy (1476–1507) andBlack Flag(1715–1722). The 70-year gap between Ezio’s last game and the more than 100-year gap toBlack Flagmeans there won’t be much connection between them andShadows, so it will be interesting to see how the Assassins and Templars end up in Japan and how their rivalry affects the Azuchi-Momoyama Period.
Every Assassin’s Creed Game In Order
Release Dates And How To Play Them
The originalAssassin’s Creedis available on PC but wasn’t remastered, and you might need to mod it for a smooth experience. Unfortunately, it isn’t playable on current-gen consoles, though an Xbox Series X or S could play the 360 version through backward compatibility. However,Assassin’s Creed 2,Brotherhood, andRevelationswere remastered withThe Ezio Collectionand are easier to play on modern machines. From there on, the series is easier to play on PC and current-gen consoles thanks to backward compatibility.
2007
Assassin’s Creed 2
2009
PC, PS3, Xbox 360 (original); PS4, Xbox One, Switch (The Ezio Collection)
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
2010
Assassin’s Creed Revelations
2011
Assassin’s Creed 3
2012
PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U (original); PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch (Remastered)
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
2013
PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360; Switch (The Rebel Collection)
Assassin’s Creed Rogue
2014
2015
2017
2018
2020
2023
2025
PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
There are a lot ofAssassin’s Creedgames to get through if you’ve not played them before and want to get caught up before you playShadows.If you want to play one or twoAssassin’s Creedgames to get a feel without waiting too long to playAssassin’s Creed Shadows,I would trysome of the shorter-length gameslikeAssassin’s Creed2andMirageto understand the central themes, and then tryAssassin’s Creed Odysseyto get a feel for the open-world RPG style ofAssassin’s Creed.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Set during Japan’s Sengoku period, two distinct protagonists—Naoe, a shinobi, and Yasuke, a historical African samurai—must navigate political intrigue and violent clashes between the Assassins and Templars. Players can switch between stealthy, shadow-based gameplay with Naoe and Yasuke’s direct combat approach, exploring the duality of their missions in a beautifully rendered open world.
