Assassin’s Creed Shadowsintroduced a new Nightmare Mode that finally gives players a proper challenge, and while I wish it was there from the beginning, I’m happy I can finally play the game without feeling invincible and wiping out massive groups of enemies with zero effort. There wasn’t much of a challenge toAC Shadowsup to this point, and in my view this really held the game back for players once they figured out the basic mechanics and collected some decent gear. Further, while options like Guaranteed Assassination made stealth strategies fun, it also made things incredibly easy.
But all of that has changed with the addition of Nightmare Mode, with enemies becoming incredibly powerful, dodge and parry timing mattering significantly more, and thetrusty Guaranteed Assassinationnot being an option at all anymore, making assassination skills absolutely essential if you want any chance at using stealth reliably. On the whole, the new Nightmare Mode is a major improvement to the overallAssassin’s Creed Shadowsexperience, and if you ever threw in the towel due to lack of a challenge, it’s time to finally pick the game back up and give it another go.
You Can Run But You Can’t Hide In Assassin’s Creed Shadows Nightmare Mode
Stealth & Assassination Techniques Require Careful Planning
One of the best and mostchallenging aspects of Nightmare Modeis enemy sensitivity to stealth, and their heightened awareness of Naoe sneaking around in the shadows. For one, you’re almost definitely going to get spotted if you plan on traversing rooftops, especially if you’re resorting to old methods and not paying attention to enemies on the ground. Enemies are able to spot you up above in much more realistic ways, andeven the slightest wrong move will give you away.Rooftops are still viable, but you really need to be aware of your surroundings.
Most importantly, it has become essential for players to actually plan out strategic routes through castles, forts, and other enemy-laden areas, as running in blind will most certainly get you killed. This is the sort ofstrategic depth to stealth mechanicsthat I wish had been present in the game from the very beginning, adding actual complexity to these encounters. Even at the previous highest difficulty settings, going through a castle in stealth wasn’t a challenge at all, and there were times when you could literally crawl right past enemies like you were invisible.
Nightmare Mode allows you to toggle on/off Nightmare difficulty for both Combat and Stealth, butGuaranteed Assassination is not allowedwith Stealth Nightmare enabled.
In Nightmare Mode, you’ll have to pay attention to enemy movement much more carefully, tracking their paths and their individual levels and abilities to deny assassination. Without Guaranteed Assassination available, the “deny assassination” feature for powerful foes cannot be ignored, and your level will actually matter way more than it does in lower difficulty settings.Shadows now only keep you hidden if you don’t move at all;even the slightest movement while in the shadows will give you away. Further, almost without fail, as soon as an enemy is alerted to your presence, at least two more will help investigate.
Finally,sound in Nightmare Mode is incredibly dynamic and more relevant than ever before.Naoe’s stealth movementwhen crouched will generate more sound the faster you move, alerting enemies quickly and more often. This is perhaps the most immersive aspect of the new Nightmare Mode, adding a level of realism that has been desperately needed, especially with the additional sensitivity to stealth movement in the shadows and overall increased enemy awareness.
Nightmare Mode Solves One Of My Biggest Issues With The Game
Heightened Enemy Awareness & Sensitivity To Sound Allow A Proper Stealth Experience
One of my biggest beefs withAssassin’s Creed Shadowswas with stealth mechanics being completely immersion-breaking and unrealistic. Enemy awareness was unbalanced, withenemies being completely oblivious or simply feeling a bit dumb.Nightmare Mode is a completely newAC Shadowsexperience in this regard. Heightened enemy awareness makes Naoe’s stealth assassin strategies feel much more natural and immersive, giving you a real sense that every movement is important and mistakes have actual consequences.
While the previous Expert mode offered some level of difficulty compared to lower settings, it was nothing that players with experience inAssassin’s Creedand/or other stealth games in the genre couldn’t manage. Nightmare inAC Shadowsis a legitimate challenge that far exceeds anything we’ve seen before in the franchise, and it could give any stealth/assassin game veteran a run for their money.Expert mode is a breeze by comparison, and anyone who was previously complaining about a lack of difficulty with the stealth mechanics inAC Shadowswill likely change their tune after enabling stealth Nightmare Mode.
You Should Definitely Replay AC Shadows
Nightmare Mode Is A Whole New AC Shadows Experience
If you gave up onAssassin’s Creed Shadowsdue to thelack of a significant challenge, it’s time to revisit the game and give it another chance.Nightmare mode is an entirely new and immersive experiencethat warrants either a new playthrough or picking up where you left off to finish out the game at the higher difficulty level. The mode presents players with an opportunity to re-experience the story in a way that accentuates the importance of all of its specific mechanics. Yourbuilds for both Naoe and Yasukewill require much more attention to detail.
Sound and movement speed are critical features in Nightmare Mode that cannot be ignored.
Further, you’ll need to use both characters strategically for different situations outside the character-specific missions that force you to switch from one to the other.Clearing castles and/or forts is no longer possible without strategic planningand careful attention to your route and enemy positioning. Shadows, bushes, tall grass, etc., are all way more relevant, and using these environmental advantages is no longer optional if you want to use stealth successfully. Sound and movement speed are critical features in Nightmare Mode that cannot be ignored.
Nightmare Mode is a huge improvement to the overallAC Shadowsexperience, giving players in need of a challenge a satisfying option that was sorely lacking in the original game. Nightmare Mode allows players to feel like a proper assassin when using Naoe, and if you enable Nightmare combat as well, the difficulty of open brawls increases to a comparable degree. If you aren’t convinced, I urge you to fire upAssassin’s Creed Shadowsagain and give Nightmare Mode a try for yourself.
