Weve coveredAssassins Creed Shadowsextensively in the days and weeks ahead of its launch, but even as its release looms large on the horizon, theres still no shortage of things to talk about. Details on the action RPG continue to come in thick and fast, with Ubisoft offering a steady stream of glimpses at its combat and stealth mechanics, its open world and the activities it will offer, its story and characters, the tech it will boast under the hood, and more.We have, of course, discussed a great deal of all of that and more in our coverage of the game so far, but with more pertinent new information still left to talk about, here, that is exactly what were going to do. On the eve ofAssassins Creed Shadows launch, as excitement surrounding the open world action RPGs release continues to climb, here, were going to go over some more things that you should know about what the game will have on offer.STEALTH WITH YASUKEWeve spoken plenty aboutAssassins Creed Shadowsrenewed emphasis on stealth and the new mechanics and systems the game is introducing to match those ambitions, and though our focus for much of that has been on Naoe the shinobi who is, of course, the more stealth-focused of the two protagonists Yasuke the samurai theotherlead has his own stealth mechanics to speak of. Hes not as deadly or effective as a silent killer as his counterpart is, but Yasuke can hold his own in the stealth department.His base moveset will, of course, allow him to do prone, crawl around, and make use of the shadows to his advantage just like Naoe can (even if he wont move quite as nimbly). On top of that, Yasuke wll also have access to a bow that he will be able to use as a deadly ranged option for when you want to remain quiet. He will also replace Naoes Hidden Blade assassinations with louder and more brutal assassinations with his primary weapon- which willattract the attention of other nearby foes. Meanwhile, he also wont be able to use Eagle Vision, unlike Naoe, though hewillstill have access to the Observe mechanic, so theres that. Overall, though Yasuke is clearly not going to favour stealth, it seems like hewill be able to hold his own in the shadows should he really need to,COMBAT WITH NAOEOn the other end of the spectrum, Naoe who is otherwise the stealth expert, being a shinobi and everything will similarly have her own unique combat abilities to fall back on should she really need to, even though shes going to be nowhere near as devastating and deadly in out-and-out fights as Yasuke will be. Though she cannot, unlike Yasuke, smash through doors, take a ton of punishment, or use weapons like naginata, kanabo, or teppo rifles, shecanuse other tools, such as the kasuriagama. A great weapon for crowd control and taking on multiple enemies at once, the weapon will be perfectly suited to her pace and agility, and seemingly will be exclusive to her gameplay. Additionally, Naoe will also be able to use other shinobi tools such as smoke bombs to her advantage in fights that are beginning to turn against her and are threatening to have her overwhelmed.AFFLICTIONSCertain weapons will allow players to inflict one of four different afflictions on enemies. Built up over time (which itself varies based on your gear), afflictions will leave enemies vulnerable and disadvantaged in varying ways. You can leave enemies Dazed so that they miss most of their attacks and are unable to avoid incoming damage; you can leave them Bleeding to deal a healthy chunk of additional damage as soon as the Affliction has built up enough; you can leave them Poisoned to deal them continuous light damage over time and to interrupt their attacks with fits of throwing up; and you can leave them Knocked Out, which does exactly what the name suggests, leaving them unconscious on the group for a set period of time. Whether you wish to finish them off permanently before they wake up is entirely your choice, of course.CASTLESClearing enemy strongholds to be rewarded with powerful gear has become anAssassins Creedstaple, and sure enough,Shadowswont disappoint in that regard. Throughout its rendition of feudal Japan, youll find castles- heavily guarded strongholds that are brimming with resources, loot chests, and of course, enemies. Each castle will also have a single special loot chest that will contain special gear- which, unlike all other chests in the game (which are randomized) will have prescribed, unique gear. Killing all samurai daisho in a castle will be the only way to unlock its special loot chest.MERCHANTSThough usually easily ignorable inAssassins Creedgames, merchants inShadowswill seemingly be a little less so. Each merchant will stock different kinds of wares, from cosmetics and weapons to armour and consumables, while weapons will also restock and offer new things to purchase at the turn of every season. Some merchants, meanwhile, will also sell unique, exclusive items not found elsewhere.MORE HIDEOUT CUSTOMIZATION DETAILSCustomizing and personalizing a central hub in anAssassins Creedgame may not be a novel concept, butShadowsis expanding gameplay options significantly in this department. Weve spoken in the past about the many customization options players will have available for their Hideout, but of course, theres more to speak of. Included in the list of the many different rooms players will be able to add to their Hideout will be the Nando, a barracks that will also make refilling your scouts less expensive; the Gallery, which will let you create custom loadouts; the Zashiki, which will improve health restoration for both protagonists; and more.COMPANIONS IN THE HIDEOUTPlayers will also see a growing cast of allies and companions making the Hideout their home over the course of the game. Out on the field, theyll be fierce soldiers who will aid Yasuke and Naoe in both combat and stealth. In the Hideout though, things will be much more relaxed, and as youre walking around, not only will you be able to have conversations with them (as both protagonists), but will also get the chance to catch conversations between different characters, giving you a taste of life in the Hideout.CONSOLE GRAPHICS MODESThough weve known for a while now thatShadowswill feature a 60 FPS Performance Mode on PS5 and Xbox Series X, what can we expect from its other graphics modes? On both consoles, the game will feature Quality, Performance, and Balanced modes, each running at 4K- though the 4K will obviously vary in quality. Quality Mode will run at 30 FPS, Performance at 60, and Balanced at 40. Meanwhile, Quality and Balanced modes will also feature ray-tracing, with Performance Mode only getting selective ray tracing- i.e. only when youre in the Hideout. On Xbox Series S, meanwhile, the game will feature only one mode, which will run at 1620p and 30 FPS, and will feature selective ray tracing.PS5 PRO ENHANCEMENTSFor those playingAssassins Creed Shadowson a PS5 Pro, you can indeed expect technical and visual enhancements. Specifically, on the PS5 Pro, ray tracing in Performance Mode wont be limited to just the Hideout, similar to Quality and Balanced modes on a base PS5. Speaking of which, Quality and Balanced Modes on PS5 Pro will boast extended ray tracing- which, on top of global illumination, will also add ray traced reflections.STEAM DECK SUPPORTIt wasnt that long ago that Ubisoft confirmed thatAssassins Creed Shadowswouldnt support the Steam Deck at launch (which, looking at its steep PC requirements, wasnt necessarily a huge surprise). It seems, however, that Ubisoft has changed its mind, having recently confirmed that the game will indeed be Steam Deck compatible on release. Whether itll be Steam Deck Verified i.e., fully optimized for the device remains to be seen, but we know that itwillat least be playable, so theres that.