I strongly believe that Assassin's Creed Shadows is a very good Ubisoft game that has a lot to teach future open-world titles. It may be somewhat controversial to have that opinion in 2025, especially considering Ubisoft's track record over the past five or so years, ostensibly running any goodwill and positive reputation it had into the ground. However, it has, for the most part, turned a new leaf and has begun introducing unique and genuinely meaningful improvements to its open-world formula that had become a little too familiar for many's liking.

AC Shadows' fixes Ubisoft's flaws as well as a lot of general issues with open-world titles, such as by implementing dynamic seasons that affect gameplay, meaningful difficulty options, varied side content, and a more linearly designed map that helps push players towards certain goals. It isn't groundbreaking, but what it gets right, it does extremely well. However, lots of people still hate it, including one aspect of its open-world design that has proved controversial. Naturally, I feel like that feature in particular is one of its best.

Assassin's Creed Shadows' Level Gating Works

It Is Perfect For This Style Of Open-World

One of Assassin's Creed Shadows' best features is its level gating. That may be a controversial opinion to have, especially as many have criticized Ubisoft for its use of level gating in the past. While I do agree that previous Assassin's Creed games have used it to detrimental effect, I believe that Shadows' implementation of it works far better, if only because it helps to ground the experience in a way that the AC series needs to be specifically. Even with Shadows' smaller world, level gating helps to massively reduce the series' trademark tendency to overwhelm the player.

For those unaware, level gating essentially means that certain areas of the maps are off-limits until you reach a specific level. You can still visit those areas, but you'll be severely underprepared and unlikely to survive against even the weakest of enemies for long. Considering the combat is more refined yet harder - especially when playing as Naoe at the start - it can be incredibly challenging to venture into one of the higher-level areas of its map at the start of the game before collecting AC Shadows' best weapons.

As Assassin's Creed Shadows sends players on relatively nebulous missions in search of a large group of targets, grounding them in one area to have them focus on a singular task is incredibly important. Were players able to venture out to any part of the map and begin grinding side tasks, they'd quickly lose focus and feel even more detached from the game's already sporadic narrative. It also ensures that the world expands the more you play, inviting you to get used to more of it, rather than feeling consumed by it the moment you step outside.

Open-World Games Should Use Level Gating More

It Helps Make Them Feel Less Overwhelmed

Open-world games have been using level gating for a very long time, with notable examples including the likes of the iconic RPG series, Gothic, which used it to great effect. The Metroidvania genre is also built on the foundations of level gating, although it pushes players to locate abilities rather than rank up through arbitrary numbers in order to access the next important location. It absolutely isn't new to the format, but I do feel like it is severely underutilized, even within Ubisoft's other franchises like Far Cry.

All too often, I find myself venturing out into a brand-new open world only to be faced with endless possibilities and feel the need to switch it off practically immediately. That is partially to do with my extreme anxiety, which makes me easily overwhelmed, but I do feel like, while undeniably exciting and inviting of creative curiosity, it doesn't work for every experience. Being able to go anywhere at any time can make focusing on a narrative difficult, and can ultimately run any form of both story and gameplay pacing right into the ground.

Level gating shouldn't be confused with level scaling. Games like the Elder Scrolls series and Breath of the Wild use level scaling to ensure that players are consistently challenged throughout. Level gating is often static, with enemies' levels being set per region or area. The player can then progress beyond those levels, allowing them to easily defeat whoever they encounter there. Both work for different types of open-world games, but level gating is better for the current AC formula.

There is a lot that games can learn from AC Shadows, including how to properly implement level gating to reduce both the overwhelming feeling of having too large a space to explore and forcing players to undergo certain experiences so they're more familiar with the world they'll later get complete access to. However, even beyond that, level gating can help make the player's experience feel infinitely more impactful than simply being able to go anywhere at once, as it adds a challenge that otherwise wouldn't exist.

Level Gating Can Make A World More Impactful

Finally Being Strong Enough To Access A New Area Is Satisfying

While games like Elden Ring scatter increasingly tougher bosses across its open world to keep the level of challenge consistent throughout the entire experience, all too often, the enemies you face in the first region of an open world are about as tough as they are in the last. Level gating removes this issue entirely as it offers nearly unbeatable foes for players to face if they venture too far that they can then aspire to beat. It is emergent storytelling that has worked flawlessly in everything from Xenoblade Chronicles to Assassin's Creed.

Of course, there are other ways of doing it, such as Ghost of Tsushima's method of unlocking a new part of the island per Act, which, for some, is one of the ways it is better than Assassin's Creed Shadows. However, when a game's narrative is more loosely structured like Shadows, it doesn't work quite as effectively. It also lacks the same level of satisfaction with encountering a powerful enemy early on and defeating them at a later stage, as the other parts of the island are completely inaccessible until the player reaches the next act.

While AC Shadows isn't perfect, its implementation of level gating is, in my opinion, near flawless. It makes its world more exciting, gives players something to aspire to, and ensures that you never become overwhelmed too quickly. For games in which those three aspects are important, introducing level gating should be a must. It definitely wouldn't work for every game. However, I hope that, going forward, more games, especially those even remotely like Assassin's Creed Shadows, consider making it a key feature.