Assassin’s Creed Shadows Unveils Secret Technique for Realistic Wind Effects

When you find yourself in the midst of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the realism of the environment is stunning. Imagine the wind picking up, rustling the leaves, swaying the grass, and even making Naoe’s hair dance. It’s these moments that breathe life into the game’s ever-changing weather and seasons. Interestingly, as revealed in a conversation with some of the game’s rendering experts at Digital Foundry, this “wind” isn’t what it seems. It’s actually an unseen fluid simulation coursing through the world.

Indeed, the magic behind those convincing wind dynamics is all thanks to fluid simulation technology. This clever trick is a staple in gaming, bringing authenticity to titles as varied as God of War and Dwarf Fortress. So, it’s no surprise it works wonders here, too.

Ubisoft’s developers have aptly named Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ weather system “Atmos.” This innovation beautifully complements the game’s focus on shifting seasons, which parallel the protagonist Naoe’s journey through different phases of her life. You’ll find yourself navigating through the snowy expanses of Japan one moment and sprinting across lush landscapes as the snow gives way to spring. Eventually, you even gain the power to change seasons at will.

Coupled with the introduction of ray-traced lighting, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a visual marvel. For me, it’s the first game where ray tracing doesn’t just enhance the graphics but enriches the storytelling. Digital Foundry dives into the technical specifics, but essentially, ray tracing is used ingeniously to cast more realistic lighting. When you step inside structures, shoji screens emit a warm glow, while shadows stretch more naturally outdoors, creating a striking contrast with earlier techniques. Without ray tracing, the world can seem flat and lifeless—a distinction experts call a “generational divide in lighting fidelity.”

This level of graphical fidelity makes Assassin’s Creed Shadows a must-consider for anyone eyeing an upgrade to a PlayStation 5 Pro or a top-tier gaming PC with a 50-series Nvidia graphics card. On the PS5 Pro, you can enjoy smooth gameplay at 60 frames per second with ray tracing, and future updates promise full support for Sony’s PSSR upscaling technology. Meanwhile, PC players can leverage DLSS and Frame Generation features to achieve similar performance on an RTX 4070 or newer.

Investing in high-end hardware pays off because the game doesn’t stop with stunning lighting. Its dynamic elements—like the fluid wind or the satisfying feel of slicing through bamboo—add another layer of interactivity to the experience, reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Assassin’s Creed Shadows masterfully uses cutting-edge technology not just to pursue hyper-realism, but to craft an immersive, vibrant world that invites players to truly inhabit it.