While both games look tremendous by almost every measure, the character models in Shadows do look more stilted, especially when they move their mouths in cutscenes. Naoe and Yasuke look great (that hair tech hits differently), but the characters in Tsushima come across as slightly more expressive in their design and animation. It’s another close call, but Tsushima takes this one.

Edge: Ghost of Tsushima

Combat

There’s a pattern emerging here. Shadows’ combat is more robust and expansive in its customization options across its two protagonists, and Tsushima’s keeps things more pure, though its combat is anything but simple. Both games have a focus on melee with a bit of ranged combat mixed in for flavor, but the core of it is this: which game’s combat is more fun?

Assassin’s Creed has been developing and refining its melee combat for years, and Shadows’ melee is the best yet. All of the weapon types feel weighty and enjoyable to wield (even Naoe’s kusarigama is slick once you master it), and more importantly, both Yasuke and Naoe are fun to fight with. Most players will naturally gravitate to one or the other, but whether you’re smashing your way up the floors of Osaka Castle as Yasuke or cutting down larger enemies with Naoe’s speed and finesse, the combat is one of the game’s main strengths, which hasn’t always been the case for the series.

The combat in Tsushima isn’t slow by any means, but it’s more methodical than Shadows. The emphasis on one-on-one fights and the cinematic camerawork makes the battles feel more intimate and dramatic, with some of the one-on-one showdowns later in the game resembling fighting games like Soulcalibur and Bushido Blade. Both games feature parrying, but Tsushima’s is more satisfying, likely due to the more deliberate rhythm of most battles. Tsushima does feature a multiplayer mode that is way better than it has any right to be, but the combat mechanics aren’t as flowy when taking on massive waves of enemies.

As balanced and fine-tuned as both games’ combat systems are, Tsushima’s enemy encounters just feel more consequential. Thanks to a showdown feature deliberately evocative of Akira Kurosawa movies—where players enter into essentially a quickdraw contest with an opposing sword master—even the most minor of battles can become incredibly intense, and even the lowliest of enemies can pose a serious threat. For that reason, it’s another one for Tsushima.