Apart from Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, one other significant Switch 2 release this week was the third-party title Assassin's Creed Shadows. While Ubisoft's new feudal Japan outing has been mostly well-received by critics on Nintendo's new hybrid platform, it seems the experience hasn't been quite as enjoyable for some players.
Multiple message board posts and social media threads online are filled with player reports about the game randomly crashing. Some players have even experienced repeated crashes, forcing them to completely halt their play sessions until Ubisoft deploys a patch.
The following comments in a thread on the Switch 2 subreddit highlights just how much of a problem this has become for some players:
DrLukeyy - "I also had 4 crashes back to back when trying to complete that add a building mission. Probably gonna wait for a patch"
dennishylau - "I’m around Senri Hills now, and the crash is so frequent it is unplayable. Playing on dock and using internal storage."
ApprehensiveLie8032 - "My game crashed 10 times in 20 minutes, I couldn't play. And the worst part is we paid for it and there's nothing we can do; Ubisoft doesn't care."
Safe-Reputation-2737 - "My game crashes no joke every 5 minutes it’s unplayable"
EmotionAwkward4113 - "Yes I confirm it is difficult to play it correctly the game keeps cutting 5 crashes in 30 minutes. I'm waiting for an update, it's impossible to play it correctly"
stevenandthecg - "For me it is unplayable, it crashes every 2 minutes. Support is gaslighting me saying that it is an issue with my console. Never had any issue with any other game. I tried everything, I am kind of desperate..."
There is seemingly no clear solution or fix to stop these game crashes, but it hasn't stopped players sharing their own ideas.
Some suggest playing the title exclusively in docked mode, making sure the game is installed on Switch 2's internal storage, changing the system resolution, turning off HDR, disabling various other options, and even reinstalling the game...
Central - "Im playing Assassin's Creed Shadows on handheld & I haven't had a crash yet & the game is still on the internal hard drive of the Switch 2."
andrsperdomo - "I installed it directly on the console and the problem does not go away."
Some users here on Nintendo Life have also reported encountering crashes in Assassin's Creed Shadows for Switch 2.
Critics have noted issues with frame-pacing, and recommend handheld mode for the best experience, but there seems to be fewer reports about game crashes during the review phase. TheSixthAxis was one site that directly acknowledged this "underlying issue" – referencing "a series of crashes" not long into the adventure, but "no clear trigger". Nintendo World Report also mentioned the "occasional" software crash.
In our own review here on Nintendo Life, we admitted Assassin's Creed Shadows wasn't the perfect port, but still felt it was a colossal achievement on Nintendo's new system.
So, when might we see a patch for this problem? As highlighted in the Reddit thread above, the YouTube channel 'What's It Like?' (which also "experienced several crashes" during its review of the game) says it reached out to Ubisoft's support and there's supposedly a patch planned for mid-December, which will apparently address "some" technical issues with the Switch 2 version. And with so many player reports now, Ubisoft has hopefully got the message.
Until we get an update from Ubisoft, tell us how your time with Assassin's Creed Shadows on the Switch 2 has been so far? Have you experienced any crashes? Vote in our poll, and let us know in the comments.
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