Nightmare Difficulty has just been dropped upon Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and… oh boy. On the official AC Twitter account, they seemed to be in a frenzy over overexposure to Nightmare Difficulty and yet, another clip was shared from that brutal new challenge mode with the caption “For a second there, I was starting to think I had the hang of Nightmare Difficulty… 🤔”.
First thing first-what even IS Nightmare Difficulty? From what we have gathered, it is a run-around for the hardcore Assassin’s Creed players. Enemies hit harder, they block and parry much faster, and though one is left to wonder how, they seem to have a way of anticipating what your move is before you could very well make it. In this clip, you have one player being thrown to the ground repeatedly by some of the most aggressive AI behaviors ever concocted. And oh, the taste of the community is something to behold.
Some players appeared to be loving it. Somebody said “love it. My armor parries unblockable attacks,” and that sounds kinda busted but hey- good for them! On the other hand, @amazonluna shared “love a challenge 🗡️” which is kind of fitting for Amazon’s gaming division.
Then comes the other side. The famous other side. @InfinityGlock99 came in hot with a “I don’t like this, it is way too much difficult,” which is a legitimate complaint. @yunuykissesxo might have had the most relatable take: “nightmare difficulty is cute until the ai starts predicting your trauma responses instead of your moves 😭” Like damn…that’s a whole mood right there.
Funniest might be @cutiebabyfer with: “girl life on nightmare difficulty is just being a woman with opinions so yeah i’m thriving in this mode 💅”, which…honestly? Same.
And then expect some meat. Some players aren’t just complaining about difficulty; they’re going for the combat system itself. @Olbroe straight up said, “This alone shows how bad the combat is” while @Niklackn argued “Enemies were HP bags before, they are even more in nightmare difficulty.” Ouch.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese speakings are making real questions- @Leonardoplb dropped a “Quando vai sair a DLC?” (When will the DLC come out?), which actually got a… colorful response from @DBaptistaSilva: “Não vai. Esta Merda é um flop comercial, não há cá DLC para ninguém 🤣”. (Translation: “It’s not coming. This shit is a commercial flop; there’s no DLC for anyone 🤣”).
Meanwhile, the NG+ set. Such a feast for New Game Plus. With the simple “Yoooo where’s NG+…”, @goodone54 cried out. @benmetalhead went full polite with “Namaste, sir. New Game Plus when, sir?” while @MisterAlpha444 combined the two with “It’s great now we only need NG+ 👀”.
The most decent opinion probably came from @sentinelzer01, comparing it to Valhalla: “If am comparing it to Valhalla something still missing & off challenge wise. The slight changes are noticeable but still not too difficult for legendary builds.”
And so, Ubisoft? They hype up the mode saying “Nightmare won’t disappoint!” to @amazonluna, while all those NG+ requests simply fall on deaf ears. Does it ever go any other way with Ubisoft?
The verdict? Nightmare Difficulty is certifiably splitting the AC community. Some revel in the brutal challenge; others groan about how it exposes flaws in the combat system; then pretty much everyone just wants NG+ already. Will Ubisoft ever do anything about it? Probably not. Another round of memefest is in order.
For sure, if Shadows seemed a bit too easy before, you got everything you asked for now. Excuse me while I cry in a corner for 30 seconds after trying to complete Nightmare mode.
