Alright, put your pitchforks down, I think I know what you may be thinking here. Why would a giant, open-ended game like Assassin’s Creed even need the so-called “yellow paints” that so many other games have? And why would I defend such a controversial feature that so many gamers have quite vocally disliked about recent videogames? Well, in a handful of situations, Assassin’s Creed Shadows uses yellow paint, but it’s actually a smart solution that doesn’t diminish any of the game’s exploration, nor changes the way it’s meant to be played. Hold up, let me cook, alright?
So what even is the so-called “yellow paint” in videogames? You may remember parts in games like Resident Evil 4 Remake, The Last Of Us or Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, where a not necessarily obvious item to interact with, a climbable surface or a path had some heavy-handed visual guides – usually in the form of literal paint brushed over the surface, of yellow colour traditionally. It has been memed to death for many years now, and a lot of gamers feel like modern games don’t respect their observation skills and problem-solving abilities anymore. People often point to classics like the original Half-Life or Super Mario 64, where people managed to find their way even without yellow paints, so what gives?
Combine the so-called “yellow paint syndrome” with situations where the protagonist literally says the solution of an already easy puzzle out loud, like it happens in Horizon: Forbidden West, and you can clearly see there’s a trend. Not every game abides to this, of course – case in point, a lot of open world games like recent Zelda titles or the very Assassin’s Creed franchise has never resorted to such trickery, preferring to guide the players in other, more subtle ways – a beaten path in the middle of a forest, a cool-looking shrine in the distance that implies our direction, or even straight-up markers on the minimap, rather than making the actual game world be filled up with further visual clutter.
Why is this a thing however? Why do so many games nowadays feel the need to have such obvious visual guides to the player, why can’t they just spend a couple minutes figure out where to go? What’s the harm in that? Well, there are actually multiple valid answers to that. The biggest case for “yellow paint” patterns is accessibility – people with any kind of visual impairment may absolutely need such a help, to get by in the increasingly detailed and “busy” visuals of modern AAA titles. Speaking of busy visuals, that would be the second reason: when everything looks photorealistic, it’s easy for things to blend into the environment, unless the developer ensures certain objects or paths stand out in some way.
Lastly, you can imagine focus groups and game testing be a part of this: if developers see players frequently get stuck somewhere, they’ll likely reorganize things to be better readable. But as deadlines loom and crunch in the gaming industry is already way too common, chances are splatting some yellow paint on it all is far more efficient in terms of time and budget, compared to having to redesign an entire area. Of course, if a game features yellow paint, the best of both worlds options would be what various games have also done before: making it optional. Just give the player a convenient toggle in the menu so they can turn it off, or leave it on if they feel like they need it. No harm to anyone then, right?
That finally leaves us to talk about Assassin’s Creed Shadows, 2025’s installment in this iconic franchise that finally goes to Feudal Japan – a time and place players have been dying to visit in the series. Ubisoft’s latest history-making and history-exploring open world game does not, for the most part, feature yellow paint in its exploration. That’s… kinda the whole point, really. It’s a nearly fully open-ended game, a proper open world where players can just walk, climb, swim or ride a horse to anywhere they please, even 10 kilometres away. No loading screens, no handholding – the player has some level of guidance as to what is the general direction, but how they get there is up to them. And in the case of Assassin’s Creed games, this often involves a lot or parkour, climbing over buildings, entering complex areas and more.
As said, none of these parts features any yellow paint – in this Asssassin’s Creed or prior ones. Shadows introduces one kind of side content though, called Paths. These are hidden parkour trails towards a hidden treasure or a unique location, giving players a different sort of exploration challenge. These Paths are completed by performing a series of specific jumps, climbing sequences, grappling hook parts with Naoe and more, sometimes for several minutes at a time, all with the goal of reaching the sweet loot at the end. Here, yellow paint is used, but only to show this one, intentionally hidden an optional path. Want to challenge yourself to a higher intensity parkour sequence? Find the Path and look for the yellow paint.
With how gorgeous Assassin’s Creed Shadows looks, and how busy its open world design is, with lush vegetation and highly detailed textures, I argue that the use of yellow paint is a smart way to guide the player towards what is a very specific path, rather than going anywhere else. Some of these places can be reached without following the trail, though it’s unlikely to just come across them otherwise. These yellow painted segments are the way Assassin’s Creed Shadows tells the player to walk, climb or jump into a very specific direction, just this once, rather than improvising with their parkous like they always do. And, as far as I’m concerned, it works well. I expect Assassin’s Creed Shadows
How about you? What do you think about yellow paint Paths in Assassin’s Creed Shadows? Do you think they diminish the experience or is it a smart way of using such a controversial feature? Let us know in the comments below, or hit us up on any on the many platforms we’re on. We have plenty of other Asssassin’s Creed Shadows coverage, too, so check that out if you want to read more about this open world adventure in Japan.
