Ubisoft took an unconventional approach for Assassin's Creed Shadows reviews. So did I.

My six-device review of Assassin's Creed felt like a glimpse into gaming's future

Assassin’s Creed Shadows, via my PS5 Pro. Screenshot: Ubisoft, captured by Game File

To review a video games these days, I usually redeem a code that’s sent to me by a developer or publisher, download the game to a console or maybe my Steam Deck, then sit on my couch and play. Pretty simple.

Many years ago, things were different. Reviewers used to send games on discs. Or sometimes they’d need you to go somewhere to play:

• In 2007, I reviewed the first BioShock over a weekend in the New York City offices of Take Two Interactive. I’d commute in and play it in a private meeting room. A good friend and reporting colleague played down the hall. We’d occasionally compare notes.

• I played through all of Halo 3 in co-op at a review event—a vestige of game journalism’s past!—also in Manhattan.

And then there’s the way I played Assassin’s Creed Shadows for review over the past month. It was unusual, high-tech, luxurious and an unexpected proof of concept of where gaming may be going.

See, I didn’t just play it for 47 hours, as noted in my review of the game.

I played those 47 hours across six devices, using six set-ups, using cloud gaming and downloaded versions, with my save file following me as I went.

This wasn’t my plan, but due to some unusual priorities on Ubisoft’s end—and my own—it’s how it played out.

Through the process, I got a taste of a world where the game I want to play is on (just about) any screen I need it to be….It was like Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer’s “play anywhere” dream come true. Or maybe it was Hideo Kojima’s?

Device #1: My 2019 MacBook Pro