Assassin's Creed Shadows' open world rivals Red Dead Redemption 2's attention to detail thanks to snow that melts in real time in sunny weather

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is here, and the attention to detail in its open world looks like it might rival even the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2, as you can literally watch its snow melt in real time.

Highlighted on Twitter by @ACV__X, if you take a moment to enjoy the sights after a snowstorm, when things start warming up again, you can watch the snow gradually fade away from the trees and ground. The process has been sped up here so you can watch the full effect – it’s really impressive, and makes the world feel truly alive.

In Shadows, after a snowstorm, the snow melts in real-time when the sun comes out. pic.twitter.com/5fOKrckSsoMarch 19, 2025

Red Dead Redemption 2 is usually the game people point to as a glowing example of an open world adventure full of impressive details – horse balls shrink in the cold, for crying out loud. One former Rockstar dev previously stated that it’s the inclusion of all these details that players might not even see that make the studio’s game’s “so good,” and I’m sure many would agree. For years, fans were still uncovering new things that’d been left overlooked or hidden – it might be a single-player game, but at times it genuinely felt like its secrets were endless.

Whether Ubisoft‘s latest open world will have that same sticking power remains to be seen, but there’s no denying that what we’ve seen so far is seriously promising – in our Assassin’s Creed Shadows review, we said it’s got “scenery you can (and will) spend hours obsessing over.”

Elsewhere, Shadows just received a day-one patch that’s reduced the amount of bloodshed and destruction that can take place in shrines, making it impossible to damage shelves and tables within them.

While you’re here, be sure to check out where Assassin’s Creed Shadows sits in our ranking of the best Assassin’s Creed games.

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