Thanks to a renewed focus on the core concepts that originally defined the series, Assassin’s Creed Shadows delivers the most satisfying experience the franchise has offered in years. With the best parkour system since Unity, you can seamlessly transition from the ground to castle rooftops, and a grappling hook makes reaching high vantage points even quicker. Perched on a tightrope high above your enemies, you're just a drop away from executing the perfect kill—as long as you're playing as Naoe, that is. Switching to Yasuke, the game's second protagonist, transforms the gameplay entirely.
Yasuke is slow, clumsy, unable to kill silently, and climbs like a novice. He defies the traditional mold of an Assassin’s Creed protagonist, marking one of Ubisoft's most intriguing yet perplexing design choices. Playing as Yasuke feels like stepping away from the Assassin’s Creed universe altogether.
Initially, the significant difference between Yasuke’s capabilities and the foundational principles of the series was frustrating. What purpose does an Assassin’s Creed protagonist serve if he can hardly climb and can’t perform silent takedowns? Yet, the more I played as him, the more I appreciated the merit in Yasuke’s design. He's undeniably flawed, but he tackles some critical issues that the series has grappled with in recent years.
You don’t get to play as Yasuke until several hours into the campaign, following a brief appearance in the prologue. This means your initial experience is dominated by Naoe, a swift shinobi who epitomizes the "assassin" aspect of Assassin’s Creed better than any protagonist in a decade. Transitioning to Yasuke after spending so much time with Naoe can be quite jarring.
This towering samurai struggles to sneak through enemy camps and can barely climb anything taller than himself. He can't grasp the jutting roofs along Japan’s streets, and when he does find something climbable, his progress is painfully slow. On rooftops, he teeters precariously on the apex, standing upright and inching forward with caution. These limitations introduce friction, making scaling environments feel like a chore, often requiring scaffolding and ladders for any substantial progress.
While Yasuke isn't strictly confined to the ground, his limitations certainly encourage it. This restricts his vision, making it difficult to map out threats and plan movements effectively. Unlike Naoe, who can rely on Eagle Vision even on the ground, Yasuke has no such advantage. Choosing to wield his blade means sacrificing nearly everything except raw strength.
Assassin’s Creed has always been about stealthy kills and vertical exploration—concepts that Yasuke directly opposes. Playing as him feels less like Assassin’s Creed and more akin to Ghost of Tsushima, a game renowned for its fierce combat rather than stealth. Yasuke’s design forces players to rethink their approach to Assassin’s Creed, challenging the series' traditional freedom of movement. While he can't reach everything, careful environmental observation reveals specific pathways designed for his needs, such as leaning tree trunks or open windows that offer alternative routes to objectives.
However, these paths only take Yasuke where he needs to go, limiting his general exploration and making it challenging to gain the high ground needed to observe enemy patrols. His only stealth ability, the "Brutal Assassination" skill, is more of a combat opener than a true stealth move, involving a loud and conspicuous impalement. Yet, when combat does ensue, it's exhilarating. Shadows features the best swordplay the series has seen in over a decade, with purposeful strikes and a variety of techniques, from brutal rush attacks to satisfying ripostes. The finishing moves are particularly striking, cleaving heads from shoulders and highlighting the contrast between Yasuke’s combat prowess and Naoe’s stealthy approach.
This contrast also serves to separate combat and stealth, preventing the two styles from bleeding into each other as they did in Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. With Naoe’s relative fragility, combat engagements force you to retreat, reposition, and re-engage stealthily. Yasuke, on the other hand, offers a break from this tension, allowing you to endure even the toughest battles thanks to his strength and expanding skill tree.
Yasuke’s design is deliberate, but it’s challenging to reconcile him with the Assassin’s Creed ethos—a series built on stealth and vertical exploration. While characters like Bayek and Eivor ventured too far into action, they still performed the core actions of an Assassin’s Creed lead. Yasuke, as a samurai, thematically struggles with stealth and climbing, making it difficult to play the game as traditionally intended when controlling him.
However, Yasuke's biggest challenge is his counterpart, Naoe. Mechanically, she is the best Assassin’s Creed protagonist in years. Her stealth capabilities are perfectly complemented by the towering architecture of Sengoku Period Japan, offering the verticality the series has missed since Syndicate. Together, these elements fulfill the true promise of Assassin’s Creed: becoming a highly mobile silent killer.
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Naoe also benefits from the design changes that shape Yasuke. While she can climb almost anywhere, the series has moved away from the "stick to every surface" approach to something more realistic, requiring you to assess routes and find grappling hook anchor points. This, combined with faster climbing and leaping, turns the open world into a true Assassin’s Creed sandbox. On the ground, Naoe’s combat is just as impactful as Yasuke’s, though she can't sustain battles as long. Given these advantages, it raises the question: why choose Yasuke over Naoe?
Ubisoft's intent to offer two distinct playstyles with Yasuke and Naoe creates a double-edged sword. Yasuke introduces a unique and compelling experience that diverges from the series' norms, but he fundamentally opposes the principles that have made Assassin’s Creed unique in the open-world genre. While I will return to Yasuke for the thrill of his combat, it will be through Naoe’s eyes that I truly explore Shadows’ world. When I play as Naoe, I feel like I’m playing Assassin’s Creed.
