"Yasuke in Shadows: A Fresh Take on Assassin's Creed"

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. The game features the smoothest parkour system since Unity, enhanced by a grappling hook that accelerates your ascent to prime vantage points. Perched high above on a tightrope, you're just a drop away from executing the perfect assassination—as long as you're playing as Naoe. However, switch to Yasuke, the second protagonist, and you're thrown into an entirely different gameplay dynamic.

Yasuke moves slowly and clumsily, lacks the ability to kill silently, and climbs with the agility of a grandparent. He embodies the antithesis of what fans expect from an Assassin’s Creed protagonist, presenting one of Ubisoft’s most intriguing and perplexing design choices. Playing as Yasuke feels like stepping away from the traditional Assassin’s Creed experience altogether.

Initially, the stark contrast between Yasuke’s capabilities and the series’ core philosophy frustrated me. What's the point of an Assassin’s Creed protagonist who struggles to climb and can’t perform stealthy takedowns? However, the more I played as him, the more I appreciated the unique perspective he brings to the series. Yasuke’s design, though flawed, addresses critical issues that Assassin’s Creed has grappled with in recent years.

You won't encounter Yasuke until several hours into the campaign, after spending your initial time mastering Naoe’s swift shinobi skills. Naoe epitomizes the assassin archetype better than any protagonist in the last decade. Transitioning to Yasuke is jarring; this towering samurai is too conspicuous to sneak through enemy camps and barely manages to climb anything above his head. His slow and laborious climbing introduces a deliberate friction, making vertical exploration a challenge and encouraging a more grounded approach. This limitation restricts his ability to survey the environment from high vantage points, leaving him without the strategic advantage that Naoe’s Eagle Vision provides.

Yasuke’s design fundamentally opposes the traditional Assassin’s Creed tenets of stealthy kills and vertical exploration. Playing as him feels closer to Ghost of Tsushima than Assassin’s Creed, emphasizing fierce combat over stealth. Yasuke’s playstyle requires players to rethink their approach to the game. Unlike the effortless climbing of previous protagonists, Yasuke's paths are more prescribed and require careful environmental observation to uncover hidden routes, adding a layer of strategic depth that's absent in the series’ usual free-climbing.

These designated paths guide Yasuke to his objectives but limit his overall freedom for exploration. He lacks the ability to assess guard movements and plan stealthy approaches, relying instead on his "Brutal Assassination" skill—a loud and aggressive move that initiates combat rather than avoiding it. Yet, when combat ensues, Shadows offers the best swordplay the series has seen in over a decade, with purposeful strikes and a variety of techniques that make each encounter thrilling.

The separation of combat and stealth into two distinct characters prevents the blending of styles seen in previous titles like Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. Naoe’s fragility forces players to maintain the stealth loop, while Yasuke’s strength allows for a more direct combat approach, offering a refreshing break from the tension of stealth.

Despite the intention behind Yasuke’s design, his fit within the Assassin’s Creed framework remains questionable. The series is built on stealth and vertical exploration, elements that Yasuke directly opposes. While characters like Bayek and Eivor ventured into action territory, they still retained the core abilities of an Assassin’s Creed protagonist. Yasuke, as a samurai, thematically fits his lack of stealth and climbing skills, but this design choice means you can’t experience the traditional Assassin’s Creed gameplay while controlling him.

The real challenge for Yasuke is his counterpart, Naoe. Mechanically, Naoe is the superior protagonist, offering a seamless blend of stealth and mobility that perfectly encapsulates the essence of Assassin’s Creed. Her toolkit, combined with the verticality of Sengoku Period Japan, allows for an experience that truly fulfills the series’ promise of being a highly mobile silent killer.

Naoe also benefits from the design changes that shape Yasuke. While she can climb almost anywhere, the series’ "stick to every surface" approach has been replaced with a more realistic system. This requires players to plan their routes and use the grappling hook strategically, enhancing the sandbox feel of the open world. On the ground, Naoe’s combat is as impactful as Yasuke’s, though she can’t sustain prolonged battles. This raises the question: why choose Yasuke when Naoe offers a more complete Assassin’s Creed experience?

Ubisoft’s attempt to offer two distinct playstyles with Yasuke and Naoe is commendable but creates a double-edged sword. Yasuke’s unique approach provides a fresh and compelling experience, yet it directly opposes the foundational elements of Assassin’s Creed. While I’ll occasionally return to Yasuke for the thrill of his combat, it’s through Naoe’s eyes that I’ll truly explore the world of Shadows. With Naoe, I feel like I’m playing Assassin’s Creed.