In a first for the series,Assassin’s Creed Shadowswill offer players two different playstyles to try out through its dual protagonists. These characters are based on differing warrior cultures in feudal Japan: the cunning shinobi and the faithful samurai. Experiencing these contrasting playstyles is core toAssassin’s Creed: Shadows' reimagined approach to the series' protagonist characters.
The dual protagonists ofAssassin’s Creed ShadowsNaoe and Yasuke will offer players a chance to take on the roles of shinobi and samurai respectively.Assassin’s Creed Shadowstakes place near the end of Japan’s Sengoku period, a time when shinobi were becoming a more defined military role by taking part in espionage missions and when the term ‘samurai’ had begun to break somewhat from its stricter class connotations. Game Rant recently spoke with creative director Jonathan Dumont about how AC Shadows handles its dual protagonists narratively and gameplay-wise, as well as why dual protagonists were chosen in the first place.
The Importance of Both Shinobi and Samurai Playstyles in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
How A Second Protagonist Emerged In Shadows' Development
When discussing the earlier phases of development, Dumont went into depth about howAssassin’s Creed Shadows' dual protagonistscame about. He described how a second protagonist, one taking on the role of a samurai, took shape after the team grew interested in exploring a wider perspective within the Sengoku period:
“We narrowed down on the ninja fantasy, from move sets, to stealth, to establishing the spy system…
The setting guided us towards a strong player fantasy and our world building. We started developing the Naoe character. As we kept detailing her, the samurai fantasy kept emerging as well, so we decided to move into having two different POV and clear playstyles, and this is the moment Yasuke joined the adventure. This was great because the late Sengoku period had a lot of nuances to the conflicts in the world, and it allowed us to approach our narrative with a bit more depth by allowing multiple perspectives around events and historical characters to build our fiction.”
It checks out that the shinobi fantasy came first, with the ninja concept—both in its historical roots and Western pop culture perception—fittingAssassin’s Creed Shadows’stealth gameplaylike a glove. However, experiencing the samurai fantasy in a AAAAssassin’s Creedtitle is also a compelling notion for franchise fans, and this second protagonist allowed the team to pursue a new narrative opportunity through Yasuke.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows' Yasuke Is the Series' First Real-Life Protagonist
Yasuke is the firsthistorically basedAssassin’s Creedprotagonist, which proved to be a well of inspiration for the team. Dumont discussed the narrative potential of Yasuke’s historical reality and how it stemmed from his introduction as a second protagonist:
“After we decided to support the two player fantasies of shinobi and samurai with separate and unique characters, therefore having a dual protagonist structure, we really liked what Yasuke could give us narratively. The unanswered questions around his life made him a very interesting and intriguing protagonist with a lot of mystery. With Naoe being from Japan, Yasuke’s perspective as an outsider also gave us a different point of view that could be used as a bridge between the western world and Japan and create links within the Assassin’s Creed meta story and lore. He is a man lost between two worlds.”
The team also placed incredible importance on their original shinobi vision, with Naoe set to emphasize a reworked form ofAssassin’s Creedstealth mechanics. Dumont noted, “The fantasy of the assassin and the ninja have much in common. When we think about an assassin, we think immediately about stealth, parkour, lethality, and brotherhood. We wanted Naoe to really embody those pillars at the core but expand on them in a shinobi way.”
