Summary
- AC Shadows’ dual protagonists offer distinct playstyles: Naoe for stealth and Yasuke for raw power.
- Naoe in AC Shadows presents challenges in open combat due to her stealth specialization.
- AC Shadows improves upon AC Syndicate by ensuring its protagonists are not interchangeable.
One of the highlights of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is its dual protagonists — Naoe, a stealth-based assassin, and Yasuke, a samurai who specializes in brute force and raw power. Assassin’s Creed Shadows isn’t the first game in the series to feature dual protagonists, as that title belongs to Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, which allowed players to alternate between its twin protagonists, Jacob and Evie Frye, for the first time in the franchise. While AC Syndicate certainly offered an unprecedented way to experience the series’ iconic gameplay, Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ dual protagonists have all but snuffed out the fire of the Frye twins with a fresh take on the concept.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the first game in the series to feature dual protagonists since AC Syndicate, so it has been around a decade since players have had the opportunity to swap between two different characters mid-game. Rather than simply offering players two unique protagonists in the name of greater quantity, however, Assassin’s Creed Shadows increases the quality of its gameplay by allowing players a method for approaching the game with two distinct playstyles in Naoe and Yasuke without needing to respec skill trees or change weapons. In doing so, it effectively atones for the “sins” of AC Syndicate, whose protagonists were largely interchangeable.
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How Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Protagonists Kill One Bird With Two Stones
The ability players have to seamlessly transition between Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ two protagonists means they are well-equipped for any situation.
AC Shadows’ Protagonists Make Up for the Shortcomings of AC Syndicate
AC Syndicate’s Jacob and Evie Frye Were Largely Interchangeable
The purpose of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate‘s dual protagonists was sound: to offer players two distinct playstyles to choose from. Evie offered stealth-based gameplay, whereas Jacob offered a melee-focused playstyle. In some ways, the two protagonists were different enough — with Evie having stealth skills that Jacob didn’t have, and vice versa. However, AC Syndicate made it far too easy to play the entire game as only one of them, as the vast majority of their skills and passive abilities overlapped, thereby trivializing their uniqueness.
While the Frye twins are arguably too similar in their gameplay design, they make up for it with their unique personalities — Evie being more methodical and patient, and Jacob being more brash and impulsive.
AC Shadows’ Naoe and Yasuke Offer Two Distinct Playstyles
More or less, Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ Yasuke and Naoe are the more extreme versions of their Frye twin cousins. Just as Assassin’s Creed Syndicate‘s Jacob and Evie represent brute force and stealth playstyles, respectively, so do Yasuke and Naoe in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The most significant difference, though, is that AC Shadows has ensured that neither of its protagonists can be replaced by the other. If a situation calls for a stealthy assassin, players should use Naoe. On the other hand, if it calls for raw power and open combat, Yasuke should be used.
Should players enter open combat as Naoe in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, they will find overcoming the odds to be more challenging than it has ever been in an Assassin’s Creed game. This is due to Naoe’s stealth and agility specialization and her lower defensive stats and abilities, so unless players are skilled and reactive enough to avoid defeat, their only option is to run and hide. With Yasuke, players can mow down enemies with a fair bit of ease, but any attempts to remain undetected or escape generally prove futile.
More or less, Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ Yasuke and Naoe are the more extreme versions of their Frye twin cousins.
In other words, Assassin’s Creed Shadows effectively atones for the sins of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate by featuring two protagonists who are not as interchangeable as the Frye twins. It is still possible to succeed in all aspects of the game by controlling only one of Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ dual protagonists, but that method involves far more challenge than it did in AC Syndicate, making a strong case for the series to continue experimenting with this idea and refining it in future entries.
- Released
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March 20, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language