One of the distinctive features of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the ability to play with two characters who approach situations differently: Yasuke and Naoe. This concept originates from Ubisoft Québec, which was previously responsible for Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, a title that also featured a dual-character setup between male and female protagonists. However, developers are not imposing any restrictions on players; according to Jonathan Dumont, the creative director of the game, who provided insights to Screenrant, players have the freedom to choose whichever character they prefer without any enforced requirements. That said, certain specific missions will require players to embody either Yasuke or Naoe for narrative and script purposes.
For the rest, it will be possible to keep certain characters as Ubisoft does not want to restrict the player. “We do not force players to divide their time. So if you prefer a character for some reason, you might be able to play— I don’t know, I won’t put a percentage—but a good part of the game using one of them,” responds Jonathan Dumont, who admits that Yasuke is a character who arrived after Naoe’s creation. In reality, we learn that when Ubisoft began to take interest in the project of an Assassin’s Creed in Japan, it was obvious that the assassin had to be a shinobi. However, as the project progressed, developers imagined more tense fights, and that’s where “the myth of the samurai began to emerge,” recounts Dumont. And for obvious reasons of not discarding what had already been achieved with Naoe, it was decided to offer two characters with different styles.
The release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is scheduled for March 20, 2025, and will be available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Developed by Ubisoft Québec, known for the male-female character duality in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Shadows features two main characters: Yasuke and Naoe. Players have the freedom to choose their preferred character without any obligation to play both equally. While certain missions may require playing as either Yasuke or Naoe due to narrative constraints, Jonathan Dumont, the creative director, confirmed that players can focus primarily on one character throughout most of the game if desired. The project initially conceived a shinobi assassin but evolved to include samurai elements during development, resulting in two characters with distinct combat styles for enhanced gameplay variety.
