It turns out that a major character was not originally planned for Assassin’s Creed Shadows during the game’s conceptual phase. Shadows prominently features dual protagonists, which highlight different gameplay aspects: one focuses on stealth and parkour while the other is a big, brutish, combat juggernaut. In early development, one of those characters was not originally planned but needed to be added to give players a complete Feudal Japan experience, with characters and gameplay.

In an interview with GamesRadar+, Assassin’s Creed Shadows creative director Jonathan Dumont explained that Yasuke was not originally envisioned for the game. The game only featured a shinobi and was lighter on the samurai aspects. Dumont explained that after early conceptualization, it was clear the teams wanted to lean into both shinobi and samurai styles, saying that Ubisoft was “sort of making a stealth tank, but it didn’t quite work. It was diluting the fantasy of the shinobi.”

On the addition of the samurai character Yasuke, Dumont said:

“It became clear, before going into production, that we’d probably do a story with two characters … The archetypes were coming out of the conception phase anyway – they were splitting, but it was happening naturally. So we decided to add a samurai.”

Yasuke Provides A “Feudal Fantasy”

A Different Approach To Feudal Japan

The decision to have dual protagonists brought some gameplay restrictions to Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but having Yasuke and Naoe together provides a fuller feudal fantasy, with both aspects of shinobi and samurai being highlighted in the gameplay and story, allowing players to experience differing sides of the time period, despite the game taking some historical liberties with its setting.

The addition of Yasuke also brought an opportunity for narrative additions, with Dumont saying the story is a bit “East meets West.” With Yasuke stuck in the middle of that idea, he brings a different perspective to historical Japan and the game’s overarching narrative. It would also create an interesting parallel dynamic between Naoe and Yasuke, according to Dumont, giving players “a different point of view for the game, a different voice, and allow you to have a dynamic between two characters for narrative [purposes].”

Players Feel Mixed About Dual Protagonists In Assassin’s Creed Shadows

The Best Of Both Worlds… Sometimes

The reception to having dual protagonists has been mixed. Naoe and Yasuke together represent two halves of the world of Feudal Japan – the stealthy shinobi and the bruting samurai. During gameplay, Naoe is an expert at striking from the shadows, but she’s not as strong in a direct sword duel. On the flip side, Yasuke struggles to stay hidden and moves slowly, but can barrel through doors and has more direct combat options. So, players may prefer one character over the other but be restricted to playing as one solely for his or her gameplay.

The game feels heavily skewed in favor of Naoe, with her being the focal point of the majority of the story and having access to all three aspects of gameplay, while Yasuke only has access to one: combat. Even so, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a great game with some issues, and it’s hard to imagine the game without both Yasuke and Naoe.