I am going to love Assassin's Creed Shadows. My fate was sealed the moment I saw Naoe sling her grappling hook over a tree branch, spin around in mid-air, and land nimbly as a sleek black panther to deliver death from above unto an unsuspecting enemy.
I was spellbound. Last night's extended gameplay reveal proved to me that Ubisoft Quebec has truly outdone itself, taking strides to incorporate a sense of dynamic, fluid movement and physics-grounded verticality in its upcoming RPG that the long-running stealth series has been lacking up until this point. But that's just it: Assassin's Creed is at its best when it remembers that it's a stealth series. So why on Earth would I favor Yasuke's tanklike, all-guns-blazing approach? It's just as well that AC Shadows will let you play the whole game as one protagonist, because I'm already turned off from his playstyle. Sorry, big guy, I'm sure you have a great personality.
Yin and yang
As happy as I am that AC Shadows heralds the return of dual-protagonists, I can't get behind how utterly strange it is that one of them seems to somehow possess even less stealth potential than the muscled likes of Assassin's Creed Valhalla's male Eivor.
Look, I get it: it's fair to assume on a general level that a typical man has the capacity to be bigger, bulkier, and altogether easier to spot than your average woman. But that doesn't mean they can't at least try to be quiet about it. Even Jacob Frye, one half of Ubi Quebec's last male-female protagonist duo in Assassin's Creed Syndicate, knew how to pull his hood up and keep that lip zipped.
Almost every other Assassin's Creed lead, bar a scant three, has managed to pull off being both male and a master of the shadows. There's probably potential for Yasuke to hide menacingly around a blind corner and pounce on a target, but right now, I have my concerns.
Storming down the streets of Japan, Yasuke is anything but a stealthy assassin. Nor is he trying to be one; the towering samurai confronts his foes head-on, either with a skull-bashing kanabo in hand or the glinting blade of his katana. While this does fit the physicality of a samurai more closely, and while it's excellent to see the first Black protagonist in an AC game being such a powerhouse, it does mean that players eager to step into Yasuke's historical shoes as Japan's legendary African warrior will be locked into a playstyle that deviates so markedly from the core tenets of Assassin's Creed.
It certainly sets Yasuke aside from your average Assassin's Creed protagonist in terms of functionality, pitting him more fairly against the likes of Nioh 2 and Ghost of Tsushima as a samurai action hero rather than the Ezios and Altairs of the gaming world. Don't get me wrong – he does look very handy with a sword, and those nasty finisher animations are a thing of beauty. It's just that Yasuke now has two sets of expectations to meet: those of Assassin's Creed as a series, and the worryingly high bar that has been set by the smaller host of truly excellent samurai action games of recent years.
Much like Yasuke's broad figure blocking the narrow alley ahead, there's no way of getting around those standards and how much they oppose the ones set by the series' classic model. With one of AC Valhalla's most common player complaints falling along similar lines – essentially that it's a great Viking RPG, but a bad Assassin's Creed game – I'm interested to see how the community receives yet another brash warrior being added to the roster. It's just as well that he has a little help from his partner in crime: stealth queen Naoe.
Girl power
I can't help but feel that Ubisoft is shying away from letting Naoe take the spotlight.
On the other side of the coin, we have Naoe. Quick and lethal, I'm already seeing her as the unofficially-official main character of Assassin's Creed Shadows; she's the one who seems to be an actual assassin, after all, hidden blades and everything.
Gameplay wise, it looks like Naoe could deliver a wholly satisfying Assassin's Creed experience perfectly well all on her own, even without Yasuke providing a different approach and perspective. I know there is a lot more to him from a narrative standpoint, but given the publisher's track record, I can't help but feel that Ubisoft is shying away from letting Naoe take the spotlight, flirting with the idea of presenting the first solo female hero in an Assassin's Creed game before ultimately chickening out. With both characters offering their respective pros and cons, I am thankful that it's not a case of reskinning the same archetype. It should definitely be celebrated that a Black man is playing such a pivotal part in an AC game, but I am so ready to see women take a similarly unapologetic role in my favorite stealth game series next – and if the rumors hold water, perhaps Assassin's Creed: Codename Hexe will do the honors
I've clearly already picked my Assassin's Creed Shadows main. That said, I am aware that the main story details will implicate both characters and their overlapping arcs in meaningful ways, with Yasuke being a key player given his real-world context to further enrich the historical adventure with political intrigue, faithfully detailed world design, and the series' signature blend of stealth action meets narrative density. Maybe I'll change my mind on this when I actually get to play the game, and I'm sure I'll find the different playstyles useful at different moments, but I only hope that Naoe isn't expected to play second-fiddle in terms of who gets a bigger slice of the storyline pie. And please, Ubisoft: don't do an Evie Frye on me by making Naoe's all about some dude she supposedly has a crush on.
There are plenty of upcoming Ubisoft games to get hyped for, from Anno 117: Pax Romana to a Prince of Persia remake.
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