Assassin’s Creed Shadows Director Reveals Details About Differences Between Dual Protagonists

As the March 20 launch of “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” approaches, Ubisoft developers have been sharing insights into its design and elements. In a recent chat with Screenrant, director Jonathan Dumont discussed the game’s two main characters, their impact on the storyline, and how players will immerse themselves in the narrative via these characters’ perspectives.

In addition, Dumont highlights that the characters Yasuke and Naoe in the game will have distinct playstyles. Specifically, Naoe is designed to be agile and swift, while Yasuke is stronger and tends to use raw power to surmount challenges. This design choice, as explained by Dumont, aims to motivate players to often switch characters for a diverse gaming experience.

Dumont explained, “We aimed to make things intricate since we didn’t intend for it to be simple. We wanted both characters to possess unique strengths, weaknesses, and characteristics that align with their archetypes. That’s why Yasuke isn’t a master of parkour; he has certain limitations there. However, in combat, he excels due to being a samurai and an explosive one at that.

Then, Naoe exhibits the reverse slightly and repeats this, but at an extraordinary speed. She can conceal herself in various locations, much like a gymnast who moves gracefully from one place to another. However, when she encounters multiple adversaries, it becomes more challenging for her, don’t you think? Our goal is to maintain a balance between these two aspects.

Additionally, Dumont mentioned that the development team benefited from having dual protagonists in the previous “Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate,” as it provided them with a clearer differentiation between the two characters. He explained that Yasuke and Naoe played distinct roles, whereas the main characters in “Syndicate” were quite similar to one another.

In response to a question about insights gleaned from Syndicate, Dumont stated, “I believe there are certain elements in both, concepts we’ve developed. For Shadows, I wanted to ensure the characters didn’t have overly dissimilar voices, and instead had two distinct archetypes. One character needed to embody fire, while another was more icy, with a bit of both, aiming to incorporate this dynamic into the game for some entertaining yet opposing banter, but ensuring they complement each other. This is something we adapted from Syndicate for Shadows.

In Syndicate, they were identical twins who had known each other their entire lives, sharing a deep history. Contrastingly, in Shadows, although they learn to be together, it’s during a challenging time of war. This means their friendship doesn’t immediately blossom, creating an intriguing narrative as they build their relationship amidst the hardships.

Previously, Ubisoft has highlighted the unique differences between characters Yasuke and Naoe in terms of their mechanical aspects. In January, associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois shared that Yasuke would not possess traditional assassin abilities such as Eagle Vision, instead focusing on his outsider status within the game’s Feudal Japan setting and the assassins’ organization itself being a key element of the game.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on March 20.

2025-02-11 15:11

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