In the upcoming Japan AC, you’ll have the option to switch flexibly between the two main characters. But if you favor one hero, that’s not a problem.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the first AC since Syndicate to feature two main characters again. But unlike its 2015 predecessor, in which the protagonists Jacob and Evie Frye differ only slightly in terms of gameplay, the effects of your character choice in Shadows will be significant.
Because Naoe and Yasuke’s different abilities have a major impact on the gameplay on offer. Ninja Naoe is quiet and devious; with her grappling hook, she can climb any temple roof, no matter how high. Samurai Yasuke, on the other hand, is more of a bull in a china shop. Stealth is not a sword fighter’s thing.
Two characters, don’t miss a thing
As Ubisoft already confirmed to us during the last preview event, you are free to choose which of the two protagonists you want to play for most of the time during the main story of Shadows. Only in a few specific backstory quests for Naoe or Yasuke will you be forced by the game to play one of the two heroes.
This also means, however, that you can theoretically spend (almost) the entire game as Yasuke if a stealthy playstyle doesn’t suit you. On the other hand, if you want to capitalize the A-word in Assassin’s Creed, you’d better stick with Naoe.
In the eyes of developer Ubisoft Quebec, this is apparently not a problem. Because, as creative director Jonathan Dumont revealed to Screen Rant, players who only want to play one of the two main characters shouldn’t miss out on too much
I think it comes down to personal preference. I’m interested to see how the game reacts when you play with one character more.
They [Naoe and Yasuke] both have their own introductions and their own quest lines, which can then only be played with Naoe, for example. But you are free to choose the rest of the game. We don’t force players to manage their play time. If you prefer one character, you can play almost the entire game with that character.
I guess you can switch for gameplay reasons, or you can switch if you think you like the other protagonist better. But I don’t think you’ll miss anything. It’s more about enjoying the game and playing it the way you want.
However, for some decisions, the options should be slightly different depending on the character you choose. This shouldn’t change the end result of the story decisions much, though; this is also indicated by the existence of a Kanon mode for the campaign .
Dumont himself prefers to change characters every few hours: I usually like playing stealth, but every now and then I need to kick some ass too
During our recent play session with the developers, we were able to see for ourselves that both protagonists play wonderfully differently and open up their own unique gameplay paths. You can read more about this in the preview linked above. You can find out for yourself who you prefer to play as in Assassin’s Creed Shadows from March 20, 2025
