Yasuke in Shadows: A Fresh Take on Assassin’s Creed

Thanks to a renewed focus on the core principles that defined the series, Assassin’s Creed Shadows delivers the most authentic and satisfying experience the franchise has offered in years. Fluid movement between the streets and rooftops of feudal Japan is made possible by the best parkour system since Unity, further enhanced by a grappling hook that makes reaching strategic vantage points faster and more intuitive than ever. Perched silently on a narrow beam above a bustling compound, you’re just one precise drop away from executing the perfect assassination—provided you’re playing as Naoe, that is. Switch to Yasuke, the game’s second protagonist, and everything changes.

Yasuke is slow. He’s loud. Silent takedowns? Not his style. And when it comes to climbing, he moves with the agility of an elderly man on a rainy day. He defies nearly every expectation of what an Assassin’s Creed protagonist should be—making him one of Ubisoft’s most controversial yet compelling character designs to date. When playing as Yasuke, it doesn’t feel like Assassin’s Creed at all. And that might be the point.

Yasuke redefines the gameplay loop, shifting focus from stealth and parkour to intense, grounded combat. | Image credit: Ubisoft

At first, the contrast between Yasuke’s abilities and the foundational mechanics of the series felt deeply frustrating. What’s the purpose of an Assassin’s Creed character who can barely climb and can’t eliminate enemies without alerting the entire camp? But the more time I spent with him, the more I began to appreciate the intentional design behind his limitations. Yasuke is flawed, yes—but those flaws address some of the long-standing issues that have plagued the series in recent entries.

You won’t play as Yasuke until several hours into the campaign. The early portion of the game is dedicated to Naoe, a nimble shinobi who embodies the "assassin" archetype more completely than any protagonist in over a decade. After mastering her swift, silent, and vertical playstyle, switching to Yasuke is a jarring shift.

This towering samurai is too large and too noisy to slip through enemy lines unnoticed. He struggles to climb anything taller than himself, unable to grip the eaves of rooftops that Naoe scales effortlessly. Even when he finds something climbable, his ascent is painfully slow. On rooftops, he walks upright along the ridgeline, exposed and visible to all, inching forward with deliberate caution. These limitations create friction—scaling environments becomes a chore, often requiring ladders or scaffolding to make meaningful progress.

While Yasuke isn’t forced to stay grounded, the game strongly encourages it. This denies him the high-ground advantage, making it difficult to survey enemy patrols and plan attacks. Unlike Naoe, who can rely on Eagle Vision to highlight threats, Yasuke has no such aid. When you draw his blade, you’re trading stealth, mobility, and awareness for sheer power.

Assassin’s Creed has always revolved around stealth and vertical exploration—two pillars that Yasuke directly contradicts. If this feels unlike Assassin’s Creed, that’s because it is. The series has long prioritized parkour-driven navigation, even in historical settings with minimal vertical architecture. Yasuke’s grounded approach shifts the experience closer to Ghost of Tsushima—a game celebrated for its intense sword combat and open-field confrontations. With no formal stealth training and a reliance on his katana, Yasuke turns every encounter into a battle rather than an assassination.

Playing as Yasuke forces you to rethink how Assassin’s Creed should be played. For years, protagonists have scaled every surface with Spider-Man-like ease, climbing anything from cliffs to rooftops without challenge. Yasuke breaks that mold. While he can’t reach everything, careful observation reveals alternative paths designed specifically for him. A leaning tree trunk can bridge a gap to a sync point. A staircase-like arrangement of stones along a castle wall opens a route to a second-floor window. These solutions require thought and engagement, offering a more meaningful traversal experience than the mindless climbing of past titles.

Still, Yasuke’s freedom is limited. Exploration is more restricted, and gaining a tactical overview of enemy movements is nearly impossible. He doesn’t operate on stealth or patience. His only “stealth” ability is the Brutal Assassination skill—which involves impaling an enemy, lifting them into the air, and roaring in defiance. It’s less of a takedown and more of a declaration of war. But when combat begins, it’s electrifying. Shadows features the best swordplay in the series’ history—deliberate, impactful, and rich with techniques like powerful rush attacks and satisfying ripostes. Finishing moves are brutal, cleaving through enemies with visceral force, a stark contrast to Naoe’s silent, surgical precision.

Yasuke brings the most refined and intense combat the series has ever seen. | Image credit: Ubisoft

Beyond contrast, the dual-protagonist system creates balance. In Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla, combat often became the default mode, diluting the stealth identity of the franchise. Shadows avoids this by separating the two styles. Naoe’s fragility prevents her from engaging in prolonged fights—when combat erupts, you must disengage, reposition, and re-enter stealth. When you need a break from that tension, Yasuke’s raw strength lets you power through the game’s toughest challenges. As his skill tree unlocks, his abilities become even more devastating, making him a thrilling force in direct confrontations.

There’s clear intention behind Yasuke’s design. Yet, it’s hard to reconcile him with the identity of Assassin’s Creed. The series has always been built on stealth, verticality, and silent eliminations—elements Yasuke actively resists. While characters like Bayek and Eivor leaned into action, they still retained core assassin abilities: climbing, hidden blades, and rooftop takedowns. Yasuke, as a samurai, is thematically justified in lacking stealth and agility, but his gameplay diverges so much that controlling him doesn’t feel like playing Assassin’s Creed at all.

The bigger issue, however, is his counterpart. Naoe is simply the superior choice. Mechanically, she’s the best Assassin’s Creed protagonist in years. Her stealth toolkit thrives in the architectural richness of Sengoku-era Japan, where multi-tiered buildings and towering structures bring back the vertical depth missing since Syndicate. Together, they deliver on the fantasy of being a swift, silent killer—exactly what fans have wanted.

Naoe also benefits from the same design philosophy that shapes Yasuke. The old “stick to every surface” climbing mechanic has been replaced with a more realistic system. You must evaluate routes and use your grappling hook strategically. But within those constraints, Naoe moves faster, jumps further, and climbs more fluidly—turning the world into a true Assassin’s Creed playground. And when combat does break out, her swordplay is just as powerful and satisfying as Yasuke’s, albeit with less durability.

So why play as Yasuke when Naoe offers a more complete Assassin’s Creed experience?

Ubisoft’s decision to create two distinct protagonists is admirable, offering a fresh dual-playstyle approach that’s unprecedented in the series. Yasuke’s grounded, combat-focused design provides a compelling contrast—one that challenges the norms of the franchise. But he also stands in direct opposition to the very ideas that make Assassin’s Creed unique in the open-world genre.

While I’ll always return to Yasuke for the raw, exhilarating rush of his combat, it’s through Naoe that I’ll truly explore the world of Shadows. Because when I play as her, I don’t just see Assassin’s Creed—I feel it.