Playing Assassin's Creed like Yasuke in the Shadow, He's New

Thanks to the renewed focus on the idea that the series was originally built, Shadow is the most satisfying Assassin’s Creed in years. Thanks to the best parkour system since Unity, you can flow from the ground to the roof of the castle, and the grapple hook only makes the journey faster. Perched on a rope high above the enemy, just one step away from your kill score… As long as you are Naoe, that’s it. Controls the second protagonist of Shadows, Yasuke, which is a completely different game.

Yasuke is slow. He is clumsy. He can't kill quietly. He crawled like grandpa. He is the opposite of the protagonist of Assassin's Creed. He is one of Ubisoft's most confusing design choices…and one of its most fascinating choices. Because when I played Yasuke, I no longer felt like I was playing Assassin's Creed.

I initially found this bay between Yasuke's abilities and the basic philosophy of the series was frustrating. What is the point of the Assassin's Creed protagonist, who can hardly climb and can't make silent hits? But the more I play as he is, the more I'm worth mentioning in Yasuke's design. He is undoubtedly flawed, but I think he has addressed some very important issues that Assassin's Creed has been working on over the past few years.

Apart from having a brief role in the prologue of Shadows, it wasn't until the campaign was a few hours before playing Yasuke like Yasuke. This means that your entire settlement period is spent controlling Naoe, a swift Shinobi who has been better than any series of protagonists in the Assassin's Creed part of the “Assassin” for decades. After playing Naoe for so long, it was shocking to switch to Yasuke.

The towering samurai was too big and too noisy to effectively sneak in the enemy camp, barely able to climb up something higher than his own head. He couldn't find the grip he found on the outstretched roof on the streets of Japan, and his pain was so slow when you found something he could climb. On the roof he balanced the apex unsteadily, standing upright as he saw as he moved forward cautiously. These obstacles to Yasuke's climbing ability cause friction. Scaling environments can feel like a tedious thing, with structures like scaffolding and ladders to make any significant progress.

All of this is not complete strength Yasuke stays on the ground, but that certainly encourages it. This, in turn, denied his vision. If advanced points are not easily accessible, it is difficult to map threats to an area and plan accordingly. At least in the place where Naoe was rooted, the enemy's highlighted eagle's vision returned to its original state, and Yasuke had nothing. Pick up his blade and you agree to sacrifice almost everything except the original power.

If this doesn't sound like the assassin's creed, it's because it's not. So far, the series has been built around the exploration of parkour leadership. Even if it has delved into the historical realm of buildings that rarely have a floor or two high, verticality remains a central part of the process. Looted from the traditional climbing freedom of the series and being forced to follow more prescription routes, this makes Yasuke's time closer than the ghost of Tsushima than Assassin's Creed – a feeling that only Yasuke's lack of invisible training and reliance on his samurai sword skills emphasize. What embodies Yasuke is to play a first-hand game about fierce battles, and Tsushima is remembered deeply, and Assassin's Creed is often criticized.

To play Yasuke, rethink how to play Assassin's Creed. Historically, the series has enabled us to climb anywhere. The previous assassins were the Knife Happy Spider-Man, holding sticky hands, allowing them to scale everything from the tower to the glacier as if they were ladders. It's effortless, so it doesn't have any challenges. Yasuke changed that. While there is indeed a lot beyond his grasp, a careful observation of the environment reveals hidden avenues built especially to allow Yasuke to achieve his goals. For example, an over-hybrid tilt can take you to a synchronization point that otherwise is inaccessible without hooking. The castle may have an open window on the second floor, which is easy to access if you follow the staircase arrangement of the courtyard exterior. Such a path is more interesting to decipher than the actual meaningless battle of games from the past.

These ways only bring Yasuke him need But yes. In general exploration, he has much less freedom and it is difficult to obtain high-altitude observation enemy patrol mode. But Yasuke does not adhere to the traditional Assassin's Creed approach to assessing the defender's movement and planning. His only real stealth ability is the “brutal assassination” skill, … well, it involves slamming enemies into his sword, lifting them three feet off the ground, and yelling. Not totally inconspicuous, is it? It's not a hit, but an opening measure of the battle, killing things instantly. When things do start, things get good. They get real OK Shadow has the best swordsmanship assassin's Creed in over a decade. Every strike has a purpose, from cruel sprint attacks to satisfying accountants’ techniques can be achieved. The finishing moves cleave the shoulders and the image creates a clear contrast between Yasuke's ability and Naoe's invisible method.

But here is more than just a comparison. The division of combat and invisibility into two characters means less bleeding between the two styles. In Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla, too many tasks will use direct conflicts as default interactions. Therefore, action became their primary language. In the shadows, the dual protagonist system protects this; Naoe's relative vulnerability means she can't fully slaughter mode, so when the battle breaks out, you end up being forced to escape, reposition and reset the invisible loop. When you want to get rid of this tension, Yasuke's power ensures you can survive the worst of your shadow. The power he brings to the party makes him an attractive prospect in battle, especially once his abilities are filled with glittering skills, his abilities are unlocked over time.

Then, Yasuke's design has strong intentions. However, it's hard to see where he fits into Assassin's Creed – an idea built on a series of hidden killings and vertical explorations, Yasuke directly objected to. While people like Bayek and Eivor do go too far, they are still able to perform basic actions of Assassin's Creed Lead characters. They climbed to the forefront of the temple and waved hidden blades. While this is the Yasuke of the Warrior rather than the Assassin, it is not good at stealth and climbing, but his design simply means that you can't play Assassin's Creed like Assassin's Creed when you control him.

The real problem Yasuke faces is his allies. Naoe is just a better choice. Mechanically, she is the best Assassin's Creed protagonist in years. Her invisible toolkit is complemented by the Sengoku period in Japan, which allowed the series to lack the towering verticality of the building since the group. Combined together, these elements allow for the experience of truly fulfilling the promise of Assassin’s Creed: Becoming a highly fluid silent killer.

Naoe also benefits from Yasuke’s design changes – while she can climb anywhere in the world, the series’s “Stand to Every Surface” spell has been scrapped in a more realistic way. This means you still have to evaluate the climbing route and find the anchor point for the grab hook hook, but you can leap further and climb faster – these are the basic things that turn the open world into an Assassin's Creed sandbox. Naoe's combat flow is as cruel and impactful as Yasuke's combat flow when you're on the ground and thickness. She benefits from all the sword enhancements he likes, and she can't stand the battle as long as her samurai friend can do it. All of this raises the question: Why do you play Yasuke when you can play Naoe?

Because its admirable intention is to offer two different play styles than Yasuke and Naoe, Ubisoft created a double-edged sword. The African Warrior plays very different rules from the classic Assassin's Creed protagonist, which creates a contrasting and rather compelling experience that is truly first for the series. But he undoubtedly directly opposed the ideas built by these games – in the open world, these ideas are largely unique. So while I will always find time to go back to Yasuke's shoes to enjoy the vicious stimulation of his blade, I will really explore the world of shadows through Naoe's eyes. Because when I played Naoe, I felt like I was playing Assassin's Creed.

Matt Purslow is an advanced feature editor for IGN.