Thanks to a renewed focus on the core concepts that originally defined the series, Assassin’s Creed Shadows delivers the most satisfying experience the franchise has seen in years. The game boasts the best parkour system since Unity, allowing you to seamlessly transition from ground to castle rooftops. A grappling hook further enhances your ability to reach prime vantage points swiftly. When perched on a high tightrope, executing the perfect kill is just a drop away—provided you're playing as Naoe, the game's agile shinobi protagonist. However, switch to Yasuke, the game's second protagonist, and you're in for a completely different experience.

Yasuke is slow, clumsy, and incapable of silent kills. His climbing ability is painfully slow, reminiscent of a grandpa scaling a wall. He embodies the antithesis of what we expect from an Assassin’s Creed protagonist, making him one of Ubisoft’s most baffling yet intriguing design choices. Playing as Yasuke feels less like Assassin’s Creed and more like a different game altogether.

Initially, the stark contrast between Yasuke’s abilities and the series' core philosophy was frustrating. What's the point of an Assassin’s Creed protagonist who struggles to climb and can't perform silent takedowns? However, the more I played as him, the more I appreciated the unique perspective he brings. Yasuke's design, though flawed, addresses critical issues the series has faced in recent years.

You don't get to play as Yasuke until several hours into the campaign, after spending your initial time with Naoe, a swift shinobi who embodies the assassin archetype better than any protagonist in the last decade. Transitioning to Yasuke after mastering Naoe's fluid movements is jarring. This towering samurai is too large and noisy to sneak through enemy camps effectively and can barely climb anything higher than his own head. His inability to find handholds on Japan's jutting roofs and his slow, precarious movement on rooftops introduce significant friction. Climbing becomes a chore, often requiring scaffolding or ladders to make any progress.

While this doesn't force Yasuke to stay at ground level, it strongly encourages it. This limitation denies him the high vantage points necessary for mapping out threats and planning. Unlike Naoe, who can rely on Eagle Vision, Yasuke has no such advantage. Choosing to play as him means sacrificing almost everything except raw strength.

Assassin's Creed has always been about stealthy kills and vertical exploration—concepts that Yasuke directly opposes. Playing as him feels more akin to Ghost of Tsushima than Assassin’s Creed, especially given his lack of stealth training and reliance on samurai sword skills. Yasuke's gameplay is centered around fierce combat, a feature that Tsushima is celebrated for and Assassin’s Creed often criticized for.

Playing as Yasuke challenges you to rethink how to approach Assassin’s Creed. Historically, the series has allowed players to climb anywhere effortlessly, akin to Spider-Man with a knife. Yasuke changes this dynamic. While many areas are beyond his reach, careful environmental observation reveals hidden pathways designed specifically for him. For example, a leaning tree trunk can lead to a sync point otherwise inaccessible without a grappling hook, or a castle's open window on the second floor can be reached via a staircase-like arrangement on the courtyard's exterior wall. These paths are more engaging to discover than the mindless scrambles of past games.

However, these pathways only take Yasuke where he needs to go, limiting his general exploration and ability to gain high ground for observing enemy patrols. Yasuke doesn't adhere to the traditional Assassin’s Creed approach of planning and stealth. His only stealth ability, the "Brutal Assassination" skill, is anything but subtle, involving impaling an enemy on his sword, lifting them off the ground, and yelling. It's more of an opening move for combat than a stealth takedown. Yet, when combat ensues, it's exhilarating. Shadows features the best swordplay the series has seen in over a decade, with purposeful strikes and a variety of techniques, from brutal rush attacks to satisfying ripostes. Finishing moves are graphically intense, contrasting sharply with Naoe's stealthy approach.

The separation of combat and stealth into two distinct characters prevents the blending of styles seen in Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla, where direct conflict often overshadowed stealth. In Shadows, Naoe's fragility means she can't engage in prolonged combat, forcing players to flee, reposition, and reset the stealth loop. Yasuke, on the other hand, offers a break from this tension with his combat prowess, making him a thrilling choice once his skill tree unlocks.

Yasuke's design is intentional, yet it's challenging to reconcile with the Assassin’s Creed ethos of stealth and vertical exploration. While characters like Bayek and Eivor ventured too far into action territory, they still retained core assassin abilities. Yasuke, as a samurai, is thematically appropriate in his lack of stealth and climbing skills, but this means you can't play Assassin’s Creed in the traditional sense when controlling him.

The real challenge for Yasuke is his counterpart, Naoe. Mechanically, she is the best Assassin’s Creed protagonist in years. Her stealth toolkit, combined with the verticality of Sengoku Period Japan, fulfills the series' promise of being a highly mobile silent killer. Naoe also benefits from the design changes that shape Yasuke; while she can climb almost anywhere, the series' "stick to every surface" approach has been replaced with something more realistic. This requires players to assess climbing routes and find anchor points for the grappling hook, yet allows for greater leaps and faster climbing—key elements that transform the open world into an Assassin’s Creed sandbox. On the ground, Naoe's combat is just as impactful as Yasuke's, though she can't endure as long in battle.

This raises the question: why play as Yasuke when Naoe offers a more traditional Assassin’s Creed experience? Ubisoft's intent to provide two distinct playstyles with Yasuke and Naoe creates a double-edged sword. Yasuke's unique approach offers a compelling contrast to the series' norms, but it also directly opposes the foundational ideas that make Assassin’s Creed unique in the open-world genre. While I'll always return to Yasuke for the thrill of his combat, it's through Naoe that I'll truly explore Shadows' world. Because when I play as Naoe, I feel like I'm playing Assassin’s Creed.