The Assassin’s Creed games have been on a steady path away from stealth ever since the series’ first entry. I don’t mean that stealth options were stripped out or haven’t evolved, but it lagged behind the pace of a more direct approach. While Origins is seen as the major splintering point for the series into a full-blown action RPG, the series’ identity crisis can be traced back much further. By the time we got Black Flag, stealth had become so inefficient and inessential that there was hardly a reason to bother with it at all outside of self-imposed challenges.
When the series did pivot into action RPGs, complete with weapon and armor scores, and made the protagonists more and more powerful, I fell off of the franchise. It not that I don’t enjoy that style of game, rather that it wasn’t what I came to Assassin’s Creed for. With Assassin’s Creed Shadows Ubisoft finally fixed that power creep problem without stripping those options out of the game. And that’s thanks to its two character setup.
Jack of all trades, master of all
What caused me to fall out of favor with Assassin’s Creed isn’t that the series wanted to give players more options outside of a stealthy approach. Plenty of games proudly boast how they offer players the freedom to play sneaky or go in guns blazing. However, the issue with Assassin’s Creed’s for me was that one method invalidated the other.
Even as early as Brotherhood, there was no real consequence for breaking stealth outside of missions where you were required to remain undetected. Ezio was a more than competent fighter, taking on groups of guards with flourishing sword slashes and brutalizing counters. As the series went on, more weapons and abilities were added to the pool that could dispatch enemies in a highly choreographed and cinematic style. Stealth wasn’t stagnant, getting some new tools like smoke bombs and distractions, but almost felt doomed to fall to the wayside by the nature of its more deliberate and patient style.
By the time Origins arrived, even stealth’s greatest advantage — the one-hit kill assassination — was ripped away. At best, stealth became the way players would initiate an encounter but pay no mind to when they got caught and switch over to the faster and more immediately satisfying combat.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows isn’t the first game in the series to feature two protagonists, but unlike Syndicate where Jacob and Evie were all but identical in playstyles, Naoe and Yasuke are deliberately distinct. Rather than feeling like two halves of a character, I found the division of playstyles between each protagonist to be an elegant solution to making both approaches carry equal value.
I have to play more carefully again or use my other tools to get out of trouble, because simply fighting off an entire camp isn’t always an option. Naoe can fight, but fighting more than three or four enemies (especially if there are any high-level brutes) is typically a death sentence. Meanwhile, Yasuke can hold his own in almost any brawl but is slow and clumsy so cannot nimbly traverse an area. Each one has the greatest strengths of previous protagonists but with distinct downsides that encouraged me to actually roleplay. Without having that “get out of jail free” card of knowing I can move from stealth to action and back again with no consequences, Assassin’s Creed Shadows presents a lot more stimulating challenges.
Maybe one way is “superior” to the other on paper, but the fact that it isn’t immediately obvious to me is what I most appreciate. Both characters feel viable and valuable in different scenarios, and each time I choose who I want to control I have to weigh the pros and cons of that choice. It isn’t the most mentally taxing decision, but it’s far more engaging than not having to make that choice at all. If nothing else, the option to change up your approach helps keep Assassin’s Creed Shadows fresh throughout its long runtime.
I still have some qualms with the overall structure and path the series is going in, but I think that making the protagonists more focused is a much-needed positive step. If the series does continue on its current path, I believe that mechanically distinct characters will be essential for the series to remain captivating beyond the new historical location.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
