Assassin's Creed Shadows: Dual Protagonists Explained

Assassin’s Creed Shadows does something new—or at least rare—for the series: it gives you two playable protagonists, each with their own unique playstyle. You can freely switch between Naoe, the agile shinobi, and Yasuke, the powerhouse samurai. On paper, it sounds great. In practice? It’s a mixed bag with some clear strengths—and one glaring issue.

Naoe: The Stealthy Speedster

Let’s start with Naoe. She’s everything you expect from an Assassin’s Creed protagonist: fast, sneaky, and able to scale buildings like it’s her day job. Her parkour is top-tier, she moves quickly across rooftops and forests, and she has access to all the core assassin tools—including the all-important grappling hook.

Why does that grappling hook matter? Because only Naoe can reach the top of Synchronization Points. Yes, those iconic towers you climb to reveal the map. Yasuke? He can’t get up there—at all. If you want to sync a tower, you’ll need to switch back to Naoe every single time. That alone makes her the go-to choice for exploration.

Combat-wise, she’s all about stealth takedowns and mobility. She doesn’t hit hard, and she can’t take much punishment, but in the hands of a careful player, she’s incredibly efficient. And she’s available from the very start of the game, unlike Yasuke.

Yasuke: The Heavy Hitter

Now, Yasuke doesn’t show up as a fully playable character until Act 2 (just over 10 hours in). Once unlocked, though, he’s a walking tank. He deals massive damage, has more health, more healing, and way more combat abilities than Naoe. In boss fights and big combat set-pieces, Yasuke is the clear winner. He’s slower and can’t climb walls like Naoe, but when it’s time to take on three or four enemies at once, he handles it with ease—as long as you’re smart about positioning and resource management.

Yasuke’s gameplay is less about finesse and more about brute force, but there’s still a skill element to managing his abilities and avoiding damage.

So Who Should You Play As?

Here’s the thing: you can play as Naoe for 90% of the game if you want. Only a handful of missions are Yasuke-only, so unless you enjoy his style, you can stick with Naoe.

Honestly? That’s what most players will probably do. Naoe moves better, climbs better, and can access every Synch Point in the game. Yasuke, while fun in combat, feels limited—especially during exploration.

Final Blurb

Assassin’s Creed Shadows gives you two unique heroes—but in practice, Naoe does the heavy lifting, especially if you like climbing towers, exploring cities, or playing stealthy. Yasuke shines in combat, but until Ubisoft hands him a grappling hook (seriously, just do it), he’ll stay a situational choice, not the default.

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