Assassin's Creed: Shadows players will have to wait to unlock Yasuke

Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is supposed to have two protagonists, but it takes a long time for that to feel true. Ubisoft’s latest entry in the long-running Assassin’s Creed series has been one fans have been clamoring for practically since the series’ inception. Finally, an Assassin’s Creed set in feudal Japan. In what felt like a clever choice, trailers focused on the option to play as two distinct characters: Naoe, a stealthy shinobi, and Yasuke, a brutal, formidable samurai. This way, players get to experience both the core warrior fantasies of this period rather than, perhaps, a single character that acts as a strange mix of the two. But some players might be disappointed about how long it takes to unlock the second character.

Yasuke, disappointingly, is not playable right from the start of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows

In some ways, this feels like a major mistake, at least for the marketing. The disappointment could have been avoided if players knew up front that it would take a significant amount of play time to unlock both protagonists. Of course, it makes sense that of the two characters, players would start out as Naoe. She is the classic Assassin’s Creed character archetype. She is great at stealth and climbing, she focuses more on quietly eliminating single targets, y’know, like an assassin. But introducing a totally different archetype can be a good thing too. Some players might be looking for a fresh gameplay experience, and others, who maybe dropped off from the games because of the repetitive combat style, might have come back for the chance to play as Yasuke.

Yasuke in Assassin's Creed: Shadows,Developer: Ubisoft Quebec

Before getting the opportunity to try out Yasuke, players will have to go through somewhere between eight and twelve hours of gameplay as Naoe. The entire prologue and first act are missing the game’s secondary protagonist. As Naoe, you’ll have to eliminate three members of the Shinbakufu, or Onryo: The Wounded, The Golden Teppo, and The Horseman. After completing the Horseman quests, you’ll play as Yasuke for several linear missions, and after that the game will finally open up, giving you freedom to swap between the two at any time.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but for anyone who was looking forward to playing Yasuke, even just half of the time, that is a long time to get to that point. Especially now when some players are finding less and less time to put into every new game. Research from Circana has shown that players are increasingly entrenched in their live service game of choice these days, so asking them to jump into any other game is already a tough sell. Asking them to play for eight hours or more before they can access the full experience will make it even tougher.

Yasuke in Assassin's Creed: Shadows,Developer: Ubisoft Quebec

Ubisoft is betting a lot on the success of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. The publisher’s previous games have not been performing in line with the company’s expectations, and Ubisoft has reportedly already been in talks to be acquired by gaming giant Tencent. Additionally, a vocal minority in the gaming space has been criticizing Ubisoft’s decision to include Yasuke as a character in this game, claiming historical inaccuracy, even though this is the first time in an Assassin’s Creed game that players will get the opportunity to play as an actual historical figure. I hope that Ubisoft has not catered to these loud few by scaling back Yasuke’s role in the game.

Assassin's Creed: Shadows

March 20, 2025

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• Ubisoft
• Ubisoft Quebec
• Assassin's Creed (franchise)