Ever since Ubisoft pulled back the curtain on Assassin's Creed Shadows, it's been clear that Naoe is the Assassin protagonist, playing more like the classic games and Assassin's Creed Mirage, while Yasuke is a warrior like AC Valhalla's Eivor. Of course, it's hard to imagine that the game would simply deny Yasuke access to stealth or prevent Naoe from being able to win in open combat, meaning the delineation has to work somewhat differently. For Naoe, it means that open combat is harder; for Yasuke, it means that stealth is harder...and sometimes in hilarious ways.

Game ZXC recently spoke with Assassin's Creed Shadows associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois about the various gameplay mechanics in the game, including how both Naoe and Yasuke play. It's no surprise that Yasuke is more brutal in combat, able to break through enemy armor and put them down with brute strength, while Naoe looks for openings in combat to bypass armor. However, it is a bit surprising to know that Yasuke can, at least, try to blend into the Assassin gameplay style.

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Assassins Creed Shadows gameplay first look thumb
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How Assassin's Creed Shadows' Stealth Bleeds Over Awkwardly to Yasuke

When asked if it was possible to play stealthily as Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows, Lemay-Comtois explained, "You can try. Some of us are able to do it. It's particularly fun because he's a little unwieldy." In practice, this means that Yasuke is a bit too tall for some forms of cover and hilariously stands out as a result. He can crouch, go prone, and crawl in Assassin's Creed Shadows too, but his samurai armor makes a lot of noise and attracts unwanted attention.

If players attempt to go underwater to hide, Yasuke immediately gets up because "he doesn't like to have his face underwater." His size operates against him, while Naoe's playstyle is more geared for these encounters, but it is possible to play Yasuke with some degree of stealth.

"It's a little bit like putting a square peg in a round hole, but it works."

Instead of preventing one character from accessing one part of the game, it seems each Assassin's Creed Shadows protagonist is geared toward one part of it but is capable of doing other elements with some drawbacks. Another way this manifests is through each character's gear: they have unique weapons, unique armor sets, and so forth.

It's not possible to exchange gear between Yasuke and Naoe because they are truly distinct in gameplay. In fact, Lemay-Comtois summed it up as there being "two builds, essentially, that can take advantage of one situation over the other, and there's very little crossover between the two."