Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Ubisoft’s Japan-set action-RPG, is set for release in March after a couple of delays. The game will feature two distinct playstyles, both in terms of combat and exploration, splitting action and stealth gameplay across its two protagonists. But if players prefer a certain playstyle and want to stick to one character for the majority of the playthrough, the game will let them do so.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Protagonist Choice
According to Assassin’s Creed Shadows creative director Jonathan Dumont, players will not miss out on crucial game content if they choose to play through majority of the game with one character.
“I don’t think you’re missing out on things too much. I think it’s more on your preference to [say], “okay, I’ll see how the game will adapt a little bit to the character if you choose one over the other,” Dumont said in a recent interview with ScreenRant.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows features dual protagonists — the hulking Samurai Yasuke, who favours head-on combat, and the stealthy Shinobi Naoe, who prefers to strike from the shadows. Both characters feature distinct skills, weapon abilities, and move sets.
According to Dumont, both protagonists will get their separate introductions and personal questlines where players can’t pick the other character, but the core storyline of the game will not force players to balance their playthrough across the two. Players can choose to progress through Assassin’s Creed Shadows with either Yasuke or Naoe and the game will “adapt” to their choice.
“There’s going to be a couple of choices here and there that I wonder what happened, what would happen with this character, but I don’t think you’re missing out,” Dumont added.
“We’re not imposing players try to split the time. So if you prefer one character for any reason, you can play maybe — I don’t know, I’m not going to put a percentage — but quite a bit of the game using one of them,” he said.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Delays
Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be the first mainline entry in the series since 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The action-RPG, set in 16th century Japan, was initially set for launch in November 2024, before being delayed to February 14, 2025. At the time of announcing the delay, Ubisoft had said it needed the additional time to further polish the game. “This will enable the biggest entry in the franchise to fully deliver on its ambition, notably by fulfilling the promise of our dual protagonist adventure, with Naoe and Yasuke bringing two very different gameplay styles,” Ubisoft had said in its announcement in September.
Last month, the publisher pushed the release date of Assassin’s Creed Shadows a second time, saying the delay would allow the team to better incorporate player feedback gathered over recent months. The game is now set for launch on March 20 across PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S/X.