Assassin's Creed: Shadows | Gameplay Overview Trailer
Join members of the development team for a behind-the-scenes look at Assassin's Creed Shadows as the team dives into the new dual protagonist feature of the upcoming action RPG. The team discusses what you can expect from the new characters, their abilities, the dual protagonists' gameplay, combat, and more. Assassin's Creed Shadows will be available on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC on November 15, 2024
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00:00One thing we really wanted to do at the start is deliver on a great player fantasy and as
00:11we started diving, we had two emerging player fantasies that were awesome, the Shinobi and
00:16the Samurai.
00:18What we didn't want is to try to dilute them into one fantasy.
00:21We really wanted to explore both sides, so that's something where we said, well, we need
00:26two characters.
00:27The setting that we had, the Izuchi-Momoyama period in feudal Japan, was in such a nuanced
00:32time, so it was really interesting to be able to work with dual protagonists and develop
00:37these two characters as individuals because we really had the opportunity to explore this
00:42era by playing off these two different perspectives.
00:46As we worked our way through it and came up with a dual protagonist, it became very clear
00:50that Naoe is the stealth character and Ieyasuke is the fight character.
00:55Speed and agility on one side, then brawn and strength on the other, they differ in
01:00every possible way we could make them differ.
01:11Our Shinobi, Naoe, is the imagined daughter of a legendary Egan Shinobi, Fujibayashi Nagato.
01:19And up until this point, she's actually been quite protected from a lot of the horrors
01:23of war that have been going on in other parts of Japan.
01:26So this is going to be her first real taste of what lies beyond, and it has a profound
01:32impact on her.
01:33I wanted to have the stealth as a core pillar in Assassin's Creed Shadows.
01:38Players will recognize the classic Assassin's Creed experience in Naoe, but we are adding
01:43a lot of things that make her super unique, so she's the best Assassin ever.
01:48We wanted Naoe to be extremely fast, efficient, acrobatic.
01:53We've worked a lot to make sure that she has the coolest, most spectacular parkour
01:58we could give her.
02:00She can squeeze in tight corners, she can go prone, meaning that the character can go
02:05underbelly and just crawl around in the dirt and disappear from view.
02:10We really wanted to leverage all the light elements that come with our new tech and use
02:16it in a core way for our Shinobi fantasy specifically.
02:20So what that means, at night, you have to read the environment and hide in the pockets
02:25of shadows that are cast naturally in the world, and that affects how NPCs can see you
02:30and if they can sense you at all.
02:36What we want the player to experience is the feeling of being the predator.
02:40So you feel like a ninja, you can break light, you can vanish into the shadows, and you're
02:45flipping on a roof with the physics base grappling you, so the stealth is more rich
02:49than ever, and you really feel that she's like a blade in the shadows.
02:57Yasuke is our first historical protagonist in Assassin's Creed.
03:02What we know about Yasuke historically is just a bit, but it was enough to get the team
03:07really excited about the opportunity to work with him as a character.
03:11He can fight his way out of anything, but he's also super smart and can think his way
03:16through things equally as well, and is going to be somebody who always has a commanding presence.
03:21So especially in combat, when we think about Yasuke, it's really about dictating how the
03:25fight will go, and to do so, we created a mechanic called the postural attack.
03:28So he can chamber an attack, and then he can launch that attack to do a massive amount
03:32of damage and take out anyone.
03:35Yasuke is very, very strong.
03:36He can barge through reinforced doors, he can lift heavy objects that Naoi can't, but
03:41that means that he's somewhat slowed down compared to Naoi.
03:46That hurts.
03:48On the ground, that's where he shines.
03:58We have two characters who have such different gameplay styles, so for every situation, every
04:03gameplay moment you're going to encounter, you really need to think through everything
04:08from these two perspectives.
04:10Blood must be paid in blood, Yasuke.
04:14We always want to respect player choice, so you can do quests with any character.
04:20So if you are Yasuke, you play with his strengths, but also with his weaknesses.
04:25Same for Naoi.
04:26Each character has their own skill trees, but also they can master their different weapons.
04:31So it's not just about stats, it's about the player competency to really understand
04:36how the different mechanics work.
04:38They have different speeds, they have different HP, they have different gear sets, so they're
04:43very unique, and they're a great balance of two player fantasies.
04:51The most exciting part of having our dual protagonists is the distinction and the fact
04:56that they don't really overlap.
04:58Narratively, they have common goals and they are aligned on what they want to do, but the
05:01way they go about it is drastically different.
05:04Sometimes playing Naoi, even if you're very good, you'll hit a wall and some enemy is
05:08going to kick your ass, and you go, you know what, let me switch.
05:12And the same is true for Yasuke, sometimes you'll get a setup, a couple of enemies are
05:15high on rooftop that you cannot quite reach, and having to go, you know what, let me switch
05:18back to Naoi.
05:20And having this push-pull that players get to experience of which character is good in
05:24what situation, it gives us lots of levers to play with and try to break the mold.
05:30I think it's the most fantastic thing we've achieved with our dual protagonists from a
05:33gameplay perspective.