Assassin's Creed Shadows' Naoe recalls the series' stealthier, RPG-less roots with a hidden blade, hood, and an awesome grapple

Naoe and Yasuke walk in the sunset in a screenshot from Assassin's Creed Shadows
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Assassin's Creed Shadows just debuted its first gameplay look at Naoe, one of the upcoming game's two protagonists.

Assassin's Creed Shadows splits its runtime between Japanese history's first recorded Black Samurai, Yasuke, and a more traditionally sneaky assassin in the form of Naoe. The latest Xbox Games Showcase trailer shows both of our protagonists in action as they show off some wildly different movesets. 

Assassin's Creed Shadows: First Look Gameplay Trailer - Xbox Games Showcase 2024 - YouTube Assassin's Creed Shadows: First Look Gameplay Trailer - Xbox Games Showcase 2024 - YouTube
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Yasuke looks to be a bulkier, heavier, tankier fighter capable of taking on large crowds with equally buff weapons. (Seriously, he stuns enemies by stomping on the ground and creating a shockwave... beast.) Naoe, on the other hand, looks to operate similarly to other AssCreed heroes. She flips around while climbing up buildings, sneaks up on foes with near-feline footsteps and a hidden blade, and pulls her hood far down enough to make Ezio proud.

The trailer above gives us peeks aplenty at the world and violence of Assassin's Creed Shadows, set to come out on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5 on November 12. Should you want to see more from Ubisoft's Feudal Japan open world, the publisher is diving deep into Assassin's Creed Shadows at tomorrow's Ubisoft Forward show with a 13-minute gameplay walkthrough.

Ubisoft previously announced that Assassin's Creed Shadows would "not require a mandatory connection at all times," but internet "will be needed to install the game." Aside from that, details have been kind of light. Ubisoft left some riddles for fans earlier this month, which were promptly solved - no surprise, internet - revealing plenty of theories about the game's map. Real world history also tells us much about Yasuke.

See everything else announced at the Xbox Games Showcase for an overview of all the games and reveals.

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.