PlayStation has just published 20 minutes of new footage from Assassin's Creed Shadows, demonstrating the different stealth and combat approaches protagonists Yasuke and Naoe can take in Ubisoft's open-world game. Yasuke is a combat specialist while Naoe is a stealth master, but it's seeing their roles reversed that's the most interesting part of this new footage.
Assassin's Creed has usually sanded off the gameplay edges we're used to seeing in more hardcore stealth games, but Yasuke's less nimble abilities make him look a lot more like a Snake or Sam Fisher than your typical acrobatic AC protagonist. In fact, the stealth gameplay shown here with Yasuke reminds me a whole lot of Metal Gear Solid 3.
Yasuke's big frame and slow movement means he has to work extra hard to avoid being spotted by enemies. Big actions make a lot of noise, and his "stealth" takedowns are big, brutal kills that aren't at all subtle - he doesn't have a hidden blade, after all.
The approach shown in the gameplay here reminds me of taking Naked Snake through Tselinoyarsk, quickly lining up headshots on enemy guards, slowly learning their patrol patterns, wading through waist-deep water while hoping the splashes aren't too loud, and even crawling prone to just barely squeeze past the enemy's sight line. Yasuke can even procure his weapons and ammo on-site, as unlike with Naoe's more exotic weapons, the bad guys keep all the normal arrows and such that Yasuke uses within their bases.
I'm sure I'll come to appreciate Naoe's greater agility and wilder stealth kill abilities by the time I've gone through a bunch of these stealth fortresses, but I've always wanted just a little more friction in Assassin's Creed. Naoe's combat is similarly exciting for all the obvious opposite reasons, since she has to rely on her agility to survive these fights. Smoke bombs, parries, and dodges where you can vault over to an enemy's vulnerable back all sound more fun than just standing toe-to-toe and trading blows. Playing Shadows' two protagonists against type is starting to look like just the challenge I've wanted from the series for years.
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