Summary
The first trailer forAssassin’s Creed Shadowshas finally been revealed, and it teases an ambitious new approach for the long-running action franchise. Ubisoft’s series hasn’t featured a dual protagonist sinceSyndicate, and the reveal trailer forAssassin’s Creed Shadowsis an exciting change of pace when it comes to the game’s marketing.
As of now,the two protagonists inShadowshave been revealed to be a male and female. The male protagonist, an African samurai named Yasuke, has more power-focused gameplay, while the female protagonist, Naoe, is a ninja assassin who is more centered around stealth gameplay. This difference in gameplay implies a compelling way to diversify the mechanics, but one of the best parts of this dual protagonist reveal is that it highlights the equal importance of both characters.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows' Female Protagonist Doesn’t Feel Like an Afterthought
This, of course, isn’t the first time thatAssassin’s Creedhas featured female protagonists. There have been manygreat female characters inAssassin’s Creed’s long history, but the reveal trailer forShadowsfinally represents both sexes in a way that makes the two protagonists feel equally important to the game and its story. DespiteAssassin’s Creedfeaturing female characters in the past, their presence hasn’t been nearly as strong in the game’s marketing, especially withValhallaandUnity, and it seems like this has finally changed.
Correcting Valhalla and Unity’s Mistakes
InValhalla, the game’s protagonist, Eivor, can be made male or female. However, when it came to the game’s reveal trailer, the spotlight was only given to the male version of the character. In the game’s initial marketing,the female version of Eivoralmost felt like an afterthought as a way to just tick a box that a female character was at least included in the final product. However, when it comes toUnity, the female representation was handled even worse.
One of the mostdisappointing parts aboutUnityis that many were shocked to discover that players couldn’t play a female character in co-op mode, despite the assumption that this would be the case.Unityin general didn’t exactly launch to great success, but not being able to play as a female character in the co-op mode was quite a shock for some who were looking forward to at least having the option.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Keeping Things Balanced
Showcasing the female protagonist ofShadowsfront and center at the start of the game’s trailer finally seems to be breaking Ubisoft’s habit of making a female protagonist feel like a commodity and is instead having her be a vital part of the game from the get-go. A power-focused samurai and a stealthy female ninja present an exciting level of balance that will hopefully be pulled off well when the game is actually released.Dual protagonists that embrace different mechanicscan really help keep gameplay exciting, and using this approach to highlight a male and female hero is a smart way to create equal representation.
Now that there is finally aset release date forAssassin’s Creed Shadows, only time will tell if the franchise can make both characters stand out on their own while also relying on each other’s skills. It’s a really delicate balancing act that can sometimes fall flat, but if pulled off correctly, it will be an exciting way to seeAssassin’s Creedevolve.
