Ubisoft Could Continue With Assassin’s Creed Shadows-Style Dual Protagonists, “If We Have Good Reason To,” Says Director

Not every Assassin's Creed game, but most of them, revolve around a single protagonist. That said, the most recent release in the series, Assassin's Creed Shadows, centred around dual protagonists Naoe and Yasuke, with players jumping back and forth between the two as they pleased, depending on which playstyle they preferred. It wasn't an entirely new premise for the series, but according to associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois in an interview with GamesRadar, it's one the studio will consider utilizing again - so long as they have a good reason to.

The last time Ubisoft went with dual protagonists for an Assassin's Creed game was with 2015's Assassin's Creed Syndicate, featuring twin siblings Jacob and Evie Frye. They had some differences, but nothing quite as stark as Naoe and Yasuke. Lemay-Comtois even says himself, "The differences between Evie and Jacob were mostly cosmetic. It's more like a 'which one do you prefer?' kind of deal. They play very, very similarly, except with very few select skills."

There were much more tangible differences between Naoe and Yasuke, each character having weapons that the other couldn't use, and of course, each of them having entirely different playstyles between Naoe's classic stealth gameplay and Yasuke's front-door-barging gameplay. However, those differences, Lemay-Comtois points out, can divide players in their experience with the game.

"Dual protagonists can be divisive along very strange lines, right? It's not just a 'well, I prefer a war, therefore I prefer Yasuke.' Some people just don't like one character over the other, and they don't like to spend time with one. It was true with Evie and Jacob, but with Naoe and Yasuke, it's more divisive. And we knew this. We knew going into it, but I think it can split our fan base a little too."

Ubisoft's experience here with Naoe and Yasuke, however, won't stop the studio from going down that well again. "I think the learning for us is that, yes, we could do more dual-protagonist games in the future - if we have a good reason to do it narratively and for the setting."

Though Lemay-Comtois makes the point that it would have to make sense narratively for Ubisoft to return to dual protagonists, it's also worth wondering if dual protagonists would fit the future structure of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed games more than they may have in the past. We know from the Animus Hub and the post-launch content for Shadows that Ubisoft is working towards making its top series resemble a live service game you can keep coming back to more than a singular experience. Not to mention the fact that chief executive officer Yves Guillemot discussed earlier this year that live service and open world games would be the company's focus going forward.

It's possible that having two characters at the forefront could open up more live service opportunities with how new in-game content is designed. That sounds like a more legitimate reason for Ubisoft to continue with dual protagonists since, realistically, they could make almost anything work within the game's narrative and setting, if Ubisoft really wanted to.

For more on Assassin's Creed Shadows, you can check out Francesco De Meo's review of the game at launch and its Claws of Awaji DLC, which may also be the only DLC expansion the game gets. You can also check out our guides, like how to find resources in the game and where to find all Kuji-Kiri locations.

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