AC Shadows’ Dual Protagonist Success: A Template for the Next Ghosts Game?

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Summary

  • AC Shadows’ dual protagonists offer unique playstyles & personalities, enhancing gameplay diversity.
  • Players can seamlessly swap between Yasuke & Naoe for distinct combat approaches.
  • A future ‘Ghosts of’ game by Sucker Punch could benefit from a dual-protagonist system.

2025 finds Assassin’s Creed Shadows continuing to thrive due to numerous factors, yet its dual protagonists, Yasuke and Naoe, stand out as exceptional highlights. While other Assassin’s Creed games have employed dual protagonists, none have done so quite like Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The unique way these playable characters are presented allows players to engage with combat and exploration scenarios in an unparalleled manner within the game, offering a level of diversity never seen before. This fresh approach has proven popular and is likely to influence future games such as Sucker Punch’s Ghost, as it provides players with greater control over maintaining the game’s novelty the longer they invest their time.

With the Ghost franchise by Sucker Punch setting its course for the future with Ghost of Yotei, we can expect many upcoming installments to occur in a fresh time period and introduce a new main character. If the series dares to innovate, it could follow in the footsteps of Assassin’s Creed Shadows by incorporating dual protagonists for a multi-character “Ghosts of” game. This concept might still be years away, but Sucker Punch should consider embracing such an idea, given that Assassin’s Creed Shadows has demonstrated its potential success.

AC Shadows’ Dual Protagonists Are a Perfect Fit for a Ghost Game

Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Dual Protagonists Offer Unique Playstyles and Personalities

In “Assassin’s Creed Shadows,” the game doesn’t merely provide two protagonists who differ only superficially in name and appearance; instead, their unique playstyles are what truly makes this approach effective. Characters Yasuke and Naoe offer distinct gaming experiences within the game, as Yasuke excels in head-on conflicts using brute force, while Naoe showcases impressive parkour abilities and prefers to take down enemies undetected from the shadows.

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The unique playstyles of these characters are greatly enhanced by the ability for players to switch between protagonists effortlessly without having to respec their build or choose at the start who to control, as was necessary with Alexios and Kassandra in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. This means that players can quickly change not only the character they are controlling but also their playstyle on the fly. For instance, if players find themselves growing tired of the patience needed to take down castles using Naoe’s stealth abilities in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, they can simply switch to Yasuke, break through doors, and charge ahead, eliminating anyone in their path.

In “Assassin’s Creed Syndicate”, the characters you control aren’t merely distinct due to their names and appearances; this dual-protagonist system is effective because of these differences.

Yasuke and Naoe have distinctly different personalities; Naoe is passionate and kind-hearted, while Yasuke adopts a more modest, honorable, and somewhat enigmatic persona, reminiscent of a dangerous teddy bear. These character traits are evident in the dialogue and cinematics of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but they are also reflected in each character’s unique gameplay style, offering a singular gaming experience for players regardless of their chosen character.

A Future ‘Ghosts of’ Game Could Feature Dual Protagonists

In a possible future “Ghost” game by Sucker Punch, they could build upon the foundation laid by Jin Sakai’s character and potentially enhance it. This is because Jin combined traits of both Naoe and Yasuke, capable of attacking from the shadows (hence the name “Ghost”), yet also exhibiting significant power in open, head-on combat.

Similarly, based on what we know so far, Atsu from “Ghost of Yotei” seems to embody a hybrid character as well, although there has been more footage showcasing her in open combat rather than stealth situations.

Incorporating matchlock guns within the storyline of “Ghost of Yotei” implies that the character Atsu might favor confrontational combat strategies, yet her essence as a Ghost remains rooted in the importance of stealth tactics.

Instead of maintaining the tradition of having just one hybrid protagonist per Ghost game, Sucker Punch might opt to introduce a change and present players with two Ghost characters to control, each with their distinct playstyles. For instance, one Ghost could be a stealth-focused character who blends into the shadows, while the other could be an honorable samurai, relying on direct confrontation against enemies. This alteration would not only bring about intriguing character development but also create engaging relationship dynamics as they may conflict, ultimately enhancing the game’s storytelling potential in the long run.

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2025-04-12 17:38