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Assassin's Creed Shadows Dev Talks World Design, Balancing Two Protagonists, and More

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January 23, 2025

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On March 20, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will welcome players to Japan’s tumultuous Azuchi-Momoyama period as they step into the shoes of samurai Yasuke and shinobi Naoe. Working with these two protagonists, both of whom have a very distinct play style, was tricky for the Assassin’s Creed Shadows development team, but it was also a lot of fun and allowed them to create a game that would truly feel unique for each player.

Game Rant spoke to Assassin’s Creed Shadows game director Charles Benoit about the development process. He talked about traveling to Japan and how the team’s time there inspired many elements in the game, both small and large. Benoit also discussed how the team drew inspiration from past Assassin’s Creed titles such as Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla when designing the dual play styles of the more combat-focused Yasuke and more stealth-focused Naoe. This transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.

How Assassin’s Creed Shadows Honors Japanese Culture

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Q: When you are going through the process of developing key features and mechanics for the game, how do you account for everything that’s in Shadows – the Assassin’s Creed identity, the story, the open-world design? There’s so much there.

A: It’s a long process and I’m not alone, obviously. I have a couple of associate game directors who helped me, but the process of Shadows is what makes a shinobi and samurai fantasy? What’s a must-have feature to represent them? That’s one thing. We want to really recreate this feeling of being a shinobi and a samurai.

And what’s also important for the franchise, for assassination. Even at the beginning, we’re wondering, “Oh, what about the viewpoint? Should we do the same as we did before? Do a twist?” So we did some iteration. In the end, every player likes to see the world and see the beauty of it, so it’s always a mix of what’s new for the setting, what the setting brings, and what’s the core essence of Assassin’s Creed.

Q: One thing I really liked when I was playing was that Naoe and Yasuke’s shoes come off when you go into these internal safe houses. Could you tell me about any other game mechanics or features that maybe aren’t big game-changing things but that you did specifically to honor Japanese culture?

A: One of the things that comes to mind is there are a lot of little shrines. Just small things. Sometimes it’s in a city, sometimes it’s near a road. I think there are like 300 of them in the world. Obviously, we don’t want to have a big thing with that, but you can stop and interact with each of them. We have a “pray” interaction. [Performs Japanese-style clapped hand prayer]

We wanted to have something that you’re not forced to do, but if you want, it’s kind of a nice twist. Because when I was in Japan, I did that. It’s a cultural thing. In the game, it gives you a small bonus. It gives you a random perk. Sometimes it’s more damage, sometimes it’s more health. It’s a nice little interaction. That’s just one thing that came to mind.

Playing as Yasuke and Naoe is Truly Two Different Experiences

Q: You previously worked on Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and Odyssey. How did working with their dual protagonists, such as Jacob and Evie, differ from Yasuke and Naoe?

A: I feel it’s pretty different. It definitely feels different when you play it. When we first created the pitch for Shadows, it was in the game design aspect first. What we wanted was to make sure that you cannot do everything at once, so you have a choice. You have to choose your strength and also your weakness. You kind of need to adapt to your play style and not do the same thing again and again.

Q: How do you actually realize shinobi fantasy and samurai fantasy in terms of the gameplay? Because the control scheme is very similar, but the feel is very different.

A: I feel it’s all about metrics, timing, animations. They both have a katana. Yasuke’s katana is a bit longer, a bit bigger, but they both have one. With the way we treat animation, in the end it’s pressing the same button and it’s doing an attack, but we can tweak from there. With Naoe, the way she holds the katana, the speed at which she hits, and the impact, we can play with that. Yasuke’s a bit better with the katana, a bit more skilled, I would say, so there are a couple of things like that. We can pull the lever one way or the other. Same for navigation: Naoe can reach much higher places compared to Yasuke, so we use different rules to create different types of experiences.

Q: On that note, how do you approach designing the main critical path story missions when you don’t know who the player is going to be or what skills they’re going to have to go into that mission?

A: It wasn’t that hard, I would say. In Odyssey, Valhalla, and Origins, we had this mix of stealth and fighting. In those, especially in Odyssey, we were able to build a play style for stealth and a play style for combat. You were effectively able to switch back and forth, and the setup was made to have a good balance. If you fight, it’s not too hard, but if you want to stealth it, it’s also placed in a way that your stealth is good.

It was a lot like this—embracing the fact that you can fight and stealth at any moment, having a good way to place enemies so that the stealth is fun, and mixing the good archetypes so the fight is not too hard. That’s why we have a lot of variety of archetypes.

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Small Details About Japan Were Used To Create Shadows’ Rich World

Q: Obviously, when it comes to parkour, the architecture of whatever city or location an Assassin’s Creed game is set in has a big impact on parkour. When you’re designing the missions and gameplay, at what level does the architecture come into play, and how does it impact everything you do?

A: One thing we did for Japan is to have a place where you cannot climb even with Naoe. When we visited Japan, we saw those big rock walls near castles. It’s super steep and high, so we said it’s a good way for us to funnel the players in some ways. We know that Yasuke will need to use the paths that we put in for him. And Naoe, with the grappling hook, she’s a bit more fluid. She can go everywhere somewhat, but this way we could funnel a bit more. With the different parkour metrics, we know that we can just extend a bit for Naoe and less for Yasuke. If we wanted Yasuke to go there, we put some boxes, so it was easier for us to control where Yasuke went, a bit less for Naoe. We embrace the chaos with Naoe and follow more with Yasuke.

Q: What would you like to say to players as they look forward to the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows?

A: I would say I’m super excited to have this game out. I’ve been playing it again and again, just to balance and give feedback and polish. I’ve played a couple of times, and the seasons and dual characters make this game unique for each player. I’m pretty sure each player will have unique things to talk about, between them and to us, to give their experience and their personal takes. I can’t wait to see how they will play the game, how creative they will be, and all the feedback they will have for us.

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