While I really enjoy playing as Yasuke when a big brawl breaks out inAssassin’s Creed Shadows,and there are a ton of enemies to start knocking into the rafters with his Kanabo, exploring and traveling with him is an absolute nightmare. After playing with Naoe and setting the pace for gameplay throughout thebeginning stages of the game, switching to Yasuke in the open world is incredibly jarring. Yasuke’s clunky movement is intended to reflect his large stature and to show a stark contrast in how the character archetypes translate to gameplay.
Unfortunately, it’s less desirable overall to play asYasuke than Naoe inAC Shadowsdue to his slower movement speed, inability to traverse obstacles or climb walls, his lack of an Eagle Vision equivalent, and general inability to effectively sneak or use stealth. There’s an imbalance when it comes to exploration mechanics between Naoe and Yasuke, and there aren’t any in-game buffs that can help with this. The good news is that it would be an easy fix, andAC Shadowssimply needs to tone down the clunkiness and give Yasuke a way to highlight enemies.
Yasuke’s Clunkiness Should Be Toned Down In AC Shadows
Yasuke Doesn’t Have A Grappling Hook & Can Barely Climb Walls
Yasuke’s mobility is really hard to get used to, and instead of being immersive, his mechanics are often frustrating or downright annoying. I have zero interest in running from point A to point B with Yasuke and will almost immediately switch over to Naoe whenever I know I have to explore a populated area.The only time I want to play as Yasuke is when I know there’s going to be a big fightwith multiple enemies, or if I want to go into a castle and start swinging for the fences with my Kanabo.
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Speed is an issue, but I can look past his slowness to a certain extent. More prevalent and frustrating are Yasuke’s climbing abilities (or lack thereof). He is incredibly slow compared to Naoe when traversing terrain or scaling walls, and the effect needs to be dialed back or just done away with entirely. The immersion argument doesn’t hold up to the impact it has on actual gameplay. There are even short walls that Yasuke is unable to climb, andhe doesn’t have a grappling hook function, making Naoe way better suited for most open-world exploration.
“It’s understandable that Yasuke is not a stealth character per se, but being able to climb or use a grappling hook doesn’t have anything to do with stealth.”
Having no grappling hook or decent climbing skills means Yasuke can’t even reach many of the game’s Viewpoints, which seems a little ridiculous. It’s understandable that Yasuke is not a stealth character per se, but being able to climb or use a grappling hook doesn’t have anything to do with stealth.Yasuke should be able to access the same open-world areas and locations as Naoe, within reason. There are obviously going to be activities such as Kofuns or Hidden Trails that make sense for one character, but Yasuke’s general inability to get around makes him less viable.
Yasuke Needs An Eagle Vision Equivalent To Make Him More Viable
No Eagle Vision Is A Major Downside To Playing Yasuke
Yasuke’s lack of an Eagle Vision equivalent is a major downside to playing as him, andthere is really no incentive to use Yasuke for stealthwithout one. They would have to introduce some narrative explanation for this effect, but it would be pretty straightforward to implement from a gameplay perspective. Eagle Vision is useful in a number of situations, and having it limited to Naoe is pointless. There are many situations where I find myself trying to use Eagle Vision with Yasuke only to be reminded once again he doesn’t have it.
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Naoe is still able to obliterate enemies in combat and doesn’t have any environmental limitations other than not being able to move crates or jars. Even without his heavy-hitting attacks,gameplay between the two feels imbalanced. For example, the lack of Eagle Vision makes Yasuke’sKofuns inAC Shadowsfrustrating, as there are often enemies scattered throughout the narrow halls that you can’t see until you actually run into them. Surely a samurai of Yasuke’s prowess would be able to at least listen for enemy movement echoing through cavernous hallways.
It’s hard to say exactly what form an Eagle Vision equivalent might take for Yasuke, butthe mechanics are already there for Naoe, so the basic concept should be easy to carry overto his character. This is one feature that I don’t think should be character-specific, as it is an integral part of theAssassin’s Creedexperience dating back to the very first game.
Yasuke’s Mobility Is A Lost AC Shadows Opportunity
I Want To Be Able To Explore With Both Yasuke & Naoe
While it’s sometimes hilarious that Yasuke is such a brute — like when he attempts a leap of faith and sends the haystack flying into the air — it shouldn’t eat into the experience enough to make him undesirable to play. His leap of faith could serve as a model for how to bridge the gap, giving Yasuke the same function while showcasing his limited agility. Minimally,Yasuke should be able to reach all viewpoints on his own. It’s annoying to run out of hostile territory, reload as Naoe, then run back into the area and climb to the viewpoint.
You can unlock the"Leap of Fail"trophy/achievement by performing a leap of faith as Yasuke.
Ironically, the intended immersive effect of Yasuke’s mobility ends up breaking immersion in many ways. As I follow Yasuke’s storyline and looking for clues,I’d rather do it as Naoe because she’s fasterand better suited for exploration. This is a huge immersion breaker because I can’t experience the game fluidly with Yasuke without getting annoyed or frustrated by his limitations. I don’t want Yasuke to only be viable as a combat-focused brute-force warrior; I want to have as much fun in the world with him as I do with Naoe.
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I’m convinced this wouldn’t be so hard to fix. Yasuke’s clunkiness needs to be dialed back slightly, and allowing him to climb faster and reach all viewpoints are minor adjustments. Introducing an Eagle Vision equivalent is more complicated but absolutely feasible, and it’s something I hope Ubisoft takes into consideration as it continues to roll out patches and updates forAssassin’s Creed Shadows. I think Yasuke could be just as fun to play outside of combat as he is within it, and expanding his features will only incentivize players to use him in more situations.
