Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows fulfills a long-requested fantasy for many fans: Playing as an Assassin in Japan. It stars Naoe, the daughter of Fujibayashi Nagato, and Yasuke, a vassal for Oda Nobunaga in the late Sengoku period. Their paths cross when the daimyo invades the Iga Province, leading to the destruction of Naoe’s home.
Naturally, she seeks vengeance. However, after meeting Yasuke, they begin a crusade to punish the guilty. As creative director Jonathan Dumont revealed to Entertainment Weekly, there is a bit more nuance. For instance, her mother has been absent, and Naoe knows little about her.
“[Naoe] was shielded by her father from what’s happening in the world, and it comes crashing down. She is pushed into war. She doesn’t know much about her origins. Her father’s been training her, but she doesn’t know much about her mother, who’s been gone. But as a cool proverb from Japan says, ‘a frog in a well knows nothing of the sea.’
“She is tossed into the real world, and through that, she will learn that she is not just a shinobi, that there is a little bit of a lineage or at least some mystery about some sort of different type of shinobi. They’re Assassins, so she’s somewhat linked to that.”
So while revenge is the catalyst, Naoe eventually “discovers a world in need,” and “begins to really value the community values her father taught. Can she make a better world? [She realizes] they are people who cannot defend themselves, which is tied a little bit more to the models of the [Assassin] Brotherhood.” She also starts envisioning a better future for Japan through her interactions with a child named Junjiro, though additional details on his backstory are currently unknown.
Dumont did confirm that each of Naoe’s tools connects to her history and training. “The Hidden Blade is given by her father, and we’re going to learn a little bit more about what that means.” He also describes her as a “panther looking at her prey.”
Where the Templars, the long-time rivals of the Brotherhood, tie into all this remains to be seen. Then there’s Yasuke, whose ultimate fate after the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582 may be explored further.
Launching on February 14th, 2025, Assassin’s Creed Shadows launches on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Head here to learn more about the differences between Naoe and Yasuke.