So, everyone is talking about Yasuke. Since Ubisoft dropped the trailer for Assassin's Creed Shadows, the internet basically exploded. People are fighting in Reddit threads and X (formerly Twitter) replies like it’s a full-blown war. Some are mad he’s the lead. Others are thrilled.
But honestly? Most of the "debate" is missing the point.
Yasuke isn't just a character Ubisoft dreamed up to be "woke" or whatever the current buzzword is. He was a real person. A guy who actually stepped foot in Kyoto in 1579 and blew everyone’s minds because they had never seen a Black person before. In the game, he’s one half of a dual-protagonist system alongside Naoe, a shinobi from Iga.
The "Was He Actually a Samurai?" Argument
This is the big one. If you go down this rabbit hole, you'll find people screaming that he was "just a servant" or a "sword bearer."
History is messier than a Wikipedia sidebar. Back in the 1580s—the Sengoku period—the "samurai" class wasn't the rigid, hereditary thing it became later in the Edo period. It was more about who you served and what they gave you.
Oda Nobunaga, the "Great Unifier" of Japan, took a massive liking to Yasuke. He gave him a house. He gave him a sword. He gave him a stipend (basically a salary). In the eyes of many historians like Thomas Lockley, who co-authored African Samurai, that essentially made him a samurai. If you have the gear and the boss says you’re the guy, you’re the guy.
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Japanese historian Yu Hirayama has even pointed out on social media that serving a lord closely and receiving a stipend fulfilled the core requirements of a master-servant contract that defined the rank back then.
Why Yasuke Fits the Assassin's Creed Vibe
Ubisoft has always done this thing where they take a historical "gray area" and fill it with hooded figures and hidden blades. Yasuke is the ultimate gray area.
We know he arrived with a Jesuit named Alessandro Valignano. We know he was 6 foot 2—which, in 16th-century Japan, made him look like a literal giant. We know he was at the Honnō-ji Incident where Nobunaga died. And then? He vanishes.
He just disappears from the records.
That is pure gold for a writer. It gives the devs a real-world anchor and then a total blank canvas to explain where he went. Did he join the Brotherhood? Did he hunt down the people who betrayed his lord? That’s where the game actually gets interesting.
How He Plays Compared to Naoe
You’ve got two very different vibes here.
Naoe is your classic AC fantasy. She’s quiet. She uses a grappling hook. She hides in the grass and crawls through crawlspaces. Yasuke is... not that.
- Brute Force: He can't hide in a haystack as easily as a 5-foot-tall ninja.
- Combat Focus: He’s built for the "open combat" players. He uses kanabō (big spiked clubs) and katanas to just wreck people.
- Destructible Environments: He can actually smash through doors that Naoe has to find a key for.
- Social Stealth: Because he sticks out like a sore thumb, his "stealth" works differently. He can't just blend into a crowd of Japanese villagers. People notice him.
It’s a cool dynamic. You’re playing a guy who is physically imposing but socially isolated.
The Drama and the "Woke" Accusations
Look, some people are just never going to be happy that a Black man is the protagonist in a Japan-set game. But if you look at the series' history, they’ve always looked for "outsider" perspectives.
In an interview, Ubisoft explained they wanted a character who could see Japan through our eyes—someone learning the culture as the player does. Plus, he's the first real-life historical figure you get to actually play as in a main entry. Usually, we just meet them, like Leonardo da Vinci or Benjamin Franklin.
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There was also a bit of a mess with some of the promotional art. Ubisoft actually had to apologize to the Japanese community for using some incorrect symbols and certain items that didn't fit the time period (like square tatami mats or modern-era flags). It happens. Game dev is hard, and historical accuracy is a moving target.
What Really Happened at Honnō-ji?
The game builds toward the legendary betrayal of Oda Nobunaga by Akechi Mitsuhide.
In real life, Yasuke was there. He fought. When Nobunaga committed seppuku (ritual suicide) to avoid capture, Yasuke reportedly stayed and fought with Nobunaga’s son, Nobutada.
When he was eventually captured, Mitsuhide reportedly said something like, "The Black man is a beast and doesn't know anything, and he's not Japanese, so don't kill him." He was sent back to the Jesuit mission in Kyoto.
It’s a brutal, high-stakes moment that serves as the perfect midpoint or climax for a game about revenge and honor.
Is It Worth the Hype?
If you like the "RPG style" of Valhalla or Odyssey, Yasuke is your man. He’s a tank.
But if you’re a purist who wants to hide in shadows, you’ll probably find yourself switching to Naoe more often. The game lets you swap between them for most missions, which is a smart move. It stops the gameplay from getting stale.
Honestly, the best way to approach Assassin's Creed Shadows is to treat it like what it is: historical fiction. It’s not a textbook. It’s a "what if" story about a man who traveled across the world and ended up in the inner circle of the most powerful man in Japan.
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Actionable Insights for Players
- Don't ignore the environment: If you’re playing as Yasuke, look for things you can break. He can create his own paths through buildings that Naoe can't.
- Master the parry: Unlike Naoe, who relies on dodging, Yasuke’s combat is built around timing blocks and heavy counters.
- Check the history: If the game sparks your interest, read African Samurai by Thomas Lockley. It’s a wilder story than the game in some ways.
- Switch often: Don't main just one character. Some fortresses are significantly easier to "clear" if you use Yasuke to draw aggro and then switch to Naoe to pick off the stragglers.
The reality of Yasuke is that we will never know everything about him. But that mystery is exactly why he’s a perfect fit for a series that’s spent twenty years hiding the "truth" in the margins of history books.