Summary
- Assassin's Creed Shadows will bring back the Leap of Faith, a series staple.
- Both Yasuke and Naoe can perform the Leap of Faith, but Yasuke's clumsy execution adds a fun subversion to the concept and reflects his muscular brute force playstyle in Assassin's Creed Shadows.
- Assassin's Creed Shadows is the first game in the series to offer dual protagonists with unique playstyles, encouraging players to explore the distinct abilities of Naoe and Yasuke in-depth.
A newly shared Assassin's Creed Shadows clip shows how the game makes a witty change to the iconic "Leap of Faith" when performed by protagonist Yasuke. Although Assassin's Creed Shadows isn't the first in the series to feature dual protagonists, it takes the concept much further with distinctive playstyles for Naoe and Yasuke, with the former being more stealth-focused and the latter offering more combative and action-oriented gameplay.
The Leap of Faith is an Assassin's Creed staple that dates all the way back to the very first entry in the franchise. While the phrase can be construed in a more figurative sense, its literal meaning entails a character making a swift exit from a situation gone wrong by gracefully leaping from a high point (like a tower) and landing straight into a soft mass on the ground, such as a bale of hay. The Leap of Faith is by no means realistic, as attempting it would seriously injure someone, but its sheer quirkiness has made it a fan-favorite in every Assassin's Creed game.
Assassin's Creed Shadows naturally features the return of the Leap of Faith, but with a hilarious twist. A recent clip shared by Twitter user Access The Animus shows Yasuke jumping off a roof to attempt the Leap of Faith, but instead of an elegant dive, he awkwardly flails in the air before clumsily landing back-first onto a pile of hay and then rolling away from it. However, graceful plummets wouldn't really be an area Yasuke would excel in, since he's a muscular bruiser clad in heavy armor, unlike Naoe, who's meant to be the parkour and stealth-oriented Assassin's Creed Shadows protagonist.
Yasuke's Clumsy Leap of Faith Shows Fine Attention to Detail from Ubisoft
Regardless, the subversion of the Leap of Faith for Yasuke is not only amusing, but also maintains cohesiveness in the context of the world and characters, standing as a fine example of Ubisoft's attention to detail in Assassin's Creed Shadows. It also stands as a great example of the gameplay variety between Assassin's Creed Shadows' dual protagonists, encouraging players to attune themselves to the playstyles of both Naoe and Yasuke to have an optimal experience with the game.
It remains to be seen how many more small gameplay distinctions like these exist between Yasuke and Naoe in Assassin's Creed Shadows, apart from the obvious differences in weapon choice and combat. Thankfully, it also seems like the controversy and negative discourse around Assassin's Creed Shadows have somewhat slowed down in recent weeks, which is an encouraging sign as Ubisoft gears up for the game's launch on November 12.
Assassin's Creed Shadows
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 82%
- Released
- March 20, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft Quebec
- Publisher(s)
- Ubisoft
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- AnvilNext
- Franchise
- Assassin's Creed
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
