If there’s one element of the Assassin’s Creed series that has evolved significantly, it’s the combat. While earlier games established the franchises’ trademark stealth skillset – skulking across rooftops and expertly luring unsuspecting foes into bushes – later instalments introduced a more direct approach, with explosive entrances and confrontational hand-to-hand fights. While previous games have chosen to lean more heavily in one of those directions, Assassin’s Creed Shadows offers the opportunity to indulge in both in a refreshing and incredibly seamless way.

During a recent preview, Xbox Wire got to spend a few hours with Assassin’s Creed Shadows, playing through the prologue missions of the two protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke, and spending some time getting to grips with their two contrasting but complimentary combat styles. We also got to freely explore the game’s open world – which takes us to a gorgeous recreation of Feudal Japan, a new, long-requested setting for the series. What we found was a game that takes Assassin’s Creed forward by respecting multiple facets of its past.

Sneak or Siege – The Choice is Yours 

The contrast between the two characters’ combat styles was a standout aspect for me while playing Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Naoe and Yasuke both have their own distinct way of doing things, and this is immediately prevalent as soon as you start playing with either of them. This not only separates two wildly different ways of playing into distinct entities, it also gives two characters a fighting style that complements their narratives and personalities, an approach that Assassin’s Creed has taken before, but never as intensely.

Naoe feels like a ‘classic’ Assassin’s Creed character, and she performs at her best shrouded in silence and darkness. She can navigate rooftops and trees with ease and, of course, has her trusty Hidden Blade for swift, brutal takedowns. She’s also equipped with a grappling hook to reach high spots quickly, smoke bombs for distraction or stealthy attacks, and kunai to throw. Naoe can hold her own in close quarters combat in a pinch, with the option to wield similarly effective katana and kurisarigama swords, but her strength is in that familiar assassin’s approach. She feels absolutely badass to wield with this arsenal – a tad squishy if she’s overwhelmed and out in the open – but it’s very easy to regain the element of surprise and recalculate her attacks.

Yasuke’s combat is a stark variation, with a lot of focus on ground combat and confrontational brawling. He compliments Naoe’s stealth with pure brawn, equipped with heavy sword and parrying skills, a naginata spear – which deals strong, sweeping attacks to multiple enemies within range – and a Portuguese firearm, a teppo, for devastating ranged blows. There is rarely a cause for retreating to the shadows for Yasuke – the only entrance he needs to scout for is the one he plans to shoulder barge through before launching into an all-out siege, swinging at anything in his path. Yasuke can climb to a more Assassin-friendly perch in a pinch, but his strengths lie in well… his strength.

Best of all, I never felt the need to “main” one of these characters. Assassin’s Creed Shadows allows you to switch between them at will, so it doesn’t feel as though you’re hard committing to one or the other. That said, if you’re a big fan of either classic stealth characters – your Ezios and Altairs – or later, more aggressive leads like Edward and Eívor, there’s always the option to stick solely with what you love best.

Switching between the two also lends itself naturally to roleplaying in a way that Assassin’s Creed games have rarely allowed for. Initially, I chose to take on missions as Naoe, favouring that slick, stealthy assassin outfit. After getting to know the characters a little more, I found myself choosing who to play based on the narrative, as well as their abilities.

To give an example of this: At one point, I managed to talk myself out of a combat situation entirely, choosing to assign a more calculated resolve to Naoe’s character than I would have engaging in the same conversation with Yasuke, who, in my mind, would have just thrown a punch. In another scenario, I took Yasuke on a quest to find someone in a hidden gambling den, and felt like his approach of smashing in with a firearm raised might be more fun than a sneaky extraction mission as Naoe.

Switching between both protagonists while out in the world is incredibly convenient and barely interrupts the flow of your play – once you change character, the one you picked appears exactly where the previous one was standing, so you can immediately crack on with whatever you were doing, whether you need to scale a building, enter dialogue with a certain character or barge into a stronghold for a brawl.

As I did this, I realised I’m intertwining my own story with the one that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is weaving. The result is a highly personalized adventure that you have control of every step of the way, with the ability to change it up whenever and wherever you feel it necessary, and we can’t wait to play more.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows launches on Xbox Series X|S on March 20.