You’d be forgiven for thinking Yasuke is the starting character in the early moments of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The opening cutscene follows his introduction to Oda Nobunaga; then time skips to an action-packed tutorial that showcases Yasuke’s basic controls.

Assassin’s Creed Shadowsintroduces a few interesting twists on the series’ established formula. There are new features like Scouts and a fully upgradable hideout, but the big change is the addition of two distinct protagonists Naoe and Yasuke.

Yasuke is one of two playable characters in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. But unlike the other protagonist, Naoe — the stealthy shinobi who bears the iconic hidden blade — Yasuke is conspicuously absent during the first part of the game.