The more traditional protagonist present in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the shinobi Naoe. She is optimistic, youthful, and perhaps in a little over her head in the newest installment in the long-running franchise. Whereas Yasuke fulfills the samurai fantasy in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Naoe fulfills the shinobi/assassin franchise with her focus on stealth.
Game Rant spoke to Masumi Tsusnoda, who stylizes her name MASUMI as a performer, ahead of Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ release about her connection to Naoe. She also spoke about it being her first experience as an actor in a video game and what all of that entailed.
Connecting With Naoe
MASUMI was drawn to Naoe from the onset, feeling a deep connection with her. She loves to play strong women, sure of themselves and with an aspect of human vulnerability which matches Naoe nicely, she thought. She didn’t have to reach for her voice as the character, it came naturally to her. She especially resonated with Naoe’s personality, explaining,
“I feel like I understood her right away, honestly, and in that way, I was very lucky. I was very lucky that I was able to connect with her right away through all the brilliant writings in the stories that I was able to read through. I would also say that I wanted Naoe to be very tough, but also vulnerable, because that’s of big importance to me. Every time I play a strong female character, she also has to have vulnerability with her as well…I think Naoe is a straight shooter. She doesn’t BS, she’s very honest, she’s got this passion for her family, and she knows exactly what she thinks is right. She knows her value, and she knows herself very well.”
Naoe’s story explores themes of revenge and forgiveness, which also spoke to MASUMI. As a singer/songwriter, she previously wrote a song called “Sinking Boat” that fits with those themes that she associated with Naoe’s journey. She also dove deeply into her own family’s experiences with times of war and strife to get a perspective on living in a time as tumultuous as the Sengoku period.
In a previous Game Rant interview, AC Shadows associate narrative director Brooke Davies praised MASUMI’s ability to capture the youth, optimism, and naiveté of Naoe. That was a performance MASUMI had extraordinary confidence in–she was invited to redo her audition and she stood by her original performance, only to wind up being the actress cast for the role. As MASUMI explained,
“I went for the audition, I connected with the character right away, and I thought I did a pretty good job. I was happy with what I turned in, but I didn’t hear back. I think there was a long time that passed, like six months or something. Then they sent me the same audition, and at the time, I declined it because I was really happy with my first audition. So I said, ‘You know, I’m going to stand by what I turned in first.’ I declined it, and I thought I had no chance at it anymore. After that, maybe three, four months went by, and all of a sudden, I got a call back for it. I was really shocked because I didn’t think I was going to get a call back for it.”
She’s spent two years so far inhabiting Naoe, longer than she’s spent with any other character, and MASUMI is absolutely taken with video game acting after this debut.
Debuting in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
MASUMI’s work has mostly been in movies and television, making her role acting in Assassin’s Creed Shadows a very new experience for her. It wasn’t just how long she was in Naoe’s shoes that was an adjustment for her, but she always wanted to play a character in a video game. In particular, motion capture rigs and studios were a major difference from her time in film and television, she recounted.
“I’ve never done voiceover. I have never done mocap. There were so many new things to explore and learn on this job, which was amazing. Because I come from movies and TV, I think I knew it, but I didn’t really understand it until I started acting in mocap suits. There were a few times when I had to touch someone, but in reality, I couldn’t because there are these cameras in front of us. We have to be spaced out, but then I need to be physically in contact. In my mind, I had to create such big emotions and imagination, so those obstacles didn’t get in the way of my performance.”
She mentioned that the vast, empty rooms used for mocap studios, absent props, and cameras preventing actual contact with her fellow actors made things complicated. She found herself having to ask a lot of questions. For instance, rather than being able to feel the weight of a door on a physical set, she needed to ask for details about it so that the push she provided was consistent with things like the weight of the door.
This was something of a dream come true for MASUMI. She said she felt like she willed the experience of acting in Assassin’s Creed Shadows into being, wanting as she did to act in a video game, and looks forward to playing similar kinds of roles in future titles.
“I felt like I manifested this because I always wanted to be a video game character, and when this came to me, it was like a dream come true. I feel like I already have more experience now, obviously, because before I didn’t have any experience. Yeah, I think it would be really fun if I got to play it again…I think I would always like to play a character who is fighting for something, you know, whatever that is. I’m really attracted to a character who has to go through all the internal fights and go through their own shadows in order to conquer something bigger than themselves.”
It’s the layers of human experience and human emotion inherent in roles like that, roles like Naoe, that attract her to those acting challenges. She said it doesn’t have to come in the form of a powerful assassin like Naoe, but the character, like Naoe, needs to be determined and have complexity. Those are the roles she loves the most and perhaps roles fans can expect to see her play in the future.
Experience an epic historical action-adventure story set in feudal Japan! Become a lethal shinobi Assassin and a powerful legendary samurai as you explore a beautiful open world in a time of chaos. Switch seamlessly between two unlikely allies as you discover their common destiny. Master complementary playstyles, create your shinobi league, customize your hideout, and usher in a new era for Japan.
• Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments.
• Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles. As Naoe, use stealth to avoid detection and agility to confound your enemies. As Yasuke, strike your foes with lethal precision and power. Unlock new skills, gear, and progression independently for each character.
• Make information your weapon as you explore the world, and build your own network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit new allies with unique abilities to help accomplish your missions.
• Create a fully customizable hideout for your growing shinobi league as you train your crew, craft new gear, interact with key characters, and choose your base’s layout, decorations, and accessories.
- Released
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March 20, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
