Masumi, as Naoe from Assassins Creed Shadows plays

Singer songwriter, actor and now video game language actor Masumi is not new if you play a Japanese assassin and mourn your father's loss. She played as a Yakuza heritage in 2021 Yakuza princess – Your “Breakout film”, as she calls it. Then she booked a new challenge: Naoe, the Shinobi Assassin protagonist in Assassin's Creed ShadowsThe latest entry in Ubisoft's AAA franchise, which was published on Thursday.

MasumiThe performance as a Naoe is the heartbeat of the game next to that of Tongayi Chirisa, who speaks the other protagonists based on the historical figure Yasuke. In the opening times of the game, it is Naoe's voice that leads you around while you are in the feudal Japan. Polygon talked to Masumi by phone on Tuesday, just a few hours after the game was published here and elsewhere online. We talked about Naoe's story, language performance and the challenges of Mocap.

[Ed. note: This interview has been edited for concision and clarity.]

Polygon: Connect to the character of NAOE or do you have to enter another room for this character?

Masumi: Yes, honestly, everything to Naoe put on me immediately when I got it audition. It is such a powerful and complex character. She is wild and determined, and I mean, she is wearing the weight of the world and the past she has, and she also fights for her future. When I got the story for the first time and learned something about her journey, I felt pretty connected to her. And she is not only a warrior, she is also someone who finds this really complex world of loyalty, revenge and then herself – like personal growth. So there were many points for me that I could really sound with her.

Something that I really enjoy is that she is so small that sounds like a natural choice for an assassin character, but is actually not necessarily the case for Assassins Creed protagonists in the past. What is it like to play an assassin?

This is not the first time that I have to play a female assassin figure. I have to play [one in] Yakuza princessAnd she is also an assassin, and that was a kind of breakout film. So I feel from the beginning, I always have [gotten] To play these really strong female characters that are complex, and they all make them really emotional journey. So when I got Assassin's Creed ShadowsAnd Naoe was even more excited because it is not just someone who is complex and strong, but through Japan in this most turbulent time to hold out. I feel very capable of playing them, and I hope the players also feel able to go through Naoe's journey.

I know this is your first video game. How did this experience differ from your other acting experiences?

The motion capture was a completely new experience and such a unique challenge because they act in a huge empty space without sets without costumes. So you really have to use your imagination and trust your body to bring the character to life. And also to trust their partners in order to always be present with them because we have all this kind of restrictions. And that was an interesting challenge.

I also remember that we have little Jiro in our world, and he was an amazing children's actor, and for him it was really difficult to get used to the headsets […] Because it compresses your head a little. And so he got a little bad, and so we had to navigate it. In the beginning I would also be sick and I had to get used to it. And so we would have to take breaks so that he can calm down with the nausea and then go back in. You don't know these challenges until you actually do it.

The voice-over was also a completely different challenge, because at Mocap you can at least express with your entire body, but in VO it is only your voice. So you have to convey everything with your sound, breath and energy. And I didn't notice that I had to do a hundred different breaths, and I never had to pay so much attention to which respiratory patterns they are. So that was really interesting. But to be honest, all the challenges were really worthwhile. I have to learn so much.

This is strange if you tell you, but in the version I play, the breaths come through the controller, so it is really urgent because it is exactly there, closer to your ears than the rest of the soundtrack. So be assured that they are used well.

Do you have a lot of experience with games?

I've never played video games, but my husband plays. So yes, especially during Covid we played a few games. I don't know if you know the video game Do not starve together.

OK thanks. [laughing] I am glad that you know that. That was the game that I played a lot because they don't need skills in this game. But still my husband bought a Playstation as soon as he found out that I got this job, so I have to play it. I mean, it doesn't matter whether I have skills or not. I want to see the world. I hear it's really nice.

You should absolutely. It won't be too difficult, don't worry. Although it is probably a strange experience to listen to your own voice. Do you usually watch your own appearances?

Yes, because I started as a singer-songwriter. So I went to the music school in LA and then I made music for a large part of my life before acting. So you have to hear your voice in music. This is the only way you grow. So I am used to hearing my voice, but that doesn't sing. That literally talks and screams. And sometimes I'm outraged. I am often outraged – let's be honest. So I never heard my voice in this way.

Do you have a specific scene or a certain point of action with which you really have a response to the execution?

It is different between cinematic and VO, and I would say that there were more VO sessions than cinematic. But in cinematic it was always about the intensity of the scene. There were many intensive scenes. And so I can think of a few immediately. […] One of them will be the moment when Yasuke and I get through it – because we start like enemies, and then there is one thing that is so heartbreaking, and we have to decide whether we want to come together or separate ourselves as an enemy. And this story was one of the toughest stories in which I have ever had to dive to really understand the emotions of what Naoe was going through. And when you see this scene, I think that it is difficult for anyone to imagine emotionally [it].

And then in the VO cabin the more difficult – – – [gasps] I just wanted to spoil, honey! I was about to spoil. [laughs] […] Well, there was a scene with my family member, and these were really hard because I have to compensate for: How much emotion would I give it as a Masumi or how much emotion do I have to give you as a NAOE who has already become an assassin and has already seen so many suffering on your trip? So the balance was very hard. There are a few moments when I would really like to talk about it, but I can't. But yes, it's about my family. That's how I would leave it.