With its first trailer, the much-watched Assassin’s Creed Shadows has finally found a date. But certain choices made regarding its representation of Japan have been singled out.
On November 15 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will allow us to discover Ubisoft’s vision of feudal Japan in the company of Yasuke and Naoe. But many viewers of the trailer obviously had things to say about the choice of the main protagonists.
Instability in Assassin’s Creed Shadows Feudal Japan
We’ve known for a while that Assassin’s Creed Shadows would focus on Yasuke’s story. But discovering the character in action in the first cinematic trailer of the game expected on November 15 was obviously… another story. As a reminder, Yasuke is historically a slave of African origin and of imposing stature, transported by a Jesuit to Japan in 1579. He would have met Lord Oda Nobunaga and entered his service. It was there that the man received the name Yasuke. From this point on, historians do not necessarily agree. Some claim that he only served as a porter for the influential lord, and that he would have surrendered in the only combat he would have faced. Others say that Yasuke became the first samurai of African descent. In any case, he would have acquired a certain mastery of the Japanese language and some favors from Oda Nobunaga.
Regardless, the idea of playing Yasuke in Assassin’s Creed Shadows was not to the liking of many. Some have accused the game of being ” woke » for this reason, and also because Naoe, the other main protagonist, is a woman, however of Japanese origin, and fictional daughter of the legendary shinobi Fujibayashi Nagato. Others believe that Ubisoft’s choices are ” disrespectful » towards the fascinating history of Japan. According to them, Yasuke has no place as a playable character, not being of Japanese origin himself.
Ubisoft and “historical reality”, a complicated story
In previous Assassin’s Creed games, Ubisoft has always allowed itself to take great liberties while introducing some elements of “historical reality”. For some, the French giant would have taken too much in Shadows. Lovers of the history of feudal Japan therefore prefer its equivalent Ghost of Tsushima, according to them much more respectful of the representation of this complex period rich in exciting events in the Land of the Rising Sun.
You will have to see the game actually in action to discover what it really is about its vision of feudal Japan. We should be served on this point during the Ubisoft Forward, scheduled for June 10. In addition to this controversy surrounding its playable characters, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is bearing the brunt of another controversy similar to that surrounding Star Wars Outlaws concerning the pricing of its different editions, and especially the fact that certain quests are inaccessible on the basic version . However, it appears unlikely that the French giant will turn back, on a field like any other, despite a very negative reception of the game at the moment, particularly in Japan.