“Assassin’s Creed: Shadows,” Ubisoft’s latest installment in the hit video game franchise, released on Thursday to largely positive reviews and strong sales, but some anti-”woke” critics are complaining about a storyline centering a Black samurai and LGBTQ character options, while the Japanese government voiced concerns about violence depicted in the feudal Japan-set game.
“Assassin’s Creed: Shadows” released Thusrday. (Photo by John Keeble/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
“Assassin’s Creed: Shadows.” the newest installment in the “Assassin’s Creed” franchise, one of the world’s best-selling video game series, launched for Xbox, PlayStation, Mac and PC platforms Thursday.
The game has been mostly well-received by critics, with a 81% score on review aggregator Metacritic, and Ubisoft said the game reached one million players on its first day of release.
Set in feudal Japan, one of the main playable characters is a Black samurai warrior named Yasuke, who is based on a real samurai of African origin, though the character’s inclusion sparked some controversy when the trailer released last year, which some critics felt was not authentic to Japan.
The game’s release this week renewed some anti-”woke” criticism, particularly for romantic storylines that involve the option for same-sex relationships.
Forbes has reached out to Ubisoft for comment.
What Did The Japanese Government Say About “assassin’s Creed: Shadows?”
The new “Assassin’s Creed” game sparked some controversy in Japan over concerns about how players could destroy artifacts in Japanese shrines and temples. Hiroyuki Kada, a member of Japan’s National Diet, the country’s parliament, raised concerns about the game in a meeting of the legislative body earlier this week. According to multiple outlets, including gaming publication IGN, which said its IGN Japan staff had translated Kada’s remarks, Kada said he feared “allowing players to attack and destroy real-world locations in the game without permission could encourage similar behavior in real life.” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba responded that defacing a shrine in real life would be an “insult to the nation itself,” stating “respecting the culture and religion of a country is fundamental.” Ishiba said the matter would need to be discussed with the country’s culture ministry and other agencies, but it’s unclear whether the government plans to take any action. Kada also posted on his X account about concerns over whether the game could influence “disrespect” to Japanese culture. On the game’s release day, Ubisoft released a patch that made tables and other objects indestructible in temples and shrines, while also reducing the amount of blood spilled in temples by attacked players. Ubisoft declined to comment to Forbes on whether the decision to release the patch was related to the Japanese government’s concerns.
Why Is “assassin’s Creed: Shadows” Facing Anti-”woke” Backlash?
Some users complained about a possible same-sex relationship storyline players could pursue, prompting the official “Assassin’s Creed” X account to hit back at trolls on Thursday. “Remember the fourth tenet of the Creed: Flirting in RPG games is always optional,” the account posted in response to another post by a user criticizing how a player using the Yasuke character could pursue a relationship with a character named Ibuki, who is nonbinary. Some users, though, pointed out the feature is not new, as users could pursue same-sex relationships in previous “Assassin’s Creed” games.
Why Has The “assassin’s Creed: Shadows” Protagonist Sparked Controversy?
Yasuke, one of the main character options, is based on the real-life Black samurai warrior of the same name. The character was revealed last year when the game trailer released, sparking some controversy about the character not being native to Japan. The game’s developers said in a blog post they chose Yasuke as the character because there are “still plenty of questions and speculation” about the real-life man, which allowed for creativity in developing the character. Charles Benoit, the game’s director, also said Yasuke was chosen because he is not native to Japan, which allows both Yasuke and the player to discover the country at the same time. The character sparked some anti-”woke” backlash from right-wing critics, including YouTuber Tim Pool and Daily Wire hosts Brett Cooper and Michael Knowles. Billionaire and DOGE chief Elon Musk also slammed the character in a post last year, alleging “DEI kills art.” Yasuke is thought of by some historians as the “first Black samurai,” and though much of his life is unknown, historians believe he may have been from Mozambique. Historian Thomas Lockley told TIME Yasuke was brought to Japan by Italian Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano, where he met Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga, who was impressed with his strong stature and recruited him into his army.
How Did The Japanese Community Respond To “assassin’s Creed: Shadows?”
Some Japanese players accused the game of historical inaccuracies, pointing to details like inaccurate architecture and Chinese subtitles being used in a promotional video instead of Japanese. Ubisoft issued an apology to Japanese fans in July, stating it collaborated extensively with historians and researchers, but it acknowledged “some elements in our promotional materials have caused concern within the Japanese community.” The company said the game was intended to be a “compelling historical fiction” and is not meant to be “factual representations of history.”
Further Reading
The Fight Over a Black Samurai in Assassin’s Creed Shadows (New York Times)
