Assassin's Creed Shadows

This game has been in the news a lot lately, and that's because it's a spectacular train wreck which has caused considerable outrage from historical and cultural purists. Let's start with the trailer premiere:



Next, the extended gameplay reveal:



Unlike previous games, this one has been rightly mauled for its shocking historical inaccuracy. You play as Yasuke, a genuine historical character. Yasuke was an African man who came to Japan during the Azuchi–Momoyama era.

Very little is known about him, because he wasn't historically significant. Extant records of his life and activities are scant at best. Yosuke is portrayed as a samurai in the game, but in reality he was just a kosho (weapon bearer).

But that's just the start of the problems. Ubisoft has managed to fumble numerous elements, from the clothing to architecture to animals to plants... the list goes on and on. It's a cavalcade of incompetence.

Here's a response from two Japanese people analysing the extended gameplay reveal:



Next, a reaction from another Japanese person commenting on the depiction of the protagonist:



This is a good one too, mainly focused on a Western historian who has influenced the game:



He has erased his social media presence following backlash from incensed Japanese people: https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianMascu...as_lockley_the_author_who_created_the_yasuke/

Ubisoft is now saying the game will be delayed while they address the bugs and historical errors.

https://www.thegamer.com/assassins-creed-shadows-delay-bugs-historical-accuracy-concerns/

 

no interest in the game.

EDIT: Dashblue's drunk hyperanalysis is funny. With Ubi's internal struggles and their eventual downfall, I wonder if this is all a plan by tencent to swoop in and get the brand and IPs for cheap.

 

I dunno why people are outraged, Yasuke is a badass character in other fiction. Do people just hate the French that much?

 

it's due to their misrepresentation of the character. ubi claims they're filling in the gaps in the japanese history aka "being historically accurate". the japanese aren't happy that they're having their history being changed by a foreign company. Ubi is essentially gaslighting. There's even a rumour suggesting that a japanese male was already built and only recently swapped due to outside events.

plus ubi stole the flags from a japanese reenactment group without their permission as well as doing things that aren't even period accurate. It it possible that because ubi be pushing out more games in a year that their teams are spread thin. It's been confirmed that a lot of the experienced devs are gone and the in-experienced staff are being promoted too early along with devs working in genres where they have no experience.

"Not pushing an agenda" my arse, Yves.

 

I don't think I've ever regarded a series about ancient aliens as anything close to historically accurate and I'm surprised anyone cares about it. Plus it's not like Yasuke was a giant samurai with a bear spirit either (Nioh)

 

Well gamers have been asking for an AC in Japan for ages and for the most part were looking to play as a Japanese Male/female, not the combo we got right now.

so you're surprised that there are native japanese people are outraged by their culture being warped and misappropriated?

When it's done right you get a Ghost of Tsushima.
This is what you get when it done wrong.

Besides, if you're a black dude in Japan and you're meant to be an assassin, you sure as heck stand the fuck out like sore thumb.

 

90% of outrage I've seen has been white dudes so idk

 

It has literally been brought up in the Japanese National Diet (their version of Parliament) and they're investigating this game.

Don't forget ubi's latest merch with the 1 legged torii gate. It is considered insensitive to Japanese because it is a visual reminder of the atomic bombing in Nagasaki.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sannō_Shrine



This is how insenstive they are.

 

This took me out

 

Well, considering asians are now classed as "white adjacent" i guess so.

 

Ok but I don't know Japanese, so that's not the outrage I've seen.

 

Just make it alternative history, then it doesn't matter if it's inaccurate lol... it's okay for fiction to be fictional.

 

People who play Assassin's Creed for its 'historical accuracy' is crazy work.

 

will see. i doubt they'll make it to their feb 2025 date and then delay again. ubi is in shambles.

 

I think having aliens and magic is pretty alternative already

 

it doesn't have the pre-order numbers they were expecting after the $850million spent on Skull and Bones. They hoped this and SW outlaws would "save" them.

 

Nobody's complaining about the fictional elements. What they're complaining about is cultural and historical stuff that just doesn't make sense in the game's own world; the stuff that's supposed to there to present a realistic depiction of the protagonist and the setting of feudal Japan.

Even if they want to make it alternative history, there's stuff that simply doesn't work. For example:

* Buddhist incence at Shinto shrines
* birds that are grossly out of scale with the trees they're flying around
* crops harvested in the wrong season
* swords that magically adhere to the character's back

Etc. etc.

 

Isn't that every game?

 

• rice crops near river where they can get easily flooded.
• chinese architecture in the wrong period.
• swords clipping through their sheaths.