“This was a real cutscene in Assassin’s Creed”: Criticisms Of Japanese Historical Accuracy May Feel Hollow When You See 1 Game’s Desperate Break from Reality
Given the events from previous games, should Shadows be held to such a high degree of historical scrutiny?
The Assassin’s Creed series has always been very lax when it comes to weaving in and out of fact or fiction. Its factual elements include aspects such as the layout of cities, landmark locations, and notable figures we encounter as characters. However, how the series uses such elements is where the fictional angle of the games is most apparent.
We can expect Assassin’s Creed Shadows to follow a similar narrative structure. The game has been in the news, facing some degree of controversy due to Yasuke, one of the protagonists. But taking a look at some moments from previous games offers a new perspective on the current backlash.
Cutscene from Assassin’s Creed Origins Tests Historical Accuracy Claims
Origins was the first to do a lot of things differently in the franchise. It’s the installment from where the open-world RPG formula was implemented, along with greatly increasing the scale of the maps. Divine elements were present in the previous games as well, but Origins doubled down on them by introducing Egyptian gods into the mix as DLC.
Other DLC included a collaboration with Final Fantasy XV that was released the year before. This event offered the unique A Gift From The Gods quest, which got the player some exclusive items such as a legendary mount, the Ultima Blade, and the Zeidrich shield. While the items themselves are grandiose the cutscene for their appearance is very eye-catching.
After completing the puzzle, we see Bayek striding into a pyramid, where he interacts with what looks to be a portal gate. This results in Ardyn stepping through the portal, who is then beamed away by a metal bird in the sky, leaving behind the armaments.
Ancient Egypt was a fascinating place, but we sincerely doubt anything like this ever happened. So, the discourse around a black samurai protagonist in Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t seem to hold much water for historical accuracy when we have been battling gods and handling divine instruments since the very start of the series!
Assassin’s Creed Controversies Overshadow the Real Issue
People are heatedly discussing the true history of Yasuke and his role in Japanese history. But that discussion is eclipsing another pertinent issue: Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ pricing. Ubisoft is offering an Ultimate Edition of the game for either $17.99 per month with Ubisoft+ or a whopping $130 for the full game! This edition comes with a Season Pass, a unique quest, and some in-game items.
Many believe the exorbitant price of the Ultimate Edition, for what it offers, is just a way to drive more people to sign up for Ubisoft+, their new subscription service. It seems every company is now looking to adopt such a strategy; after all, it’s a more consistent form of revenue.
As the discourse rages on as to whether gaming is going overboard with DEI or people are making a mountain out of a molehill, the fact of the matter is that some changes are happening within the industry that are progressing it in a direction that may not be the best for everyone involved.
What is your take on the Assassin’s Creed controversy? Let us know in the comments below!
