Ubisoft Releases Assassin's Creed Shadows' Cinematic CGI Launch Trailer

[T0@st]

Assassin's Creed Shadows is just around the corner, launching on March 20 for Steam. To celebrate, the team released a new CGI trailer teasing Naoe and Yasuke's motivations on their journey through feudal Japan. Check it out below. Wishlist Assassin's Creed Shadows or pre-purchase it today! Everyone who pre-purchases the game will receive free bonus content, including the Thrown to the Dogs quest at launch, and the Claws of Awaji expansion when it releases later this year. You can also check all our recent Steam news, including more details about the Steam achievements and badges + trading cards available day one!

ENTER FEUDAL JAPAN
Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments. Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles. As Naoe, use stealth to avoid detection and agility to confound your enemies. As Yasuke, strike your foes with lethal precision and power.




Travel the world and build your own network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit new allies with unique abilities to help accomplish your missions.

Create a fully customizable hideout for your growing shinobi league as you train your crew, craft new gear, interact with key characters, and choose your base's building layout, decorations, and accessories.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[chodaboy19]

Can't wait for the reviews!

 

[AGlezB]

Please give me a few minutes to uncringe.

I'd love to be able to read Lockley's primary sources because I can't get rid of the impression that the whole black samurai thing stinks to high heaven, even if the definition of "samurai" was rather flexible at the time and there is no question there was a black dude around Nobunaga.

 

[agent_x007]

Why/HOW a samurai in feudal Japan is NOT an Asian ?

Woman samurai is fine (like Mulan, can pose as man and player later may learn he/she plays a woman actually).
An Arabic/Hindu/African (man or woman) for shinobi/ninja is also fine (since these could be "imported" from mainland with some slave history background).
But an African samurai, in one of the most rigid political systems for getting this type of title ?!
At least you could have make it believable guys...
Please stop rewriting history to be "more politically correct" in current times.

EDIT : OR Ubisoft simply can't make a good game without controversy to spin marketing machine up.
Which is very sad, and I hope it fails miserably in the sales department if that's the case.

 

[Why_Me]

DOA

 

[TheDeeGee]

No video comments allowed says enough, lol

I disliked the video just because i hate Ubisoft.

 

[AsRock]

Why/HOW a samurai in feudal Japan is NOT an Asian ?

Woman samurai is fine (like Mulan, can pose as man and player later may learn he/she plays a woman actually).
An arabic/hindu/african (man or woman) for shinobi/ninja is also fine (since these could be "imported" from mainland with some slave history background).
But an african samurai in one of the most rigid political systems for getting this type of title ?!
At least you could have make it believable guys...
Please stop rewriting history to be "more politically correct" in current times.

What pisses me off about it all, haven't all or most at least the lead character been from were you play ? ( there is Valhala but you do sail from your original home ). This black dude should of been Japanese without a second thought.

 

[Athena]

it really does seem like Ubi just wants press, they don't care if it's good or bad, and of course, as was mentioned, they turned off comments on the vid. lol

 

[AsRock]

it really does seem like Ubi just wants press, they don't care if it's good or bad, and of course, as was mentioned, they turned off comments on the vid. lol

Maybe they are just trying to grind the company in to the ground so MS or some one buys it, seems to be the in thing.

 

[AGlezB]

I'm sorry but every time I imagine how a stealth-focused game ended up with a black protagonist in medieval Japan I can help but laugh. Just imagine the following meeting:

Exec #1: "Ghost of Tsushima did us a number so AC:S sales predictions are not looking good. Any ideas?"
Exec #2: "..."
Exec #3: "..."
Exec #4: "..."
Exec #5: "..."
Exec #1: "Come on! No one?"
Exec #4: "How about Yasuke as the male prot?"
Exec #1: "Who?"
Exec #4: "Yasuke. The Black Samurai."
Exec #2: "A black samurai?"
Exec #4: "Yes. It's a historic character. There is even an animated series on Netflix that got very good reviews."
Exec #2: "It would boost our DEI score for sure! Could even bring in some new demographics."
Exec #1: "Ok. Any one else?"
Exec #2: "..."
Exec #3: "..."
Exec #4: "..."
Exec #5: "..."
Exec #1: "Very well. Let's go with the black samurai."
Exec #3: "I don't know. ACs are stealth games. A black dude in warring states Japan would stick out like a sore thumb. Like that Trevor Noah sketch about Bond."
Exec #5: "ACs are games after all. We can downplay the effect."
Exec #3: "We can, we've always tried to make AC as historically accurate as possible."
Exec #4: "But Yasuke is a historic character."
Exec #3: "..."
Exec #1: "Then that's it!"

They pat themselves in the back and go collect their bonuses and then the announcement goes out:

Exec #1: "Oh, shit!"
Exec #2: "Oh, shit!"
Exec #3: "..."
Exec #4: "Oh, shit!"
Exec #5: "Can we just apologize and restore the native male prot?"
Exec #1: "No."
Exec #2: "That'll make it worse."
Exec #3: "Nop."
Exec #4: "No way!"
Exec #1: "We're fucked!"
Exec #2: "Yeah."
Exec #3: "Big time."
Exec #4: "Sideways."
Exec #5: "Oh, well. It was good while it lasted."

 

[phanbuey]

After Far Cry 5 it's really been downhill for them.

 

[mate123]

I feel like this is going to be the last AC for now

 

[the54thvoid]

It's a shame that people think exploring 'what if' scenarios (which is what AC does and has always done) is somehow scandalous.

As far as a black person in feudal japan? All true.

Please take your time to read the links and delve further into the Japanese accounts.

Yasuke | African Samurai, History, Oda Nobunaga, & Japan | Britannica

Yasuke was a valet and bodyguard of the Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano who rose to become a member of the inner circle of Japan’s first “great unifier,” the warlord Oda Nobunaga. Yasuke is commonly held by Japanese historians to be the first recorded ‘samurai’ of foreign birth, although...

www.britannica.com

Yasuke enters the written historical record for the first time as the Jesuit procession was mobbed when leaving Sakai (in modern-day Ōsaka) prefecture and then on entry to Miyako. The Jesuit Luís Fróis, in a letter dated April 14, 1581, reported that buildings in Sakai were damaged by the sheer number of onlookers climbing them to catch a glimpse of Yasuke.

From April to May 1582, the Oda clan launched an expedition against Takeda Katsuyori in the Kōshū region. The Oda army was led by Nobunaga’s eldest son, Nobutada, and upon victory Nobunaga—with Yasuke at his side—toured the new territory under his control. This is reported in the diary of Tokugawa Ieyasu vassal Matsudaira Ietada.

There was a book written by a Japanese author in 1969 which featured Yasuke:

The Japanese Children’s Book on Yasuke 弥助 – Yasuke

yasuke-san.com

The idea of a black man working for Nobunaga is was considered quite unique at the time. Kuro-suke’s effort as a man of Nobunaga is considered a bit odd and humorous, and his fate is painful. The mind of a young man in a foreign country is well described. Lively characters and the setting in Azuchi, where European culture could be seen, are attractive, too. Illustrations by Minoda Genjirô enrich the world of this story.
Kuro-suke was praised for its originality and high quality when it received the Japanese Association of Writers for Children Prize in 1969.

-----------

It'd also be great if people dropped the historical reality of AC games as the defence for attacking Ubisoft. FFS, you get to inhabit the soul of a bird and see through it's eyes. In one of the games, you fight Ares (which definitely didn't happen that way in real life). There are tons of examples that demonstrate the AC games are make believe based on real timelines, and in this timeline of feudal Japan, there was an african bodyguard present. So why not imagine - 'what if' they became a Samurai?

Ubisoft also stressed that while they have “put significant effort into ensuring an immersive and respectful representation of Feudal Japan,” the developers’ “intention has never been to present any of our Assassin’s Creed games, including Assassin’s Creed Shadows, as factual representations of history, or historical characters.”

-----------

I'll not defend the game itself because it's another AC game which, to me, looks lame and dull. Protracted stealth and nothing original to offer. I could be wrong, but I doubt it, and I won't be buying it. Thief and Dishonoured spoiled me for the stealth genre. Nothing else has ever come close for me.

 

[Vayra86]

It's a shame that people think exploring 'what if' scenarios (which is what AC does and has always done) is somehow scandalous.

As far as a black person in feudal japan? All true.

Please take your time to read the links and delve further into the Japanese accounts.

Yasuke | African Samurai, History, Oda Nobunaga, & Japan | Britannica

Yasuke was a valet and bodyguard of the Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano who rose to become a member of the inner circle of Japan’s first “great unifier,” the warlord Oda Nobunaga. Yasuke is commonly held by Japanese historians to be the first recorded ‘samurai’ of foreign birth, although...

www.britannica.com

There was a book written by a Japanese author in 1969 which featured Yasuke:

The Japanese Children’s Book on Yasuke 弥助 – Yasuke

yasuke-san.com

-----------

It'd also be great if people dropped the historical reality of AC games as the defence for attacking Ubisoft. FFS, you get to inhabit the soul of a bird and see through it's eyes. In one of the games, you fight Ares (which definitely didn't happen that way in real life). There are tons of examples that demonstrate the AC games are make believe based on real timelines, and in this timeline of feudal Japan, there was an african bodyguard present. So why not imagine - 'what if' they became a Samurai?


-----------

I'll not defend the game itself because it's another AC game which, to me, looks lame and dull. Protracted stealth and nothing original to offer. I could be wrong, but I doubt it, and I won't be buying it. Thief and Dishonoured spoiled me for the stealth genre. Nothing else has ever come close for me.

Its not about being able to imagine it or the fun of 'what if'. I'm playing Hearts of Iron IV now, where you can 'what if' an entire age of history. Its great fun as long as the gameplay around it is done well, and most importantly, does something cool to make it work.

At its core its not about whether or not its possible or 'not unusual'. Its about whether we like what we see. Its the impression of the full package that counts. Developers can do all kinds of weird shit in games. We tend to like that, if it doesn't feel out of place. Things need to make sense, or be so mystical that you want to discover the sense behind it. Shadows fails on both counts.

People clearly overwhelmingly don't like the package on offer. It feels forced, out of place, and just utterly ridiculous overall. Its trying to mix with modern day fashion to 'be something more' and fails miserably at it. And its undeniable there is a corporate non-gaming influence, the game's cast looks frighteningly similar to the umpteen other games that are supposed to tick all the corporate boxes these days. It stinks, and I smell it from miles away, and is an instant-no-buy.

Its not an immersive, interesting setting they chose; the protagonist placed as it is, is a complete shitshow that reeks of a company that is completely out of good ideas and instead guided by KPIs. Forget history or the problem with historical accuracy. Its just gutter trash.

I feel like this is going to be the last AC for now

I certainly hope so.

 

[the54thvoid]

Its not about being able to imagine it or the fun of 'what if'. I'm playing Hearts of Iron IV now, where you can 'what if' an entire age of history. Its great fun as long as the gameplay around it is done well, and most importantly, does something cool to make it work.

At its core its not about whether or not its possible or 'not unusual'. Its about whether we like what we see. Its the impression of the full package that counts. Developers can do all kinds of weird shit in games. We tend to like that, if it doesn't feel out of place.

And people overwhelmingly don't. It feels forced, out of place, and just utterly ridiculous overall. Its trying to mix with modern day fashion to 'be something more' and fails miserably at it. And its undeniable there is a corporate non-gaming influence, the game's cast looks frighteningly similar to the umpteen other games that are supposed to tick all the corporate boxes these days. It stinks, and I smell it from miles away, and is an instant-no-buy.

Its not an immersive, interesting setting they chose; the protagonist placed as it is, is a complete shitshow that reeks of a company that is completely out of good ideas. Forget history or the problem with historical accuracy. Its just gutter trash.

You see what you want to see. Buy what you want to buy. That's fine. My reply is to address the points that speak as though the 'what if' is incoherent, and it's not. It's a plausible entity for the game, just as much as Nioh uses a blonde-haired westerner as its protagonist (also a real historical person.)

PM me if you want to speak more about this - it's a thread derailer.

 

[dyonoctis]

I'm sorry but every time I imagine how a stealth-focused game ended up with a black protagonist in medieval Japan I can help but laugh.

If you watch the gameplay, then you know that Yasuke isn't designed for stealth at all: the guy in the game is being weighed down by his armor and can barely climb or run. He's more of a berserker who can send people's heads flying with a single swing. The kunoichi is the one that you want to play if you want to be stealthy, but she sucks in combat.

Yes, that implies that Assasin's creed isn't about mandatory stealth anymore.

Another thing, there's also no historical evidence that women were ninjas. So both characters "shouldn't exist", and both of them should be getting flamed for being inaccurate

 

[Vayra86]

If you watch the gameplay, then you know that Yasuke isn't designed for stealth at all: the guy in the game is being weighed down by his armor and can barely climb or run. He's more of a berserker who can send people's heads flying with a single swing. The kunoichi is the one that you want to play if you want to be stealthy, but she sucks in combat.

Yes, that implies that Assasin's creed isn't about mandatory stealth anymore.

Another thing, there's also no historical evidence that women were ninjas. So both characters "shouldn't exist", and both of them should be getting flamed for being inaccurate

Previous installments were also more combat oriented. Whole talent trees to invest in for ultra special moves that are anything but stealth. AC is just yet another third person game with nice scenery at this point, on a dated engine and with dated mechanics thrown in a blender. Its basically just like Far Cry, except with a different camera view. The franchises have also both stopped taking themselves seriously.

Look at this trailer. The two main characters are finishing each other's sentences like a married couple from a sitcom... sentences built up out of buzzword oneliners, that say absolutely nothing. Broken English that fails to sound Japanese and instead feels like Yasuke swallowed an apple whole before voicing it. Nonsense about hope, (for what?!) and other quasi emotional nonsense. I think I need a shower now. Yuck... its that implication of something deeper going on that it wants to convey, while so clearly not having a single thing on offer when doing so. Weird, man.

 

[Onasi]

Yes, that implies that Assasin's creed isn't about mandatory stealth anymore.

It… never was? You could slaughter enemies easily back in AC1, if you were good enough with the hidden blade timings you could even one shot anyone reliably and consistently, including the final boss. Hell, before said boss was a mandatory gauntlet of enemies. And AC2 got you an ability to both block with the blade and gave you two of them to actually attack with and not just counter. So, even if we stick JUST to the signature “stealth” weapon of the games and ignore the plethora of “loud” weapons they gave you, the game series was always laughably easy to rip and tear your way through. Let’s not pretend AC was ever Thief, SC or Hitman on Professional.

 

[the54thvoid]

If you watch the gameplay, then you know that Yasuke isn't designed for stealth at all: the guy in the game is being weighed down by his armor and can barely climb or run. He's more of a berserker who can send people's heads flying with a single swing. The kunoichi is the one that you want to play if you want to be stealthy, but she sucks in combat.

Yes, that implies that Assasin's creed isn't about mandatory stealth anymore.

Yeah - agree. Heavy armour and stealth. Nope.

I agree on other comments about AC being end of life a while ago. The plot lost any grip on tight-writing way back. It was atrocious in whichever one had the crazy (was it Odyssey?) Izu/Atlantis place. And the bizarre puzzles in Valhalla that relate to the sci-fi tech just clash so badly. It worked in the first one as it was pretending to experience or relive life as an Assassin through the Animus that was basically a high level VR device. But when they strayed from that concept, it got really fucking silly.

Same way I didn't bother with the last two Far Cry games. Old formula is shit and tired.

 

[Bomby569]

another nail in the coffin

 

[Prima.Vera]

Forget about the Black Panther Samurai, why does the Japanese lady speaks in English with Chinese accent I wonder?!?

 

[AGlezB]

If you watch the gameplay, then you know that Yasuke isn't designed for stealth at all: the guy in the game is being weighed down by his armor and can barely climb or run. He's more of a berserker who can send people's heads flying with a single swing.

It'd be nice if both had different, well-defined roles, but Ubisoft didn't even commit to that. What they brought instead is two characters where each one does one thing slighly better thean the other.

The previous TPU post about AC comes with a video. Watch it from 5:13 when the commentator says "'But, Simon!" I hear some of you say." to get your fill of Yasuke's stealth and keep watching only if you don't have anything better to do.

Ubisoft Compares Assassin's Creed Shadows Protagonists in 20-minute Gameplay Preview

Assassin's Creed Shadows is coming to Steam on March 20, inviting players to experience feudal Japan as the shinobi Naoe or the samurai Yasuke, each of whom have their own unique set of weapons, abilities, and gameplay strengths. The Assassin's Creed team released a 20-minute gameplay video...

www.techpowerup.com

Another thing, there's also no historical evidence that women were ninjas. So both characters "shouldn't exist", and both of them should be getting flamed for being inaccurate

No, there is not, but remove remove the AC regalia from the female and dress her in "normal" clothes and no one would bat an eye in the setting, she'd be just one more face in the crowd which is 90% of what stealth and infiltration are about.

On the other hand you have a big black dude in a country where not only there are no other big black dudes but where no one has ever even see a black person before. His presence will make a wave wherever he goes which is a freaking death sentence for him and anyone around him if their enemies have any kind of functioning brain and that's what makes it hard for me to suspend my disbelieve.

EDIT: Forgot to mention Trevor Noah is not the first one to joke about it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/8jblhz
That version of the joke is a bit different from the one I heard many, many years ago. The one I heard goes something like this:

The CIA was having trouble infiltrating the Soviet Union so they created a training program that would produce the perfect spy.
After years of training the best candidates they select the most capable one, put him on a plane and send him to Moskow, where he is promply arrested as soon as he gets out of the plane.
The CIA didn't know why it happened because the spy was perfect in every way but after careful analysis they concluded it had been a mistake to select a black man for the task since there were no other black people in the Soviet Union.

The joke is not about the man and it's not racial, it's about the blindness and stupidity of the organization.

 

[Onasi]

@AGlezB
Irony there being, of course, that black people were absolutely not an impossible sight in Soviet Union. Not widespread, granted, but due to the Comintern and “friendly” relations with a lot of African countries seeing a black exchange student or cadet in Moscow or Saint-Petersburg was far from unfathomable. And it’s the same way to this day. A black person speaking Russian wouldn’t really be anything more than a novelty to the passersby at most.

 

[AGlezB]

@AGlezB
Irony there being, of course, that black people were absolutely not an impossible sight in Soviet Union. Not widespread, granted, but due to the Comintern and “friendly” relations with a lot of African countries seeing a black exchange student or cadet in Moscow or Saint-Petersburg was far from unfathomable. And it’s the same way to this day. A black person speaking Russian wouldn’t really be anything more than a novelty to the passersby at most.

I personally know a black Cuban couple that got their PhDs in Moscow in the 80's and being black was so rare that everyone turned to look at them outside the places they frequented as students, where people where more used to see black persons. They weren't a couple at the time and by their account they were both very successful in the dating scene because "the Soviets couldn't get enough of the black Cuban chocolate", that is to say Soviets weren't racist when they were trying to get laid.