Following two delays in release, the wait is finally over for the next installment in the “Assassin’s Creed” series. “Assassin’s Creed Shadow”s will be released cross platform on Thursday, March 20, with the highly anticipated title bearing both excitement and ire among fans. 

Each game in the series takes place in a different historical context, with “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” being set in feudal Japan. The game follows two protagonists, Fujibayashi Naoe and Yasuke — the latter of which being based on a real Japanese samurai of the same name. The real Yasuke served under Oda Nobunaga, a Japanese lord known for overthrowing Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki in 1573. Nobunaga is still a remembered figure in Japan, with multiple Buddhist temples from his time in Daitoku-ji still visited, as well as a museum for the Nobunaga Clan.  

Players all around the world are looking forward to this new setting and the new historically accurate weapons introduced for the title, including katanas, kunai, shurikens and the kusarigama. New gameplay elements such as crawling are also being introduced, or in the case of Eagle Vision, brought back. 

One of the most exciting features of this game, however, is the diversity of its cast. While this has many players praising the title, this inclusivity has also sparked a divide amongst the community. 

The main point put forward by those not in favor of the inclusion of a black samurai is that having a black samurai would not be realistic in feudal Japan. Despite this, historically, the protagonist is based upon a real black samurai. 

Talking to fans of the series on campus, we get clear opinions about the game and the controversy surrounding it. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I really like the concept, and I’m probably gonna watch playthroughs, but … I’m not sure,” said Juno Steele, a second year Guilford student who’s been a fan of the “Assassin’s Creed” franchise since the age of 7. “It just seems like this whole thing has been steeped in controversy from day one,” 

“‘Assassin’s Creed’ as a series was always supposed to hit some of those controversial points of history, and generally I think they do a pretty good job, so I have faith they’ll be able to get this story right,” Steele continued. “It’s just the fandom that’s gotten hella toxic as we’ve gotten closer to launch, and I’m sure everything’s just gonna implode in the next couple days as people work through the story.”

On the controversy, another student gave their opinion on the potential reason for the upset in the community.

“I think that people are just using the whole historical realism thing as a coverup for them being racist and sexist, and not wanting to play as a Black man or as a woman,” said one student, who wished to stay anonymous, “because, you know, even Shinobi and women — even woman samurai warriors existed in Japanese history — and there’s been very famously, a Black samurai named Yasuke. So it’s just a cover for their ignorance and their unwillingness to play as anything other than a white man.”

Regardless of the issues brought up by the controversy surrounding the inclusion of the black samurai, it’s not hard to see that “Assassin’s Creed” has lost some of its momentum and popularity in recent years. Many fans complain that the striking artistic quality of previous entries in the series has been lost over time due to increasingly high demands put on developers. The game overall has shifted from a niche fanbase, to the broader market of role-playing games (RPG), which in turn caused a dropoff in fans of the series itself. 

However, with this new title, there may be a chance to take back some of those fans with “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” being nominated for the Most Wanted Game at the 2024 Golden Joystick Awards. The more inclusive cast of characters could potentially create a new era of the series. 

Only time will tell, as the game is set for a March 20 release onto XBOX, PS5, Windows and macOS.