Assassin's Creed Shadows Is Already Being Called "Woke" And "Disrespectful"

thegamer.com:

Assassin's Creed Shadows is already being labeled as "woke" and "disrespectful" following its announcement trailer, primarily due to main characters Naoe and Yasuke, the latter of whom is historically considered Japan's first black samurai.

Ubisoft has finally lifted the lid on the next mainline Assassin's Creed, revealing that Assassin's Creed Shadows will be available on November 15 later this year. While we didn't get any gameplay, we did get a lengthy cinematic trailer going into the backstories of the game's two main protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke. Naoe appears to be a Shinboi from the Japanese provinces, while Yasuke is considered to be Japan's first black samurai, and came into contact with several prominent figures in Japanese history.

That means Assassin's Creed Shadows will center around a woman and a black man, and some people on social media have reacted with exactly the kind of behavior we have come to expect nowadays whenever a protagonist isn't a straight white man. In the replies of Ubisoft's announcement tweet, you don't have to look very hard for people decrying the game as "woke" and "disrespectful", with a sprinkling of DEI in there for good measure.

Most of the vitriol revolves around Yasuke, with some people taking issue with the fact that they're being made to play as a black man in a Feudal Japan setting, despite the character being a key figure in Japanese history. Some claim that it's inappropriate for Ubisoft to have someone who isn't native to the country as one of the main characters, though I don't think these same people take issue with the fact that the incredibly Welsh Edward Kenway was sailing around the Carribean in Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag.

You've also got some stating that Yasuke wasn't actually a samurai, but was a retainer to Oda Nobunaga, and that this somehow "disrespects" Japanese culture. However, people are already pointing out Yasuke was Nobunaga's Kosho, which is essentially the bodyguard or personal