Ubisoft has revealed changes that will be implemented in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows as soon as it releases on March 20.
The day one patch will make tables and shelving located in in-game shrines indestructible and will reduce non-essential depictions of bloodshed taking place in shrines and temples. In addition, when attacking unarmed NPCs, there will no longer be depictions of blood.
These changes appear to be in response to some of the criticism that followed the release of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows preview footage last month. In one previewer’s video (linked above), the player could be seen attacking a civilian NPC at a shrine and destroying its interior and altar as Yasuke. Although actions like this are not necessary for game progression and have been possible in past Assassin’s Creed entries, the clip gained significant traction on social media as users argued that by allowing the destruction of shrines, the game showed disregard for Japanese culture and religion.
As the in-game shrine seen in the video was modeled and named after the real-life Itate Hyozu Shrine in Japan, controversy around it escalated when Japanese media interviewed representatives of the actual shrine about its depiction in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. The representatives said that they would be “taking appropriate action” and implied that they wouldn’t have agreed to the shrine’s inclusion in the game if they had been asked beforehand.
It seems that Ubisoft has decided to address these concerns in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows’ day one patch, limiting how much destruction players can cause in shrines and toning down depictions of violence against unarmed NPCs.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is scheduled to launch on March 20 for PC (Steam/Ubisoft Store/Epic Games Store), MacOS (Mac App Store), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
