Hot on the heels of glowing preview coverage, we're experiencing some real whiplash today. Ubisoft has released a pretty convincing story trailer for the upcoming Assassin's Creed Shadows on PS5, and we cannot deny it inspires within what was admittedly some flagging hype.

Set in the infamous Iga province in 1579 (the final days of what is considered feudal Japan), renowned for the skill of its ninjutsu practitioners, Shadows, like many games set during the period, is primarily concerned with the unification conquests of the real-life daimyo Oda Nobunaga, an existential event. Against this backdrop, a young shinobi embarks on a seemingly impossible task, putting her on a path that will ultimately lead to conflict with a legendary samurai in the service of the "Demon King of Owari."

Rather than shying away from the subject, the story of samurai retainer Yasuke, a slave of African descent transported to Japan by the Portuguese who would ultimately take service under Nobunaga, will be front and centre. As you might imagine, this was a noteworthy appointment in a historically and geographically isolated place like Japan. A side note for our sanity: the distinction between "samurai" and "retainer" (family servant) is one we keep seeing people getting caught up on, terms often used interchangeably in feudal texts (European knights, for example, lords in their own right, were considered retainers, too).

How are you feeling about Assassin's Creed Shadows, in light of positive preview coverage, additional details, and the above story trailer? Let us know in the comments section below.

[source youtu.be]