Assassin's Creed Shadows Romance Misinformation Hits New Low on Social Media

OMG! The Right Wing Whiny Snow Flakes are being Whiny Snowflakes....What a Surprise!!!!! /s

Just curious but... how are romances handled in that "canon mode" that's newly available? Do you still get to choose, are the romances removed, or do they pick one for you?

If people are getting this scene and complaining then maybe they should start questioning themselves as to why they got to that scene in the first place 😅.

Twitter is such a *#&$hole of stupid controversies, people threatening devs and people just doing whatever they can to drive up likes and engagement, and this is only speaking in terms of the video game side of things.

Anyways, dumb sites aside, I haven't played Odyssey or Valhalla so I don't know how Ubi implemented the romance aspect into the games, since the last AC I played was Origins. Judging from what the article says, the fact that it's totally optional and you can choose who to romance reminds me of how Mass Effect handles romance options.

I’m just playing and enjoying the game on PS5 Pro, great game so far and a good looker.

However I would like to put in an official complaint about the official vibe of the aliens 👾 in space invaders from 1978.
I had no opportunity to romance ❤️‍🔥 them instead of shooting them, a dam disgrace.

Did i read it correctly? A non-binary character in feudal Japan? That sounds… interesting. I am curious about the sales of this game, I have all AC games upto Valhalla (buying Mirage soon), but I am not the target audience of this one so I will pass. But I would like more AC games (i may be on the minority that actually likes Ubisoft open world games) so lets see if this one sales well.

Misinformation: the language of liars, the currency of despots, the sustenance of fools.

Nothing new here. Sounds like something out of that Smash TV or something guy that was caught lying recently.

I'm playing the game and I'm really enjoying it so far.
Only 8 hours in, so it could get worse or better, but really liking it.

The big problem with this game started because Ubisoft insisted that they were making a historical game instead of rightfully pointing out that they always changed history to make a better game. It was a self inflicted wound.

@Alps_Stranger As far as I'm aware, the protagonists don't romance anyone if you play the canon mode. Seems like a very player-focused aspect of the game.

@heavyartillery56 Dude, what? They never claimed that. PSA: the Animus doesn't exist.

People are so effing stupid online and so eager to be upset about something. The outrage economy is the absolute scum of online culture.

These sad sacks really need to touch grass, get some friends and get laid. Its really not healthy being angry at everything online 24/7.

Just before more comments come in, can we please try to stay on topic and remain respectful to each other.

Regardless of your opinion on the character in question, this whole thing is about the misinformation that's being spread — let's try and have a reasonable discussion.

@dardel

but I am not the target audience of this one so I will pass

The target audience is the exact same as every other Assassins Creed game, don't be a snowflake about one tiny optional scene.

@ATaco

You're commenting, so... It works.

I'm here too, yeah. 😂

@Alps_Stranger According to JorRaptor a AC Youtuber there's no romance in canon mode. You also can't recruit Yaya in canon mode either as to recruit her you need to select a certain dialogue choice and canon mode won't pick that option, trophies aren't affected though.

"What do you make of all this madness?"

Within the vocabulary range acceptable in this comment section? Not much.

@ShogunRok Thank you. That probably makes the most sense. I'm seriously considering playing it in canon mode when I eventually get to it.

@dardel Despite what the internet thinks Non Binary and Trans have existed for 100's or even 1000's of years, they are not new concepts.

Most men would never understand how a man could ever romance another man (or woman identifying as man or non-binary). If you couple that with a repressive and non-tolerant culture you'll have a near endless amount of people who will take offence and wage war against it.

It is SO important to stand up and defend every person's right to love who they want, because otherwise there'll be more and more "ignant" people to pass on judgment that's wrong and exaggerated.

@heavyartillery56 They only said that Yasuke was a real historical figure, not a samurai. Their games are always based around history, but they've always taken incredible liberties with history. This has been true since the series' inception. The Assassin and Templar feud is not real. They have never claimed it's real.

If you're going out of your way to distort reality to defend online trolls, then that's your choice, but, dude... come on.

@heavyartillery56 AC series being fictional? Shocker i really did think an Assassin and the Pope really did fist fight over the actual Apple of Eden 🙄 Dude AC has always been fiction and the start up screen on every entry calls it a work of fiction.

The world is nuts - and one country in particular.
Quite frankly I'm not remotely concerned at what they have an issue with - we live in a time where everyone will promote misinformation to support their own angst. I'm almost glad I'm nearer the end of my days than the beginning...

@Icey664 Not really, actually. Feudal Japan had a sort of third gender, usually reserved for young boys, but it wasn't that simple. That third option was called Wakashu. I won't go into great detail, but this third gender had a sociological role and wasn't restricted to heterosexuality.

@Mikey856

I am not going to say you have a point. Because, it would seem that history has a tendency to erase that kind of thing from the memory of a society and culture. So we don't know what happened back then - and even so, art will always try to mirror the world as it is even, because it is a representation, always.

If I can get philosophical about it: To be able to love who you want (within certain limits) is an invention of humanism that has to be protected and cared for lest it goes away. But homosexuality has always existed and is observed in the animal kingdom according to experts.

I think of my homosexual friends who are in loving relationships and I am thankful to have grown up in a place where people stood up for their right to be themselves.

There's big bucks to be made from the culture war! I prefer to not engage and just pretend gamers are like they were in the 90s and early 20s where we would play as anyone or anything that was on the screen 🤷🏻

@PuppetMaster are there groups that shouldn’t be satisfied? I assume the option is there because it would appeal to some folks. Is there a reason why it shouldn’t exist?

I stopped using Twitter/X completely months ago, and I don't feel any longing about that toxic site. I have better things to do. We spend too much energy fighting misinformation there against people who hates the truth.

People getting mad for everything this day it's ridiculous. Get a girl or wife.chill out. Etc 🤔.Word up son

@Alps_Stranger what i heard there is no Romance in canon mode. But maybe i am mistaken

These online jabronis would be much happier if they actually played video games.

Just imagine taking all of this so seriously that you have to incessantly and laboriously prattle on about it as if it's an affront to the palate. They've become the very same people they frowned upon. The outraged brigade who spend their lives sitting through the detritus endlessly trying to find something to harp on about.
It's a video game, not the inevitable heat death of the universe ffs.

I said this when jiggle physics system tester/s*x doll simulator Stellar Blade launched: No one who's not interested in a game in which the half-naked main female character (whose existence is there solely for the guy behind the controller to ogle her) will spend all their time trying to demonize and tear down the game! They won't review bomb it or spend all their time talking about how it's bad. As evidenced by the incredibly high Metacritic score for that game.

On the other hand. The people who want a game like Stellar Blade. But despise any game that includes a (scary) non-sexualized minority as the main character. Those people will make it their life's mission to tear down that game! It will be all they tweet about and write about for the next 30 days! They'll jump on live streams and rant about it, and they'll make sure anyone who doesn't agree gets called all sorts of names. The name they'll use most is "snowflake". Because their behavior is apparently not "snowflakey".

The real question is: why this obsession for romance? Why now all modern western games revolve around that?

Folks are determined to have issues with this game. Even if they have to make it up.

@DennisReynolds Yes! I don't understand why people think non-binary people are new? But it just lends to the nature of some people. They only know what's directly put in front of them. It reminds me of people who were upset at all the same-sex stuff in Spartacus because they though the Romans weren't like that. WHAT???!!!

@Hoodie718 Did you read my post carefully? My question isn't why it shouldn't exist or which groups shouldn't be satisfied. But i wanna know if this addition really give an impact to the story and gameplay or it's just a simple checklist to satisfy / appeal to some people / group. Because based on my experiences with Syndicate and China Chronicles, this rainbow romance option doesn't exist but both games are still enjoyable to play.

I'm not mad or refuse about this. I just wanna know if it makes the game better or not.

And i also read this game has cannon story mode that doesn't have same gender romance. Like, why they have two separate mode if they gave more options for some people to decide their own cannon story?

@Icey664 dude, many of the original Geishas were male. Same sex stuff isn't new. It existed and exists across every culture. It's only because so many try to suppress it that it seems to be a new thing. I'll admit, I do squirm a little when I see it. But those are sensitivities I need to get past.

While this article has less comments than the review (not for long), just a couple of simple questions:
Can you change controls so the attacks are face buttons and parkour is R1/R2? It was possible in Odyssey and not in Valhalla for some reason.
Is there still "all good guys are assassins and bad are templars" bullcrap going on?

@B0udoir Yasuke doesn't destroy the shrine in game. A video was uploaded of him destroying the shrine. It's not something you have to do in game. It's just crazy that the leader of one of the most advanced countries on the planet fell for the bait.

Some people try so hard to fail this game. I have never played a single AC game in my life. These pathetic haters complain from left to right aspects from optional lgbt to a Yasuke eating watermelon. Poor haters, they must be fuming if this game sold well.

@PuppetMaster I just notice that when it comes to non-heteronormative elements in games, suddenly people become extremely invested in whether something serves the story or not. Lots of games have romance options that are non-essential and thus do not serve the story. They are just there for people who enjoy that aspect of role-playing.

As for whether romancing a non-binary character in particular serves the story, I don’t see why it needs to. Maybe non-binary people just exist and sometimes people fall in love with them.

EDIT: It’s an Ubisoft open-world game. It’s likely packed to the brim with things that are not important to the story. And personally wouldn’t have it any other way!

It's doing pretty bad on steam. Vox populi vox dei.

@EfYI absolutely agree

Honestly? This pales in comparison to what they did to a historical figure known for her loyalty to her husband.

As a said before, if it was one thing they screwed up it would be fine, but this has been a PR nightmare from the start and now it will only escalate further since japanese government will be involved.

@Olmaz “Forced inclusion” is such an odd concept. Every element of the game is “forced” in – these games are made by people who will them into being. People only say non-heteronormative elements are “forced” in because, in their view, heteronormativity is the natural state of things, and any representation of anything else is an unnatural deviation that is being forced on them.

I don't expect hard-hitting investigative journalism or anything, but you don't have a single example of the misinformation that is alleged.

All the talk I've seen is centered around either the non-binary/gay/lesbian romance options in feudal Japan or being able to romance the historical lady which is allegedly offensive to the Japanese for various reasons. I haven't seen a single person, pot stirrer or not, claim you're railroaded into any of it. They're upset it's there at all.

People just want to stir up fake outrage just for the sake of doing so. And that's why I don't use X: it's a toxic dudebro hellhole.

More faux pearl clutching for likes, clout and revenue.

So pleased that i'm nearly 50 and can look at bo**ocksl like this, shrug my shoulders and go back to what I'm doing.

People waging imaginary wars, I honestly wish I had that much spare time and imagination.

Lots of people have a real issue with Yasuke romancing a historical figure who is know for her loyalty to her husband and children.

@Hoodie718 You're comment (#55) is spot on, especially given what is considered "appropriate" for the game is being dictated by modern, Western values. I'm on record being rather critical of DA: Veilguard and I stand by it, mostly because of the bad writing, but the idea that nonheteronormative individuals didn't exist in the past or can't exist in a work of fiction is laughable. This is brought even more to light due to the fact that (while I haven't played Shadows yet at the time of writing this comment), I'm assuming this "non-binary" character (which is a modern term), is probably a wakashu, a "third" gender in Japanese culture during the Edo period.

Someone should tell them you’re supposed to PLAY the games to have fun, not complain about them on the internet. OOPS! Everyone makes mistakes.

It’s a video game people 🙄

Just play it if it’s your cup of tea or don’t if it’s not.

So much anger and hostility over nonsense.🥱

Meanwhile these same people vote against their own interests time and time again😂

@Hoodie718 I think i need to give you an example as the based of why i asked the question.

I used social link or the romance option in Persona 3-5 as an example. I personally didn't enjoyed this option that much because the main story doesn't change with whoever girl / character i choose to date. It feels like a half bake feature and almost purely function as a big fans service, when they also should design the romance to open more route for the main story.

But i can tolerate the flaws because it added more gameplay layer if you deepen your relationship with them. Like your rewards where you can combine higher lvl Persona, the protag and the girlfriend got new skills, or they help you in combat when the protag almost died. That's a good gameplay design because players still got rewarded from romance a character.

Now. What i wanna know is if AssCreed Shadow same gender romance option added more layer to the story and gameplay, at least gameplay. But according to your reply, it seems like it's pure role-playing experiences or i say fans-service and i'm okay with that.

That's all.

@PuppetMaster The romance options in the latest Assassin's Creed games are largely superficial, regardless of whether the relationship is hetero or homosexual. They don't really add to the story, as a whole, but may deepen your connection to the characters within, as you have more agency over who you want to spend time with. It's just flavoring on top. It may not be transformative, but in conjunction with a bunch of other smaller touches, it adds up to a more immersive experience. Either engage with the mechanic or don't. It won't really change anything.

I don't think you were intending it this way, but the way you phrased your initial question felt like it was insinuating that a homosexual relationship's inclusion in a game was something that needed to be defended, as opposed to a heterosexual relationship, which wouldn't even be a blip on anyone's radar.

Is the entire relationship mechanic just flavor text to the game that can be largely ignored? Certainly. I just don't think it would be any different, whether the relationship is homosexual, heterosexual, or something in between.

@AhmadSumadi Funny story my Grandad is very homophobic and will complain if anything gay is on TV or film even if its just implied and he watched and loved the Spartacus show and had no issues with the gay scenes "as that's how it was back then". I will never understand his logic there.

@wildcat_kickz in previous games I seem to recall the "romances" I engaged in were not romances at all.

They were absolutely hilarious one-off encounters or parts of very short quest chains.

The one I've seen in the Shadows video comes across more serious and a bit cringy, and serious romance never really works for me in games period. Straight or otherwise.

I think if "romance" is included, it should be more integral to the game. A bit like GTA dating lawyers etc.

I'd liked to see a dilemma of romancing two characters and having to choose one, with different and exclusive in-game benefits and quests as a consequence. Make it matter.

That removes the cringe of Shadows, and negates the need for it be surreal comedic like half the stuff I did in Odyssey.

@Cornpop76 I totally get what you're saying - if you're gonna do it, do it for real. That said, I just don't really understand people being put out by a completely optional feature, as if it's mere inclusion is an affront to their existance. It's kind of like real life: if you're heterosexual and don't approve of homosexuality, you still could technically choose to be in a homosexual relationship. You just choose not to. People can do the same in this game.

@wildcat_kickz

How dare they have OPTIONS in an RPG game?! 😭

A more news worthy article would probably be the Japanese Parliament discussing the game and absolutely slamming the decisions made by Ubisoft. But that article would be negative so we won’t see that on most msm platforms

lol okay I'll talk about the content of the article itself shall I, because I'm struggling to see any controversy. Let me get this straight - People are posting a romance scene between Yasuke and a non-binary person on social media which IS real and IS in the game, but you call this misinformation because they aren't explicitly saying that the scene is optional? Really? Calling that misinformation is pushing it don't you think?

I finished Dead Space recently and did the Nicole side mission. If I recorded the ending scene from that side mission and posted it to Youtube without explicitly explaining that it is optional content, would that be misinformation?

Having a quick browse of X I see the scene posted a few times, some are talking about how "woke" it is and some are just clowning on the scene because it is a bit cringe. So, I guess that is the real controversy here? (Even though this is just standard behaviour for people on X) But misinformation it is not.

@AhmadSumadi It's the fact than you can destroy the shrine in game that makes it bad. Why do you think children NPCs are usually untargetable in most games? Why any depictions of Mohammed are untargetable in most games?

mightykeef is one of few people with reasonable opinions with video games these days.

@Apollo2212 weird. Indeed just 32k on steam but Ubisoft says thank you for reaching 1 million in a couple of hours. I hope for them that they are not lying otherwise the backlash will be hard.

@B0udoir Yeah. We'll have to wait for the uk sales charts to try and figure out the true number. With less than 40k on Steam it's not looking good.

@SleepyNick Typical games journalist nonsense.

@Apollo2212 yeah, to put things in perspective KCD2 started at 160k and they sold 2 millions. Not even mentioning MMW with the 1.4 millions the first hours...

@B0udoir either way it's not the game that's going to save ubisoft. Not by a long shot.

@bronZfonZ fair point. I understand.

@PuppetMaster When it's comes to the heterosexual romances I never see questions like...

"Does it really make the story and gameplay more interesting or it's just a checklist to satisfy some group?"

@themightyant Exactly. God forbid that an RPG gives players options to roleplay as.

@PuppetMaster @PuppetMaster my answer to this, is as always simple: and why not?
People who care will enjoy, those who don't can ignore.
I will ignore but it does not seem like an issue to me

@Selogon Well you and me definitely have different motivation when comes to game design. I personally always care and curious about game design. In this case, i wanna know why Ubisoft designed the romance option like what's the reason behind it and what's the effect to the story and gameplay. Does it add more layer to the main story and gameplay? Does players got in-game rewards for romance a character? Or the romance is just a simple fans service or what @wildcat_kickz said above it's superficial.

But again, this is me and not you. If you think game design as simple as "eh, why not?" and "those who care will enjoy, those who don't can ignore it" then good for you.

@wildcat_kickz Ok so the romance option is pretty much superficial, nothing more nothing less. But i quite agreed with what @Cornpop76 said. Ubisoft thinks this romance option is important that they already implemented it for 3 main games? Then why not just go all in and make it matter? At least give players an in-game reward for doing it.

@PuppetMaster hmm yeah you have a point.
With creativity I always tend to think the creator is free with their own work.
Sure we can ask why this or that, but here I suspect we will not get an answer!
It does not make much sense here, however when does romance really get you a tangible gameplay reward?
Again another point where I agree I may see things differently since romance in games might be something to unlock achievements at best in my eyes (like it was in Veilgard) !

@Mikey856 yeah because gender was invented yesterday. Go read a book or something, inform yourself before spewing out spiteful comments like those.
The combination of ignorance and smugness really is an infuriating one.

@Selogon "It does not make much sense here, however when does romance really get you a tangible gameplay reward?"

In Persona 3-5 for example, your girlfriend will give you an accessories at Valentine day or XMas and that accesories boost your stats in combat. iirc, you will also get some item to decorate your room if you maxed up your relationship with them. But i think there's more gameplay rewards which i forgot if it also apply for non-romance relationship.

Outside Persona, there's RPG like Ar Tonelico and Thousand Arms where romance is integral to the gameplay core and also can affect the story. Thousand Arms for example, your level of intimacy with a girl will determine how powerful a weapon you can forge.

And with Ar Tonelico, there's this gameplay mechanic called "diving" where you dive into a Reyvateil mind / sub-conscious to help them solve their concerns and mental problems. If you succeed then you got a new song magic as well new outfits for that Reyvateil which improved their stats in combat. But to dive deeper, you need to improve the relationship with the Reyvateil like having conversations and such.

For AssCreed, since the series feels like an RPG right now than just an open world stealth game and the option already done for 3 main games, isn't this better if the romance options has some gameplay rewards or integral to the main story and not just for 'i did this side quest just to watch cutscene of main protag locking lips with this NPC"? But that's just me though.

@Mikey856 literally everything, and your reply is confirmation that arguing with such a bigot would be time wasted.

I don't get into most game romance, because most of the objects of my affection end up being "player sexual," not any kind of gay straight etc. Just whoever or whatever you want, so long as you jump through the sidequest hoops or whatever.
Not like it's a big thing, just kind of dumb.

@Mikey856 I have a kid in kindergarten, one in middle-school, and three high-schoolers. All public schooled. What you are saying is just flat out not true. They are all good, kind people that work hard to make the world a better place. And not just for them, either, which is really important to us. The 18 year old that is done with public school and lives in his own place that he pays for with his own job hosted two families for thanksgiving, because people had to work and we wouldn't see everyone we wanted to during the holidays. We're just some atheists that work and wish we were hanging with family instead of most anything else. He just did that because he knew it was important.
So, either we are just incredible parents and our children are wonderful despite public schools, or the schools are not the issue. I'm pretty convinced most parents just can't deal with accepting the latter.
You sound scared. I think that's the goal though.

The culture war really has permeated all corners of culture at this point. It's sad to see.

I'm sure gamers used to play games. Weird how that changed.

@wildcat_kickz agree. If it's not the canon mode default outcome then I don't get why players have a problem. Actually even if it was canon, just turn off canon mode and choose your own adventure!

They can choose the outcome they want and it's none of their business if other players choose different options, or that Ubisoft put those options in for all preferences.

I know what this is about though.

It started with Veilguard which I felt deserved criticism, but this has snowballed into a giant grift by a lot of Youtubers, who have chased more of the cash they legit earned out of Veilguard, by unfairly attacking Avowed and Shadows which are actually darn solid games.

The YouTubers don't really care about the relationships, they are just striking whilst the iron and ad revenue is hot, and looking for any reason to make a video attacking the game. Desperate for content.

I'm really sad, as whilst Bioware deserve the consequences of poor sales, Obsidian and Ubisoft actually did a great job and produced great products that deserved commercial success. It's unjust.

@Hoodie718 No. It's "forced inclusion" of elements that weren't part of the franchise before.

Think of it this way : the tower defense game of Assassin's Creed Revelations was forcefully included into a franchise that was never made for tower defense.

When you inject new content into your game franchise, you risk alienating your fanbase. Apparently, in Shadows' case, this has happened sufficiently to create a important negative feedback.

@themightyant It is forced because the franchise, until recently, never had these LGBTQ elements. So now, people who liked their AC games are forced to consume content that wasn't part of the games they liked if they want to keep playing the franchise.

It would be true for any kind of content, so it's true for LGBTQ content too. When they included pirates in AC4, they took a risk of a big feedback, but it paid off. When they included microtransactions, it garned negative feedback. So now (since Odyssey) they include more and more LGBTQ content, it's fair that fasn of the franchise express their opinion, positive or negative, on this new kind of content.

@Olmaz The content is optional, and your explanation doesn’t work. This is not a change in mechanics (and even if it were, the phrase “forced inclusion” is never used to describe changes in gameplay). You might as well say that the setting itself is “forced inclusion” because it has never been used in an AC game before.

And the “negative feedback” isn’t important, just obnoxious.

@Hoodie718 The content is not "optional" since you don't have the option to play a game without it. The fact the game gives you a choice to go through with the relationship or not doesn't make the content less in your face. And side quests in a AC are everything but optional, they have alawys been the crux of the game for most fans.

My comment was : "people who are simply getting sick of seeing f***ed inclusion of such content in games and franchise that generally would not have them are as stupid". - I had to censor it so it's not taken down again, but it ended up even worse!
So yes, here it aply to LGBTQ content, but "inclusion of X content" can be used for other topics. When a game dev "includes"new content that wasn't in the franchise before, they know they may attract negative feedback. Your example is a good one : every time AC tried another historical setting, there has been positive and negative feedback. I don't see what could be controversial about the fact that new content will garner reactions from fans.

As for qualifying "negative"feedback as "obnoxious", I'm sure Ubisoft loves to hear tht their potential customers don't listen to negativefeedback, that makes their marketing job that much easier.

That kind of behavior is utterly embarrassing. I can't imagine living a life of getting upset or triggered by such insignificant issues. There must be severe self-esteem issues to project hatred online towards pixels on a screen.

@themightyant You seem to be the one who fails to comprehend : Getting to choose whether or not to engage in a romantic relationship with a "non-binary" character doesn't make the interaction optional. The character is in the game, the quest is in it too. A lot of AC players are completionist and enjoy the games for their plethoras of sidequest, so telling them to go out of their way to avoid content they may not like and calling it "optional" is disingenuous. This is the kind of defense one gives when they finally get what they want but get backlash for it. This is the kind of defense that allowed microtransactions to fester for example.

@themightyant Please read again the very site you linked. Until Odyssey, the LGBT content was kept to a minimum. Most character who may be gay are not clearly so. And saying Jakob Frye was bisexual for example is laughable, as I'm pretty sure anyone who played the game wouldn't even have thought about it as the game didn't focus at all on it. Odyssey is when they ramped up this kind of content to the max by, for example, bringing it directly into the hands of the player.

Also, conflating homo/bisexual characters with other kind of "queer" characters is grating for a lot of people. You have to understand that many have no issues with homosexuality being depicted in meaningful manner, while having issues with whatever is put under the "queerness" or even "trans" umbrella. And this opinion is valid, even if others don't like it.