I’m only a few hours into Assassins Creed Shadows, and so far, I’m liking it. I haven’t come across any bugs and overall, it’s a tight package. But for some reason (I know why I just don’t agree) Ubisoft, the games publisher, has been getting straight hate from gamers in forums across the net. Perhaps even more interesting is the response from Japanese gamers. They hate it.

At the heart of the controversy is the male, black character, Yasuke. He is based on a real-life person, an African man who somehow found his way to Japan. Little is known about the man in real life, so seeing an opportunity, Ubisoft jumped at the chance to make the game. To say that they took creative licenses would be an understatement. The game is visually gorgeous. The attention to detail and the improved combat over other games in the long running series, really stand out. It’s not perfect, no game is, but I don’t think it should be getting the hate that it is.

I’ve been reading the comments section of several sites and it’s disgusting, some of the things that are being said. I don’t use the race card, but there is a lot of hate for the game because he’s black. In the game he is made a samurai, something that didn’t happen in real life, but who freaking cares? It’s a videogame. Japanese gamers are pissed. Saying that it’s in insult to their culture and the like. The things that are being complained about have been done in games for decades. Japan isn’t immune to game developers taking creative license with their games.

Supposedly there are three romance options for Yasuke. Two of them are gay and one heterosexual. I haven’t gotten that far yet, but I won’t be picking the gay options. That’s my choice, just like everyone has a choice to play as they see fit. I don’t have anything against it, it’s just not my cup of tea.

Maybe a gay, black, samurai in feudal Japan is a bit of a reach but it still turned out to be a decent game. I would urge you to try it for yourself and take the haters’ opinions with a grain of salt. AC shadows may not be a 10 but it’s still a good game. If you can separate the game from actual history, you’ll be fine. I’m just tired of people bitching and moaning about something that most games do. Just relax and have some fun with the game. It’s not the end of the world.