Assassin’s Creed Shadows quickly clarifies that it’s not a history game. Like other Assassin’s Creed entries, a title card that appears right after booting up warns players that, while the events and characters depicted in the game might resemble real life, it’s all a work of fiction. Nonetheless, voice actor Masumi, who plays protagonist assassin Naoe, found herself thinking a lot about Japan while recording the game.
“I feel really grateful that […] there are so many detailed mannerisms that they teach you,” Masumi told viraltrendingcontent during a phone call on Tuesday. A moment Masumi enjoyed the most is also one that the viraltrendingcontent crew has been talking about a lot: the early side quest called “The Tea Ceremony.”
“Tea ceremony is huge in Japan,” said Masumi, who grew up in both Japan and the U.S. “If you ever attend one of these tea ceremonies, there are so many rules and order to this. There’s all the reasons why you turn the teacup three times left or right; there’s all kinds of rules around it. And in the video game, they kind of teach you that.”
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been subject to a lot of attention about its historic accuracy. When the character Yasuke was announced, blow back came from several directions: the familiar, racist reaction of players upset with the inclusion of a Black protagonist in the game, as well as Japanese critics who were concerned about the game’s historical accuracy. There was also the Japanese government, which requested that Ubisoft change a setting in the game that initially let players destroy shrines. Ubisoft released a day-one patch that made shrines indestructible.
Ubisoft caveats the Assassin’s Creed games to shield itself from scrutiny over accuracy, but Shadows still reaches for historical details, like in the tea ceremony quest. The quest starts with two smaller tasks: picking a kosode that’ll impress the other guests, and choosing an excellent gift for the host. The fabrics of the kosodes in the game are so realistically silk-like, you can see depth in the embroidered threads used for decorative bits like flowers and lines. The turning of the cup that Masumi mentioned is a gameplay mechanic — mess up the pattern, and you might get attacked by your fellow tea-drinking warriors. I was pleased to hear, unprompted, that Masumi enjoyed these minute details, not just because of their historical accuracy, but also because they reminded her of where she’s from.
“There’s also stories about yokai, which is a spirit from the folklore, and I didn’t realize that they were going to talk about things like that. It just brought back so many memories from my childhood going through those stories,” she said. “For me as a Japanese, it made me really proud to see how much Japanese essence they brought into this video game.”
