Summary
Assassin’s Creed Shadowscame under fire before it had even launched last year forfeaturing queer romances, despite them being a staple of bothOdysseyandValhalla(Jacob Frye, one of two protagonists in Syndicate, is also bisexual).
But with the game now in the hands of players, the controversy over Yasuke and Naoe getting it on with same-sex partners, and even a non-binary character, has stirred up again.
Ubisoft was quick to address the backlash witha tongue-in-cheek post(viaGamesRadar), poking fun at those complaining about queer romances. “Remember the fourth tenet of the Creed: Flirting in RPG games is always optional.” They only happen ifyoupursue them; as the oldDoomaddage goes, “you control the buttons you press”.
None Of The Romances In Assassin’s Creed Shadows Are Canon, Anyway
Not only are the romances in Assassin’s Creed Shadows completely optional, as was the case inKingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which similarly came under fire forits own gay romance, but they aren’t canon.
Shadows hasa brand-new feature which was implemented following feedback about Odyssey and Valhalla. The community wanted to know what choices were canon to the story, given that there are no world states like inDragon AgeorThe Witcher— in the sequels, Ubisoft simply decides what happened in the last game, which often leaves fans confused.
If you played through Odyssey as Alexios, you’ll no doubt have been left scratching your head when Kassandra was the one to appear in Valhalla.
So,Ubisoft implemented the ‘Canon Mode’, which makes all the decisions for you based on the true events of the story. And in this mode, Naoe and Yasuke don’t romance anybody. Every single romantic endeavour you chase down in the game is optionalandnon-canon, so those queer romances are merely for the players' enjoyment (read: whoever is strapped into the Animus).
