IGN has reported that Ubisoft has discreetly rolled out a day-one patch for
Assassin’s Creed Shadows,
implementing several significant alterations, particularly affecting temples and shrines.
Ubisoft provided IGN with the patch notes for this update, which have not been publicly announced.
Patch Notes for Assassin’s Creed Shadows:
The update includes various enhancements and fixes, such as:
- Players will no longer become stuck inside movable objects when dodging forward and interacting in kofuns.
- Resolved issues where procedural weapons were improperly removed during item sales.
- Adjusted mechanics to prevent players from exiting the game boundaries when prone against objects.
- Improved horse navigation to minimize turning issues and blocked paths.
- Lighting refinements for cave, kofun, and architectural entrances/exits.
- Cloth clipping issues on Yasuke’s and Naoe’s outfits have been corrected.
- Civilians without weapons will no longer bleed when attacked, limiting unintended bloodshed in temples/shrines.
- Tables and racks in temples/shrines are now indestructible; however, some generic objects like drums can still be broken. Players can still push/move dynamic tables.
A notable change in this update is the indestructibility of tables and racks in temples and shrines, alongside the modification that prevents bleeding for unarmed citizens during attacks to reduce blood spill in sacred areas.
Although Ubisoft indicated that this day-one patch applies to all players and is not limited to Japan, the changes seem to be a reaction to the ongoing controversy in the country regarding the game.
On March 19, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addressed concerns surrounding Assassin’s Creed Shadows during a government meeting. The inquiry about the game was raised by Hiroyuki Kada, a Japanese politician, who shared worries about the potential for video game actions to incite real-life vandalism of cultural sites.
Ishiba stated that legal discussions regarding the matter should involve multiple government ministries, emphasizing respect for cultural sites and expressing that defacing a shrine is unacceptable. Meanwhile, responses from government officials about possible actions remain vague and unlikely, especially as Ubisoft seems to be addressing these matters preemptively with the patch.
Regardless of its performance in Japan, there is immense pressure on Assassin’s Creed Shadows to succeed globally for Ubisoft, which has faced a series of setbacks and disappointments leading up to the game’s release.
IGN’s review of Assassin’s Creed Shadows awarded it an 8/10, stating, “By refining existing systems, Assassin’s Creed Shadows offers one of the most polished iterations of its open-world format developed over the past decade.”
