Claws of Awaji - Assassin's Creed Shadows DLC

DO NOT BUY IF YOU PLAYED THE GAME ON UBI+ I bought this because I was actually enjoying the game but sadly because I started my game on Ubi+ it doesn't work and so far Steam refuse to refund me for a DLC I can't even access. Don't waste your money on this.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji expands the adventure with a new region, fresh quests, and more opportunities to explore feudal Japan. The island’s atmosphere fits naturally into the base game, while additional abilities and encounters give both Naoe and Yasuke new reasons to sharpen their skills. It doesn’t reinvent the formula, but as a post-launch expansion it delivers more of what Shadows does best: beautiful environments, stealth, combat, and historical immersion. It’s also a little disappointing that an important piece of the story’s resolution is reserved for the DLC rather than the base game. Still, if you enjoyed the main adventure and wanted another excuse to return to Japan, Claws of Awaji is an easy recommendation.

After passing the Main game and the DLC I have some thoughts. Let's be clear, the DLC is short. you have about 20 new bosses, a new map (which is about 1/7 of the main map), and the end game is very short. So to be clear, the DLC is very short. maybe 10 hours of gameplay if you take it slow or 5 hours if you just go full ham on it. But is it bad? It is actually fun and it helps finish the Main story. Now the question really is," does it deserver the hate?" you ask. Maybe. I get the hate. This should of been part of the main story. It feels like it was a business decision. Cut the end and sell it as a DLC...a dirty move. But the truth is the DLC is fun and well done. If you see this DLC for less than 10 dollars or max 15 i think this is worth it. Wait for a sale and have fun with it. It is a good DLC though it is a dirty move.

I don't get why it has so many negative reviews. The story is way better than the base game. A true upgrade!

I get why this is mostly negative. The story is weak, the run time feels extremely padded, and the narrative payoffs are pretty lackluster giving that this honestly is supposed to be the conclusion to the game.

Bad story, a map that feels copy pasted from everywhee else and awful unbalanced boss fights including one that's just a really bad rip off of MGS 3s The End fight

I don’t usually write game reviews, but I have to say—it’s a real shame that this DLC falls so flat, especially when compared to the comfort and charm of the base game. Honestly, I loved the original experience: a safe, joyful journey through ancient Japan, taking in famous sights at my own pace. What saddens me is how that sense of peace is stripped away in the Awaji DLC. There’s a palpable hostility in the design—one that replaces tranquility with constant, meaningless ambushes. I wanted to admire the landscape without bracing for enemies every few seconds. If I understand the intent correctly, the designers may have added these frustrating difficulty spikes just to pad playtime. But personally, I’d have enjoyed it far more if those obstructions—unfun, forced, and tedious—had simply been left out.

This DLC is proof that Ubisoft can't make one good thing without attaching some ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ to it. It's excellent, but it is very obviously meant to be part of the game by default. Just carved a chunk out of the game to sell it as an add-on. If you enjoyed the base game, you will want this or the ending will feel extremely abrupt.

I thought this expansion/DLC would save the main story from stupidity, but my expectations were wrong. This is the worst experience in the entire Assassin's Creed series. Don't get me wrong, "Anvil" engine delivers some of the best visuals and animations out there, but for me, the Assassin's Creed series is first and foremost about the story: the Isu, the Animus, DNA, ancestors, etc. However, this DLC completely killed that, turning it into just another generic game in the industry. Shame on Ubisoft Quebec.

With all the time I've spent playing Assassin's Creed Shadows, and other games from this series in general, I can confidently say that Claws of Awaji is the WORST DLC that I've ever played from an AC game. In fact, I would go as far as to say that it's one of the worst DLCs I've ever played in all my years of gaming. It is absolutely insane to me how the developers could take all of the things I loved about Shadows and turn it into an experience that makes me want to bash my head against the wall. [h2] The Ending of Naoe's Story, Locked Behind a Paywall [/h2] Before I even get into the gameplay aspect of this DLC, let me address the elephant in the room. It is absolutely egregious, predatory, and downright greedy to lock a portion of the [i] main game's story [/i] behind this DLC. If Yasuke's story could've been told and finished in the main game, there is absolutely NO reason at all the same couldn't be done for Naoe's story. Why do we need an entire DLC to get closure for hers? And no, 'because money' is not a valid answer. Outside of that, the DLC's story on its own feels incredibly lackluster. The payoff at the end was dissatisfying and it left me wondering why I even bothered to experience it in the first place. That being said, there was still absolutely no reason it couldn't be a story told in the main game. I'm sick of more and more game developers and publishers thinking that this is an okay practice. It's not. I wish I could say the story was the worst part of this DLC for me. But then there's also... [h2] A Downgraded, Agonizing Gameplay Experience [/h2] Oh. Great. Heavens. I thought some of the reviews here that trashed on the gameplay in this DLC were exaggerating, or perhaps there were some skill issues at play. But no- I can say without a doubt that after expericing it for myself, those reviews are completely validated. The whole idea of the gameplay behind this DLC is that [i] you're [/i] the one being hunted on the island of Awaji. With that, I was under the impression it would be like Rogue, where on occasion Assassins would ambush Shay in an attempt to kill him, unless you happened to spot them first ala Eagle Vision. We did get something like that... but for some reason, Ubisoft decided to make these ambushes and traps as annoying and painful as possible to deal with. They were fun and surprising the first couple of times they occurred... but when it's something that I began encountering what felt like every five to eight minutes, it quickly turned into something that made me roll my eyes and sigh. It felt like the only purpose they were serving at that point was to artificially bloat this DLC's time to complete. And then they take it a step further when you realize some resource chests that you're used to looting from enemy outposts are fake and release poison when you interact with them. That's all well and dandy... except they look no different from ordinary chests, both in and out of Eagle Vision. You have NO way of knowing whether or not a chest is trapped, and as a result you get punished unfairly if it is trapped (unless you dodge away immediately). On top of that, the enemies in this DLC felt like they got WAY too much of a difficulty tweak. They deal more damage, and have stronger armor. This is especially the case for the new enemies that use bo staffs. I matched most enemies in level, had up-to-date weapons, tools and gear- and yet I was struggling to get through more than a few combat encounters, on [i] standard [/i] difficulty, no less. It doesn't help that it felt like every other enemy I fought was able to deal some sort of debuff to me. Which brings me to what truly irked me the most about this DLC: [h2] Gimmicky, Unfair, Awful Boss Fights [/h2] I signed up for Assassin's Creed. NOT Dark Souls or Elden Ring. Very rarely do I come so close to wanting to send my fist through my computer monitor, and oh [i] boy [/i] did these boss fights sure push my limits in all the worst ways. Why in the hell is an old ashigaru I'm fighting as Yasuke able to have his naginata emit a literal blade of air when he does a spinning attack- an attack that is almost near impossible to dodge? Why is Tomeji (the big guy with the kanabo) able to have his weapon generate damaging shockwaves that, again, are almost impossible to dodge? Why is Yukari (the final boss) able to again have her weapon generate a blade of air that is- you guessed it- near impossible to dodge? Oh, and did I mention these attacks are unblockable too- and almost constant? Did I also mention that the game lowers your ration count when you start these boss fights, so that you can't heal as often? Putting aside the fact that these bosses and most of their attacks are just flat out unfair to deal with, they completely defy logic and reasoning for the sake of increasing the difficulty for no good reason. When you remember the fact that these people are not gods and shouldn't be in possession of these capabilities to begin with, it adds a whole new layer of stupidity to this already idiotic approach to boss fights. The fact that the game lowers your ration count specifically for these fights even when fully upgraded makes it even worse. Would it have been too much trouble to give these guys their own unique combos and patterns that you have to memorize, instead of having to resort to such a non-sensical way of upping the difficulty level? I guess so. I can only imagine how painful and rage-inducing these are on Nightmare difficulty. [h2] Conclusion [/h2] It's very hard for me to give you a reason to even bother playing this DLC in the first place. Unless you REALLY want to experience the end of Naoe's story for yourself, I'd recommend giving this a hard pass. This was not a fun experience for me, and if I ever replay Shadows again in the future, Claws of Awaji is staying untouched. I refuse to put myself through such a painful experience again. If I had known just how bad this was going to end up being, I wouldn't have played it if it was FREE. Thank heavens I got it on discount and not at full price. You'd be much better off watching a playthrough on YouTube. At least then, it won't feel like you're being tortured. Maybe.