With the first DLC for Assassin’s Creed Shadows—Claws of Awaji—having finally come out earlier this week, just a couple of days later, the PC version of the DLC has been met with quite a negative response. The Steam listing for Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji, at the time of publishing, has its user reviews aggregate sitting at “Mostly Negative” with 230 reviews. As the Steam page notes, this means that only 34 percent of the user reviews are positive, with the majority being negative.
The negative user reviews for Claws of Awaji largely seem to revolve around technical issues, with some players stating that they have been facing several game crashes, and others reporting bugs where they can’t even trigger the quest to begin the DLC quest. That’s not to say that players don’t have complaints about the content of the DLC as well. There are several negative reviews that are calling Claws of Awaji underwhelming or too short.
Claws of Awaji was released for Assassin’s Creed Shadows on September 16, and is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. While it is available to purchase, it is worth noting that the DLC is free as part of a pre-order bonus for the base game. The story in Claws of Awaji takes dual protagonists Naoe and Yasuke to Awaji Island and explores the events surrounding Naoe’s mother.
Among the new content added to Assassin’s Creed Shadows with its DLC is the new Bo staff weapon for Naoe, which brings with it a new style of combat that revolves around various stances and how attacks made in those stances can have different effects on enemies. Ubisoft has also confirmed that the DLC features more than 10 hours worth of content for players to discover and experience.
Aside from the new region and the various challenges it offers, Assassin’s Creed Shadows content director Simon Arsenault also spoke about how it might be a challenge to bring back players who have already spent 50, 70 or 100 hours in the base game. To do this, he noted that the DLC offers a unique setting that isolates players from the base game’s zones while also offering its own challenges.
“We really liked the idea of an island region, with natural boundaries all around, it’s compact, there’s a seclusion we like, something where you’re a bit isolated,” Arsenault explained. “It brings increased tension to the experience, increased danger. As soon as we added a new faction in there, it’s their world. As players you’re coming into their land. You’re not in control anymore, not as much.”
Arsenault also spoke about how the new boss fights in the DLC can also prompt players to try out new things to take on their unique challenges.
“What should I do? Should I find a new strategy? Should I avoid sending scouts or should I send them somewhere else? That’s what’s interesting with it,” he said. “You take something that has been learned and has become kind of a routine and you just add a small twist. And we did that with a lot of systems. You’re used to civilians [needing help], or merchants, but now some can attack you — that didn’t happen.”
For more details about Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji, check out our review of the DLC.