Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji DLC Review – Worth the Hype?

Ubisoft finally released the much-awaited Claws of Awaji DLC for Assassin's Creed Shadows on September 16. I have already played the full Claws of Awaji DLC early. Big thanks to Ubisoft and the Assassin's Creed team for providing me with 5 days of early access to the DLC. Here is my spoiler free review of the DLC for Assassin's Creed Shadows.

STORY & PLOT

The story starts right after the ending of the main game. You will need to complete a quest first before traveling to Awaji Island. After avenging her father, Naoe learns Tsuyu is alive. Tracking rumors of a hidden-blade wielding shinobi, She journeys to Awaji in search of her mother. With his vengeance complete, Yasuke also travels to Awaji to honor his vow. The main focus of the story is on finding the third regalia and defeating the Sanzoku Ippa.

There are 4 major narrative arcs in Claws of Awaji. While there is a strong core story in the game, many of the objectives, quests and opportunities can be tackled in a non-linear fashion. You can track the main targets in pretty much the order you want and through your exploration, you will discover new opportunities and challenges across the island.

Each arc contains 2 to 3 hours of content, which is why the whole DLC adds up to more than 10 hours of gameplay.

NEW AWAJI ISLAND

The atmosphere of Awaji Island is very cosy yet dark. The forests are dense, with very few areas where sunlight breaks through. The seasonal changes are also quite different from those in the main game. The weather shifts between calm, foggy, stormy, and rainy conditions. This DLC was created by the same studio that developed the Wrath of the Druids DLC for AC Valhalla, and they wanted to give it their own touch by designing this unique, eerie environment.

You will often notice movement in the grass and trees, as the island is full of traps and ambushes by Shinobis and other enemies. That’s why you can’t freely travel like in the main game, you have to be careful every time you explore the island. When you use scouts to uncover an area of the map, you’ll notice some red zones. In those areas, you’ll face the highest number of Shinobi ambushes.

Here are some important locations in the DLC: Iwaya Castle, Eshima Rock, Kamaguchi Village, Sumoto Town, Sumoto Castle, Yura Town, and Fukura Village. There are also several temples and shrines in the DLC.

There’s a cool Naruto easter egg in the DLC. I won’t say anything more about it, I’ll leave it to you to discover.

DUAL PROTAGONIST SYSTEM

Ubisoft Bordeaux did a really good job designing the dual protagonists system in the DLC. The teamwork between Naoe and Yasuke feels natural and well executed. There’s a mission in a castle where you truly get to understand this mechanic. This isn’t like in the main game, where one character suddenly pops up out of nowhere.

SANZOKU IPPA

Like Shinbakufu in the main game, here in this DLC you will find a new enemy faction called Sanzoku Ippa. But these new enemies are much better than the Shinbakufu. There are 4 of them. Each character is designed with a good story, and each one has unique capabilities different from the others. Each boss offers different gameplay perspectives on Awaji Island. You can't use the same technique on each member, you will have to use different techniques to defeat them.

There is a boss fight that I think is one of the best Ubisoft has designed in a long time. The mechanics of this fight are inspired by the Fear and Quiet missions from the Metal Gear Solid games. You have to face this boss in a large arena on a foggy night in a forest, with traps scattered everywhere. You’ll need to adopt a different approach to defeat the boss, use the observe mechanic, eagle vision, stay stealthy, and be patient, because it will take some time to defeat the boss.

NEW BO WEAPON & NEW ABILITIES

The combat system is much improved in the DLC, especially with the new Bo weapon for Naoe. The animations with this weapon look pretty good, and there’s even a tutorial mission for it in the DLC.

The Bo is a versatile multi-range weapon. It focuses on controlling opponents via pushbacks, knockdowns and other similar effects rather than inflicting raw damage. This weapon has its own mastery tree with new abilities and three stances. Here are three new abilities for this weapon: Windstep, Grab & Throw (my favorite), and Flurry of Blows.

The Bo weapon is free for everyone in Assassin's Creed Shadows. However, if you want a legendary Bo staff, that will only be available in the DLC. There are also gear vendors across the map who sell epic Bo weapons.

There are also new abilities for Yasuke in the DLC. There are five different abilities connected to his weapons: Hurricane Stance (Naginata ability), Kanabo Throw, Wind Burst, Spread Shot (Bow ability), and Tezutsu Burst (Teppo Ability). They deal good damage and have pretty cool animations. I liked them.

NEW IMPROVEMENTS

One thing I really like about this DLC is that when looting a legendary chest, you have to find clues and notes in the open world and from NPCs to open it. It’s not like in the main game, where you just go to a place and open the chest. This encourages players to explore more areas and interact with different NPCs.

The cutscenes in the DLC are much improved compared to the main game.

Side activities also return in the DLC. While many are the same, some have been improved and redesigned, especially the hidden trails and Sumi-e paintings.

AREAS OF CONCERN

• One feature I didn’t like is that you can’t travel to Awaji Island by boat from the mainland. Instead, you have to use a fast travel point between them to go to Awaji, and then from Awaji to your hideout. This is probably a restriction for players who don’t own the DLC, preventing them from traveling to the island.

• Then I think there should be more legendary gears in the DLC, as there are only a few of them.

• The Awaji map is not fully open-world. There are mountains and large trees that block your path while exploring, and you cannot climb them. This is something I also didn’t like in the main game, that you can’t go everywhere freely.

• The level cap should not be increased to 100 for the DLC. It was recently raised from 60 to 80 for NG+. Even after completing NG+, you won’t easily reach level 80, you’ll need to do lots of contracts and other activities. Many players still haven’t reached level 80 in Shadows. I think the cap should be increased only to 85 or at most 90. Raising it to 100 makes the game feel too grindy, forcing players to do more NG+ runs or complete many contracts daily just to reach level 100.

• The rarity enhancement system isn’t that good. You need lots of mons, resources, and especially gold to upgrade it to the max level. This means you’ll have to spend many more hours in AC Shadows just to fully upgrade your gear to Artifact level 9 rarity. Although Ubisoft mentioned that these powerful enhancements are designed as long-term goals, they support players through the increasing difficulty of subsequent New Game+ cycles and other upcoming challenges.

CONCLUSION

Overall, I am impressed with the Claws of Awaji DLC for Assassin's Creed Shadows. Ubisoft Bordeaux really put in a lot of effort to make this DLC stand out. I even enjoyed it more than the main game. It doesn’t feel like a simple, forced expansion of the main story; instead, it’s designed in a unique way to give players a different experience from the main game. I still need to explore 100% of the map, and there are more secrets and Easter eggs left to discover.

I’m giving the Claws of Awaji DLC an 8.5 out of 10.

If you did not pre-order Assassin's Creed Shadows, the DLC is now available for purchase on all platforms for $25/€25.

Have you already played the Claws of Awaji DLC? What are your thoughts on it? Share them in the comments down below.