So it’s another day and apparently another Ubisoft letdown. A player had just finished with Claws of Awaji DLC for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and no praise could be piled on it. This one stands far beyond anything disappointing and the review seems almost like an extended rant. The player said it actually made them dislike the rest of AC Shadows. Pretty strong, right? You go on for 70-plus hours enjoying something and then for a lousy DLC to come and topple the entire experience for you. Oof.
Their complaints are essentially the unsatisfactory nature of the DLC, the unfocused nature of it, and the lack of any real identity. But then came the climax: the ending was ridiculed as probably the cheapest ending they have ever witnessed! The players were saying the ending was so poorly done that not even motion capture was used for the ‘true’ ending by Ubisoft on this personally expansive game. They haven’t made it an actual cutscene. Ubisoft seems to be “allergic to making good cutscenes now,” according to the player. And the final insult? They really believe AI could have written a better script than the one from the actual writers. Yikes. Just yikes.
The inflammatory tweet set off quite a firestorm in the replies. It’s almost as if everybody who was holding back their anger just let it spill out all at once.
Another player, ShawneexSavage, took up the flair and said, “It’s crazy how far AC has fallen. I’m currently replaying the older games and absolutely love it. But, the news just aren’t….good.” Isn’t this the common sentiment? That nostalgia for days gone by, when an Assassin’s Creed reveal was worthy of pomp and circumstance, not a moment to sigh.
Even a dislikeer_ seems resigned to despair, “I feel like I have lost total hope for any new good assassins creed games tbh.” It is sad to see a time for a once-beloved franchise.
But it’s not just about the story. Even gameplay loops are being criticized as well. Travis_fickle admitted to giving up on the main game, stating the loop gets stale fast, and the story is so disengaging one starts zoning out during cutscenes. When the story is so dull that one actually misses vital plot points, that’s a serious problem.
Some players were seeking the exit. For instance, NikoHe2’s goal is to finish the main quests just to get to the DLC; thinks that requirement “rediculous,” and will probably just wait for Ghost of Yotei. Big red flags when your players begin leaving already from your competitor before they’ve even finished your content.
There were some discussions of what Ubisoft could have done better. hugolfc10 went on to say that “AC shadows could actually have been one of the best in the series if they just focused on the right things and actually tried telling a story that meant something.” They explained it as feeling like “they made everything else before actually starting writing anything.” And that kind of makes sense, as if the world and mechanics were built first, and the narrative was just stuffed in as an afterthought.
And then there’s the whole… other side of the fandom. Not everyone was hating. joker5405 flat-out said, “I disagree 100 percent the story was great on the dlc.” So I guess there are some that enjoyed it? But they were definitely among the minority in this particular thread.
Conversation did take a bizarre side-step toward recommendations for better stealth titles, sirr_juan provocatively asking if stealth in Shadows > that of the upcoming Ghost of Yotei, and others pitching in with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and the Hitman World of Assassination trilogy. When your game’s failure becomes a recommendation thread for other, better games, you know you’ve messed up.
PrivateHaven84 summed it up with a weary, “AC shadows sucking more? What else is new.” Resigned expectation at that level is probably the most damning thing speaking against Ubisoft. Players aren’t even surprised by the low quality anymore; they expect it.
And that is not even considering the financial angle. benford_amir chimed in about the $27 price tag for the DLC, calling it a “joke” and revealing that they can’t even afford it. Paying a premium for a product that the people who did buy it are trashing? That’s a hard one for anyone to sell.
So where does that leave Assassin’s Creed Shadows? It seems as if the Claws of Awaji DLC was supposed to be a big content drop to keep players engaged, but instead, has become a primary focus for all lingering dissatisfaction with the game and for the direction of the series. From a portrayal that seems rushed and unsatisfying to the final also phoned-in ending according to the players, the reception has been so bad it practically shouts that in this era of so many amazing games, the patrons simply won’t tolerate lazy or uninspired experiences anymore. Ubisoft must put in much heart and sweat if they are to regain what is clearly lost with much of their customer base. Maybe next time at least gets motion capture for the ending.
