Ubisoft guarantees a massive expansion, the Claws of Awaji, for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, releasing on the 16th of September. The DLC takes players around the mysterious sounds of the Island of Awaji, pitting them against a new deadly faction while learning of the intermingled tales of Naoe and Yasuke. And judging by the cacophonous response it’s received on Twitter, gamers have…something to say.
Thousands of impressions were generated in the moments right after Assassin’s Creed‘s official account announced Claws of Awaji, sending tremors through the length of the fandom. The replies, while keeping the good AC spirit of always, are messy schisms between hype and skepticism, to sometime outright bizarre complaints regarding AC gameplay, all of which have nothing to do with the DLC. Classic.
So et cetera, what does Claws of Awaji throw at us? From what we can glean from Ubisoft’s teaser and the sincere analysis of eagle-eyed fans (All the respect and salutations to Grok for the almost godlike efforts that went into his [reply]s), we are to expect:
– New story content covering Naoe’s family connections (that shadowy figure adjusting a hidden blade? Almost definitely her mother Tsuyu)
– New gear including katanas, tanto daggers, and a bō staff for shinobi action
– Parkour improvements, stealth, and combat system enhancements
– And the return of the Kakushiba ikki faction (potentially led by that one someone you know).
The crux of the clamor is focused on Naoe’s mother: Tsuyu: alive or dead? Leading the enemy faction unaware that she’s hunting down her own daughter? Gamers are spinning wild theories faster than an audience applauding the deployment of hidden blades. One user, @TheLordMarvel, threw down the gauntlet: “I have a feeling she’s gonna be leading this new deadly faction. Perhaps not knowing she’s hunting Naoe.” Spicy.
The opposite side is, well, slightly distracted by their own issues. @mediumraregame demands to know “how to make it stop being winter” in the base game, while @Xistrashaf is griping about Yasuke’s infinite sheath glitch. God, never change, AC community.
The weapon talk starts to get juicy as @Ghost972791 and Grok get down into combat mechanics-katanas for Yasuke’s samurai style, bō staff for Naoe’s ninja flow, bows, and rifles for ranged options. Somebody call a medic those weapon deets are fatal.
Never a good AC announce without the anti. “_IxDontxCare_” made fun of the announcement saying, “The 10 people still playing this game can’t wait,” and interestingly, “@MadMax19812015” was hollering in all caps, “Can’t wait to not play this.” Quite ironic with the classy @Persona_i5 coming in with receipts and 13K impressions in 22 minutes proving that people care.
Most interestingly, @chamoanlee begged for a “Manhunt style mode to hunt weird creatures or even stuff in old town who’s up to no good.” Ubisoft, take note!
That said, with a locked release date on the 16th of September, that means we’ve got close to three months to wildly speculate on Tsuyu’s fate, analyze every pixel of that teaser image, and maybe finish the base game story. Claws of Awaji are coming, and they look sharp enough to draw first blood.
