Ubisoft has now officially timed Claws of Awaji, a DLC for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, with the rest of the world now only having three more days to go back to feudal Japan. As an afterthought, the official Assassin’s Creed Twitter account tagged where the audience might be when the adventure starts, provoked wildly opposing opinions ranging from colorful to downright salivating.
What indeed is Claws of Awaji? It is the first large expansion story for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, set on Awaji Island, continuing the story of the dual protagonists Naoe and Yasuke. New story content, weapons, and that weird bo weapon everybody is talking about?? All release timings are out for worldwide, with some regions like India complaining about the lack of representation of their time zones-the classic Ubisoft kind of move, right?
Hundreds of replies came in within the tweet’s lifespan, with most hyped for the DLC, while just a few… well, the Assassin’s Creed fan base is as divided as ever. Some are very much excited, like Higgs, who shares how he will be “nice and tucked away in my office” in England when it comes out, or Gro3, who will be on the couch with snacks and Gro3 Alerts so as never to miss a loot drop?? Other individuals are still rambling about Yasuke’s portrayal in the base game-the user Noìre explained that the problem was not with his inclusion but with the execution; they believe he should have joined the Assassin Brotherhood under Nobunaga rather than becoming a full samurai.
And the usual Ubisoft bashing started appearing within the replies: asking for a New Game+ for Valhalla (seriously, still?), asking for discounts on Steam, complaining about the length and filling content of the base game, and even one very confused soul asking about Mirage DLC when this is obviously Shadows. The “no one cares” comment was also there, thanks to Raymond Taylor, who claimed that probably way more people are playing Sea of Cheaters than AC Shadows-that really sounds like a personal vendetta.
Now, come look at the interesting ones, which turn out to be about gameplay. Joey Kerr asks if he can load his endgame save to unlock the bo weapon then start New Game+ to carry it through the main story, which implies this DLC might have some fairly serious gear that rewards carryover. More people then want to know how long the DLC will be, a piece of information Ubisoft has yet to share-yet, in true Ubisoft style.
This time release situation stirs regional resentment as well; multiple Indian users have asked why the timings were not specifically listed under IST, with ROHIT dramatically stating, “NO ONE CARES ABOUT US,” while that may be a little strong, but hey, time zone inclusion is important! Meanwhile, Dragoș complained that it should have launched on a Friday instead of the actual day-well, obviously, whole weekend on gaming is hardly negotiable.
Technical glitches aren’t forgotten either-Total Toad is still waiting for a fix for Yasuke’s katana sheath being orange since launch, which honestly sounds like an annoying-ass visual bug that should have been patched months ago! And KonnardM64009 points out that pre-ordering is still not available, and for DLC in 2023, that’s bizarre.
Despite the complaining, the vibe is one of anticipation: TwoChack can’t wait to see how the story continues at 2 PM of their time; Funkeda says that three days is far too long and wants it now; others say “I can’t wait,” only with slight variations. That excitement is there for those who enjoyed the base game and what more content in the same setting along with it.
Ubisoft Quebec has been staying far from details apart from the announcement, which is kind of customary on their part. Usually, the buzz builds within the community and info drops closer to launch. The fact that they’re asking where people will be playing might mean they’re either tracking engagement or planning some type of launch event-who really knows, it could just be bait for social media engagement.
What we do know is Claws of Awaji is going to be the very first big test for Assassin’s Creed Shadows post-launch support. The game was met with mixed reception at launch, due to the debates on historical accuracy and some technical problems, but those who ultimately played enjoyed the dual protagonist system with combat. So if this DLC intends to hold players until Ubisoft gets started on the next thing for the franchise, it’s going to need to bring in the goods.
Don’t forget to mark the calendar, set your alarms, and maybe even clear some space on said couch: In three days, the Claws of Awaji drops with release timings for all locations announced. Whether you can’t wait to dive into the continuation of the story or are still drifting around Yasuke’s characterization, it is hard to deny that Ubisoft certainly knows how to keep its games in the spotlight. Now, I pass the introduction to them-if they can fix that orange katana sheath, that is.
