Ubisoft has now released the Claws of Awaji expansion DLC for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and folks are going crazy over that one thing. The official Assassin’s Creed Twitter asked if people enjoyed the new side-scroller sequences in the DLC, and the replies have been all over the place. Interesting.
So: If you have not played it yet, then scramble since Claws of Awaji expansion has these very surprising 2D side-scrolling bits that almost seem to come straight out of a bona fide classic platformer. A far cry from your typical third-person open world terrain that the entire series is so very much used to; and strong reactions have been coming from the player base.
The community response has ranged from… mixed, to say the least. This refreshing notion is really loved by some. Eric Leon Allen tweeted, “Loved it! This DLC was introduced so well!” Another said it was “the cherry on a great cake.” Many comments mentioned it felt like a neat throwback to the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles games from back in the day: those 2.5D side-scrollers that covered China, India, and Russia.
But not all players have gone with the new approach. One player described the whole thing as “really awful, just a waste of money,” while another one said the sections were “too rigid,” and they just wanted to get through them. And then there’s the flow of technical issues-CPU: Some PS5 players had been reporting audio glitching through the DLC, whereby they would have to restart the game every hour or so. Yikes.
Side-scrolling is really nothing new, several fans said. Assassin’s Creed Chronicles has pursued these styles years ago, but for the first time, something like this is being introduced in a mainline game’s DLC. It caught everybody off guard-one player even called it a spoiler because it was so unexpected and should have been kept a secret.
The most interesting part is how split the community is on whether or not they want more. There are players begging Ubisoft for a full side-scrolling Assassin’s Creed game in Japan, then others loudly drowning in vibes that say “please do not make that into a game.” There are even those who suggest switching the modern-day segments to side-scrolling.
The expansion itself, as far as I can tell, has gotten a pretty fair reception as it was wrapping up all the technical problems. “Incredible” and “awesome” have been thrown around by at least a few; one player called it “probably the best part of the DLC.” Even the intro received praise for being unlike anything AC had ever done.
Just a whole lot of polar reactions coming from one single gameplay change. Some will actually like it when a developer tries something new and shakes up the formula, while others just want more of what they already know and love. This certainly had been a risk by Ubisoft in mixing a completely different thing inside their DLC.
Speaking of which, shall we talk about how antagonizing the community started very fast in the replies? Arguments about sound systems, people calling each other clowns, and some completely random political developer comment. Classic gaming Twitter, I swear.
Overall, kudos to Ubisoft for trying out new gameplay styles even as a side element to their first established franchises. Whether they love or hate it, the side-scrolling bits have gotten people talking about Assassin’s Creed Shadows again. The Claws of Awaji expansion is surely delivering some memorable moments regardless of one’s feelings about the 2D sections.
Will we see some of this soon, or will Ubisoft take the feedback and simply walk the more conventional path? The way it is, the community is well stirred up in conversation and argument, and that’s always a good sign that the franchise still matters to them. Yeah! Now if they’d just fix those awfu-lostic…audio issues on Xbox…
