Assassin's Creed Shadows Will Finally Wrap Up 2 Key Storylines in its Claws of Awaji Expansion, Even if Yasuke is Now Taking on a 'Support Role'

No 1 tin impeach Assassin's Creed Shadows of being a abbreviated game, oregon lacking much reasons to instrumentality astir aft its main run wraps up. Ubisoft itself recommends you acceptable speech 60 hours to scope its extremity credits, which yet rotation aft you implicit missions meant to headdress disconnected the idiosyncratic journeys of its dual protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke. Six months aft launch, my prevention record is present northbound of 100 hours, arsenic I proceed to research further untouched corners of its map.

All of that said, Shadows' communicative inactive feels incomplete. When those credits yet bash roll, respective cardinal communicative threads stay unresolved, specified arsenic the determination and existent presumption of Naoe's monther, arsenic good arsenic the past of 3 mysterious boxes — the hunt for which drives overmuch of the game's plot. Yasuke, meanwhile, declares his ngo to hunt down Templars is lone conscionable beginning.

It's thing of an unusual enactment for a finale — but then, with the 10-hour Claws of Awaji enlargement acceptable to proceed the communicative (and merchandise escaped for those who pre-ordered Shadows, arsenic an apology for the game's delay), it's wide that Shadows' extremity wasn't truly the finale of its communicative astatine all. Assassin's Creed games person agelong had DLC to proceed the adventures of its heroes, but ne'er earlier has an enlargement been truthful intimately tied to the communicative of its basal game, thing which should marque Claws of Awaji consciousness much essential, portion besides upping the unit connected its makers to guarantee it delivers.

Claws of Awaji is the enactment of Ubisoft Bordeaux, the squad down the enjoyable but inessential Assassin's Creed Valhalla DLC Curse of the Druids that went connected to pb the well-received Assassin's Creed Mirage. In a caller sojourn to the studio, I sat down with Claws of Awaji contented manager Simon Arsenault to find retired however his squad worked intimately with Shadows' pb workplace Ubisoft Quebec to proceed Naoe's communicative and present "proper closure" to fans awaiting answers astatine last.

"When we started, we pitched a mates of ideas," Arsenault said. "Eventually we met with Quebec. They had thought of worldly earlier due to the fact that they've been moving connected the task similar 2 oregon 3 years earlier we jumped in. But that doesn't mean that they wanted to recognize it — it was conscionable an idea. Everyone tin person ideas — that's benignant of the casual part. You travel up with an thought and past you trash it. That's easy. But trying to benignant of enactment connected it and fig retired each item of it, that's wherever the existent craftsmanship is. So they had thought of stuff, but they weren't needfully attached to everything.

"[Ubisoft Quebec] already had immoderate backstories prepared for Naoe's parent and however she and [Naoe's begetter Fujibayashi] Nagato had met, for example. So it was benignant of casual to grapple those ideas and accidental 'Okay, however tin we marque it? Well, she was the archetypal Japanese-born Assassin. Cool. How does that construe successful their relationship?'"

Without spoiling excessively overmuch of Shadow's introduction, it's harmless to accidental that Naoe heads to the game's caller land of Awaji aft being fixed beardown crushed to judge her parent Tsuyu is being held captive there. Upon arrival, Naoe past uncovers the information astir Tsyu's presumption — and hears connection of that last enigma container — which sets her disconnected connected the expansion's main adventure.

"The main crippled didn't person arsenic overmuch idiosyncratic relationship," Arsenault says, discussing the scenes scattered passim Claws of Awaji wherever Naoe learns much astir her family. "[There's] a batch astatine the opening with Nagato, a small spot with Tomiko, with Junjiro for sure. But the ending, we couldn't needfully person a relationship. The parent is inactive not there.

"So [we said] 'let's bring successful thing idiosyncratic to that character' — and it was besides adjuvant to person it [set] after," Aresnault continued, referencing the information that Claws of Awaji is chronologically acceptable firmly arsenic a coda to the main game, and cannot beryllium played until aft the credits person rolled. "And for Yasuke arsenic good — if we had done it determination other successful the story, well, Yasuke wouldn't person finished his ain storyline, truthful helium had not adjacent talked to Naoe astir his ain mother."

Still, Bordeaux wasn't needfully ever acceptable to marque this story, Arsenault revealed. Claws of Awaji's absorption connected the mysteries of Naoe's mother, and that 3rd box, were some portion of the discussions the workplace had with Quebec arsenic improvement began. For example, Bordeaux knew the enlargement would present a caller limb to the game, but which it would beryllium was not acceptable successful stone. (It's the Bo Staff, which each players volition person escaped whether they ain Claws of Awaji oregon not.) As for Naoe's mother, did Bordeaux "have to marque an enlargement astir her specifically?" Arsenault questioned. "Maybe not."

It besides sounds similar determination was immoderate flux wrong Shadows' main storyline arsenic improvement connected it, and Claws of Awaji, some progressed. Fans person agelong wondered astir Shadow's main macguffins, the 3 boxes yet said to incorporate the Japanese Imperial Regalia. Was it ever the lawsuit that lone 2 would beryllium recovered successful the main game, with a 3rd near for the expansion?

"It happened precise fast," Aresnault replied. "It happened precise fast, arsenic soon arsenic we started talking. If I retrieve correctly, due to the fact that the crippled was inactive moving astatine that time, determination was lone 1 container full successful the game, truthful we didn't cognize if determination would beryllium a 2nd container oregon a 3rd container oregon each the boxes. So they were inactive competing their ain game. That's erstwhile we started talking astir closing a small bit, the arc of the Regalia, that's erstwhile we started [saying], 'okay, good possibly we tin bring successful different box.'"

It was astatine this constituent that Bordeaux besides decided to diagnostic the returning quality of Hattori Hanzo successful Claws of Awaji arsenic well, Arsenault continued. "That's erstwhile Hanzo came in, truthful yeah, it's a backmost and forth. Since the enlargement is released benignant of adjacent to the merchandise of the main game, some of them person to beryllium produced astatine the aforesaid clip successful the timeline. Otherwise you don't vessel this magnitude of contented with this magnitude of quality."

Amid each this speech astir Naoe's idiosyncratic story, I was funny however Claws of Awaji would diagnostic Yasuke. "So we absorption his communicative much connected — helium inactive has a Templar hunt ongoing," Arsenault said, "but he's much successful arsenic a enactment relation to Naoe emotionally astatine this point. He's benignant of helping her spell done what she's living." Where Naoe and Yasuke often had their ain journeys successful Shadows, they are "on 1 way together" successful Claws of Awaji, Arsenault continued.

With a communicative truthful intimately tied into that of the basal game, Claws of Awaji is being positioned arsenic an acquisition that Assassin's Creed fans volition privation to instrumentality for. And aft that — erstwhile my prevention record has reached astatine slightest 110 hours — volition Bordeaux's enlargement present supply a last finale? Or has it been tasked with passing Shadows' communicative baton connected to yet anoher team?

"We're trying to marque a closure for now, springiness Naoe a closure for her idiosyncratic story," Arsenault concluded. "You tin ever reopen things, we've seen TV shows bash it, we've seen movies bash it. It's casual to do. So there's thing closing the doorway completely. But we tin expect astatine slightest to person due closure to Naoe's story."

For much connected the expansion, cheque retired IGN's study connected Claws of Awaji's Metal Gear Solid-inspired stealth brag fight, and Arsenault's thoughts connected keeping players entertained with caller ideas, adjacent 100 hours of gameplay later.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social