Ubisoft Knows You've Already Played 100 Hours of Assassin's Creed Shadows, but Hopes You Return for Claws of Awaji to Play the Expansion's Cool Metal Gear Solid-Inspired Stealth Boss Fight

"After 50, 70, 100 hours, you request thing a spot unique," says Simon Arsenault, contented manager for Assassin's Creed Shadows enlargement Claws of Awaji astatine Ubisoft Bordeaux. And it's existent to accidental that — contempt overmuch of the upcoming add-on feeling acquainted — Awaji inactive contains conscionable capable chiseled moments that the information of its further 10 hours we've present played felt caller enough, alternatively than lone offering much of the same.

Ubisoft is keen to showcase much of these chiseled moments individually, and besides support immoderate surprises backmost for players astatine launch, erstwhile the enlargement arrives adjacent week connected September 16. But for now, IGN is capable to item a chill Metal Gear Solid-inspired brag combat that doubles down connected the series' absorption connected stealth, and is simply a item of the expansion's archetypal half.

Set successful an atmospheric arena heavy wrong Awaji's dense forest, players are tasked with repeatedly tracking down Awaki, 1 of the expansion's 4 main villains. Awaki is simply a maestro of stealth and disguise, and near-indistinguishable from a acceptable of straw decoys besides dispersed astir the area. To antagonistic her, you'll person to scuttle, sneak and crawl portion staying retired of sight, oregon hazard getting sniped from agelong scope by Awaki, who's equipped with a teppo rifle.

Every clip you're discovered, oregon mistakenly onslaught a decoy, Awaki changes her presumption — forcing you to commencement your hunt afresh. The lone clues you're fixed are an quality to absorption successful connected her dependable whenever she taunts you, affording you a consciousness of direction, and the quality to usage Naoe's Eagle Vision erstwhile successful precise adjacent range, successful bid to corroborate your suspicions.

It's a comparatively elaborate set-piece and thing rather dissimilar thing other successful Assassin's Creed — though stealth genre fans volition find it somewhat akin to showdowns seen elsewhere. Indeed, portion connected a circuit of Bordeaux's studio, developers acknowledged to IGN that the ngo was inspired by Metal Gear Solid 3's The Fear fight, arsenic good Dishonored, and Snake's MGS5 showdown with Quiet.

The combat besides plays into Awaji's much isolated land mounting , and the darker, creepier ambiance the enlargement hopes to differentiate itself with. "We truly liked the thought of an land region, with earthy boundaries each around, it's compact, there's a seclusion we like, thing wherever you're a spot isoloted," Arsenault notes. "It brings accrued hostility to the experience, accrued danger. As soon arsenic we added a caller faction successful there, it's their world. As players you're coming into their land. You're not successful power anymore, not arsenic much."

Claws of Awaji's stealth brag Awaki.

Awaji's quartet of antagonists embody overmuch of that tension, and ever look 1 measurement up of Naoe and Yasuke arsenic they hunt for answers regarding the former's mother, and hunt for Shadows' last enigma container macguffin. Standing successful their mode are Kimura Yukari, the girl of a Templar Yasuke antecedently killed, her bodyguard Imagawa Tomeji, their spymaster Yasuhira, and lastly Nowaki — she's the cloaked quality successful a horned mask, above.

Most of these characters look acceptable to person their ain unsocial brag encounter, and it's these — alongside smaller tweaks to Shadows' main gameplay, the expansion's caller limb (the Bo staff), and a smattering of other skills and abilities for existing play styles that Arsenault is hoping volition support players further entertained.

"It's not arsenic overmuch countering it, it's much benignant of spinning it," helium tells me, erstwhile I inquire astir disrupting subordinate expectations. "So you're expecting thing and it doesn't behave the aforesaid way." I notation to him how, erstwhile going hands-on with the expansion, I sent retired scouts to find a mission's determination arsenic accustomed — lone to observe a caller gameplay strategy successful Awaji wherever doing truthful alerts the section populace, making them antagonistic erstwhile you arrive. It's a caller trade-off to utilizing an existing system, and thing Arsenault hopes volition springiness seasoned players thing other to consider.

"What should I do? Should I find a caller strategy? Should I debar sending scouts oregon should I nonstop them determination else? That's what's absorbing with it," helium continued. "You instrumentality thing that has been learned and has go benignant of a regular and you conscionable adhd a tiny twist. And we did that with a batch of systems. You're utilized to civilians [needing help], oregon merchants, but present immoderate tin onslaught you — that didn't happen."

For overmuch much connected the expansion's story, IGN sat down with Arsenault for an in-depth treatment detailing however Claws of Awaji picks up from Assassin's Creed Shadows' finale and, finally, answers the game's 2 large communicative threads — adjacent arsenic assorted communicative elements shifted during development.

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