Nobody can accuse Assassin’s Creed Shadows of being a brief recreation, or missing extra causes to stay round after its major marketing campaign wraps up. Ubisoft itself recommends you put aside 60 hours to achieve its finish credit, which ultimately roll after you full missions meant to cap off the non-public journeys of its twin protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke. Six months after launch, my save file is now north of 100 hours, as I proceed to discover additional untouched corners of its map.
All of that mentioned, Shadows’ story nonetheless feels incomplete. When these credit ultimately do roll, a number of key story threads stay unresolved, equivalent to the situation and true standing of Naoe’s monther, in addition to the final of three mysterious containers — the hunt for which drives a lot of the sport’s plot. Yasuke, in the meantime, declares his mission to search out Templars is solely simply starting.
It is one thing of an odd word for a finale — however then, with the 10-hour Claws of Awaji growth set to proceed the story (and launch free for many who pre-ordered Shadows, as an apology for the sport’s delay), it is clear that Shadows’ finish wasn’t actually the finale of its story in any respect. Assassin’s Creed video games have lengthy had DLC to proceed the adventures of its heroes, however by no means earlier than has an growth been so carefully tied to the story of its base recreation, one thing which ought to make Claws of Awaji really feel extra important, whereas additionally upping the stress on its makers to make sure it delivers.
Claws of Awaji is the work of Ubisoft Bordeaux, the group behind the fulfilling however inessential Assassin’s Creed Valhalla DLC Curse of the Druids that went on to guide the well-received Assassin’s Creed Mirage. In a current go to to the studio, I sat down with Claws of Awaji content material director Simon Arsenault to learn how his group labored carefully with Shadows’ lead studio Ubisoft Quebec to proceed Naoe’s story and ship “correct closure” to followers awaiting solutions eventually.
“After we began, we pitched a couple of concepts,” Arsenault mentioned. “Ultimately we met with Quebec. They’d thought of stuff earlier than as a result of they have been working on the challenge like two or three years earlier than we jumped in. However that does not imply that they wished to comprehend it — it was simply an concept. Everybody can have concepts — that is sort of the straightforward half. You give you an concept and you then trash it. That is simple. However making an attempt to sort of act on it and determine each element of it, that is the place the true craftsmanship is. So that they had thought of stuff, however they weren’t essentially hooked up to all the things.
“[Ubisoft Quebec] already had some backstories ready for Naoe’s mom and the way she and [Naoe’s father Fujibayashi] Nagato had met, for instance. So it was sort of simple to grapple these concepts and say ‘Okay, how can we make it? Effectively, she was the primary Japanese-born Murderer. Cool. How does that translate in their relationship?'”
With out spoiling an excessive amount of of Shadow’s introduction, it is protected to say that Naoe heads to the sport’s new island of Awaji after being given robust motive to consider her mom Tsuyu is being held captive there. Upon arrival, Naoe then uncovers the reality about Tsyu’s standing — and hears phrase of that last thriller field — which units her off on the growth’s major journey.
“The principle recreation did not have as a lot private relationship,” Arsenault says, discussing the scenes scattered all through Claws of Awaji the place Naoe learns extra about her household. “[There’s] a lot originally with Nagato, a little bit with Tomiko, with Junjiro for positive. However the ending, we could not essentially have a relationship. The mom is nonetheless not there.
“So [we said] ‘let’s convey in one thing private to that character’ — and it was additionally useful to have it [set] after,” Aresnault continued, referencing the truth that Claws of Awaji is chronologically set firmly as a coda to the primary recreation, and can’t be performed till after the credit have rolled. “And for Yasuke as nicely — if we had executed it some other place in the story, nicely, Yasuke would not have completed his personal storyline, so he had not even talked to Naoe about his personal mom.”
Nonetheless, Bordeaux wasn’t essentially all the time set to make this story, Arsenault revealed. Claws of Awaji’s focus on the mysteries of Naoe’s mom, and that third field, have been each half of the discussions the studio had with Quebec as improvement started. For instance, Bordeaux knew the growth would introduce a new weapon to the sport, however which it might be was not set in stone. (It is the Bo Workers, which all gamers will obtain free whether or not they personal Claws of Awaji or not.) As for Naoe’s mom, did Bordeaux “must make an growth about her particularly?” Arsenault questioned. “Perhaps not.”
It additionally appears like there was some flux inside Shadows’ major storyline as improvement on it, and Claws of Awaji, each progressed. Followers have lengthy questioned about Shadow’s major macguffins, the three containers finally mentioned to include the Japanese Imperial Regalia. Was it all the time the case that solely two can be discovered in the primary recreation, with a third left for the growth?
“It occurred very quick,” Aresnault replied. “It occurred very quick, as quickly as we began speaking. If I keep in mind accurately, as a result of the sport was nonetheless shifting at the moment, there was just one field complete in the sport, so we did not know if there can be a second field or a third field or all of the containers. So that they have been nonetheless competing their very own recreation. That is after we began speaking about closing a little bit, the arc of the Regalia, that is after we began [saying], ‘okay, nicely perhaps we will convey in one other field.'”
It was at this level that Bordeaux additionally determined to characteristic the returning character of Hattori Hanzo in Claws of Awaji as nicely, Arsenault continued. “That is when Hanzo got here in, so yeah, it is a backwards and forwards. For the reason that growth is launched sort of near the discharge of the primary recreation, each of them must be produced on the identical time in the timeline. In any other case you do not ship this quantity of content material with this quantity of high quality.”
Amid all this speak about Naoe’s private story, I used to be curious how Claws of Awaji would characteristic Yasuke. “So we focus his story extra on — he nonetheless has a Templar hunt ongoing,” Arsenault mentioned, “however he is extra in as a assist position to Naoe emotionally at this level. He is sort of serving to her undergo what she’s residing.” The place Naoe and Yasuke usually had their very own journeys in Shadows, they’re “on one path collectively” in Claws of Awaji, Arsenault continued.
With a story so carefully tied into that of the bottom recreation, Claws of Awaji is being positioned as an expertise that Assassin’s Creed followers will need to return for. And after that — as soon as my save file has reached at the very least 110 hours — will Bordeaux’s growth now present a last finale? Or has it been tasked with passing Shadows’ story baton on to but anoher group?
“We’re making an attempt to make a closure for now, give Naoe a closure for her private story,” Arsenault concluded. “You may all the time reopen issues, we have seen TV reveals do it, we have seen motion pictures do it. It is simple to do. So there’s nothing closing the door utterly. However we will count on at the very least to have correct closure to Naoe’s story.”
For extra on the growth, try IGN’s report on Claws of Awaji’s Metallic Gear Strong-inspired stealth boss battle, and Arsenault’s ideas on conserving gamers entertained with recent concepts, even 100 hours of gameplay later.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s Information Editor. You may attain Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or discover him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social