Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji — What It Brings, What It Misses, and Why It Matters
Most players probably imagine they already know what an Assassin’s Creed game feels like — stealth in the shadows, parkour on rooftops, a blend of history and fictional lore. But truly, the new chapter, Claws of Awaji, has something else in its DNA.
Launching in 2025 from Ubisoft, it's a full sequel to Assassin's Creed Shadows — the Japanese set game fans have been begging for. The title by itself, for “Claws of Awaji,” suggests a sharper and more personal edge to the experience.
Here’s the thing: Rather than relying on big assassinations or cinematic set pieces, this expansion is supposed to delve further into Japanese culture, stealth mastery and that strange gray area between loyalty and betrayal. The feel I get for it is more somber but also more intense — candlelit rooms, hidden knives, sudden bursts of mayhem.
That said, I do have one niggling doubt… Ubisoft expansions tend to simply tack stuff on, without necessarily that much development in the game loop. Will Claws of Awaji come with good depth, or will it feel like yet more missions tacked onto an already gargantuan game?
You can also check this article: Assassin’s Creed: Shadows — Stealth, Samurai, and Feudal Intrigue Redefined (2025)
Release Details & Access
- Launch date: September 16, 2025.
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S. (Expansions available on same platforms as base game.)
- Price: Around $25 USD / €25 if you didn’t pre-order. (It’s free if you pre-ordered Shadows.)
- Requirements to play: Must complete parts of the main story (Naoe, Yasuke, and Junjiro’s personal quests) and “Out of the Shadows” quest in order to unlock Awaji content.
What’s New in Claws of Awaji
- A new 10 hours worth of story content set on Awaji Island, located beyond the Osaka Bay with different biomes such as swamps, jungles, beaches and new threats.
- New weapon: Bo staff for Naoe. For those who don’t even own the expansion, though, there’s a quest that will let you unlock the Bo staff in the base game. Rainbow Bo can have its variants be of legendary rarity only with Claws of Awaji.
- New weapons, armor upgrades and abilities for both Naoe and Yasuke.
- Patch/ update (1.11.1) right before the DLC: Several new features rolled out on top of the dlc such as raised level cap, hideout upgrades, time skipping via meditation and better scout actions to name a few!
Story & Setting: What’s at Stake
Story Claws of Awaji takes place after the main story. Naoe is on a quest based on rumors of a mysterious shinobi who haunts Awaji Island — and may be connected to her mother, who has disappeared. Yasuke comes in with, partly to bolster the expansion as it seeks to finish two big open plot threads from the core game.
The expansion plays on the tension: faction intrigue (the Sanzoku Ippa), traps, ambushes, danger in disguise overall — stealth isn’t just a suggestion here. It sounds like a darker, more stealthy atmosphere is in store.
Pros & Strengths
1 : Tight Storytelling: I wouldn’t call the DLC sprawling, instead expanding on Shadows’ base with more focused narrative arcs, ones that serve to give an emotional conclusion especially to Naoe’s side.
2: New Weapon & Combat Variety: The Bo staff provides new reach and combo potential. And for the players who were finding combat in Shadows too easy to game, this is good news.
3: Graphic and Environmental Improvements: Awaji Island looks atmospheric and there are more environmental variations and dangers.
4: Quality of Life Stuff: Let’s raise that level cap, upgrade a hideout, do one of those fancy meditative time-skipping things and what not. Players can prepare better.
Weaknesses & Areas of Concern
- Length vs Price: 10+ hours in a game is good, but $25 seems pretty high to many people for that run time, particularly if you're looking for more than just the story. Some reviews describe sections of the expansion as “short” or “not very replayable.”
- Bugs & technical problems: Lots of those reported on Steam concerning crashes, quest‐bugs, colour inconsistency of weapon customization...
- Little Innovation: Despite the engaging story and setting, some players get the sense that it’s a safe bet in terms of stealth/combat mechanics and doesn’t do much to push Shadows that far beyond those older limitations.
- Replayability: Side missions & Exploartion outside of main quest Some reviews stating as underwhelming Nothing to keep you coming back for more after you finished it.
Community Reactions
Bugs & Early Issues
On Steam reviews, it has a “Mostly Negative” rating – though with many praising the atmosphere and story moments but citing technical instability as being an issue, they feel parts of the DLC don’t add much beyond what Shadows offered already..
The truth is….when I went scrolling through Reddit and X one of the first things that struck me was how many players are already worried about future bugs in the next set of DLC. To be fair, that’s something of a tradition with big open-world games — there are always immersion-breaking glitches at launch.
Some fans are kidding that “it wouldn’t be Assassin’s Creed without at least one NPC walking through a wall.” Others are more hesitant, banking on Ubisofts knowledge of the failures from previous launches and pegging this as something that may be sanded off before day one.
I personally don’t mind if there are a couple of small bugs that may take away from the experience, however, it feels as though with so many performance problems within the DLC it will detract attention away from all the new elements. That being said, any patches should be relatively quickly and players are just crossing their fingers and keeping things in perspective.
FAQs
Q: Do I have to complete the base game in order to access Claws of Awaji?
Yes -- you’ll have to finish Naoe, Yasuke and Junjiro’s personal arcs along with the quest “Out of the Shadows.”
Q: What’s the damage if I didn’t pre-order?
About $25 (USD/EUR). Pre-order owners get it free.
Q: How much new stuff is there?
More than 10 hours of new story, a new region, bosses, gear, weapons and skills.
Q: Will it address any problems from the original game?
Some changes: level cap, hideout upgrades,time-skip, free Bo staff quest. But core stealth/combat mechanics appear largely the same. Technical bugs are being reported.
Q: Platforms & Requirements?
Available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S. System requirements: same as base game. If you already can play Shadows very well, the DLC should work.
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