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Assassin's Creed Shadows is getting a DLC expansion later this year, and according to the game's creative director, we can expect its new location to have a "different vibe" to the standard Shadows setting, and it sounds like it'll be a bit eerie.
The expansion, titled Claws of Awaji, is set to release at some point this year, and will take place on the titular island of Awaji as protagonists Naoe and Yasuke "reclaim a lost treasure while avoiding the traps and ambushes of deadly new foes." Ubisoft had already hinted that there'll be an added level of tension as the pair will be "hunted relentlessly" by their new enemies, the Sanzoku Ippa, and it certainly sounds like that'll be the case based on new comments from creative director Jonathan Dumont.
Speaking to Game Rant, Dumont is asked how the DLC location will differ from the mainland Japan setting players will explore over the course of the base game. "It will have a different vibe, a bit spookier I would say," he explains.
As for those new enemies, the Sanzoku Ippa, associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois hints that "they're known to use tactics not too dissimilar to the players' – including creative use of counter-intelligence measures," so it'll be interesting to see how we'll deal with that.
In terms of when all this takes place, Dumont confirms that the expansion is "a continuation of our two protagonists' adventure and storyline," and despite the base game being given "a definite ending," there's ultimately "always more to explore." Needless to say, the DLC will take place after the main game, so you'll definitely want to make sure you're done with it before diving into Claws of Awaji when it launches.
Depending on when the DLC releases and how much of a completionist you are, that might actually be a bit of an ask. Dumont also recently revealed that despite Shadows' main game being around 30 to 40 hours long, completionists can expect to spend upwards of 80 hours if they want to clear all of the side content, too. Comparatively, Claws of Awaji is significantly shorter at around 10 hours – hopefully it can serve as a nice palate cleanser.
