Many fans of Assassin's Creed Shadows have now experienced most of what the game has to offer, with over a month having passed since its release, and attention is starting to shift towards what post-launch content the title will eventually get. The main story of Shadows clearly sets up a few narrative avenues that are perfect for large-scale expansions, and so the upcoming Claws of Awaji DLC is already the source of a lot of excitement.
While it will still be some time before Assassin's Creed Shadows' Claws of Awaji DLC is available to players, the expansion has plenty of potential, with the likely benefits of the ambitious DLC going beyond its reported narrative. One of the most important elements of Shadows was how it oversaw the launch of the franchise's Animus Hub system, which is set to become a staple of all Assassin's Creed games going forward. The Animus Hub aims to offer a lot in terms of how modern AC titles are accessed, what rewards players can earn, and how the current-day storyline of the series is told. The base game of Shadows did a fairly good job at launching this system, yet the upcoming Claws of Awaji could be the ultimate opportunity for the Animus Hub to truly make its mark.
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Assassin's Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji Could Highlight the Strengths of the Animus Hub
The Animus Hub has been a point of curiosity for fans of Assassin's Creed for some time now. Initial theories behind the mysterious overhaul to the series suggested that it would be a full live service hub to access new games, akin to the divisive Call of Duty launcher. The launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows on March 20 put many of these theories to rest; the Animus Hub acts as a centralized way to access new AC titles while still letting titles maintain their own identity through things like unique trophy/achievement lists.
By using the franchise's iconic Animus technology as the narrative justification for this move, players are able to move through a timeline of recent AC releases to pick and choose what to play. The Animus Hub will also host smaller-scale titles like the anticipated upcoming Assassin's Creed Hexe project. Alongside this change to how AC content is accessed and delivered, the Animus Hub has a clear in-game impact. Players can find and earn "keys" as a currency which can then be exchanged to unlock things like powerful weapons and armor with unique visual flair.
A truly unique aspect of the Animus Hub is how it seems to be carrying the brunt of the series' current-day story, which has been regarded as an intrusive part of Assassin's Creed over the years by some fans. The concept of the Animus and the current story appear very briefly in Shadows' main story, with players instead being able to decode Encrypted Data Files through the Animus Hub to give more context to this aspect of the series.
Spoilers for Assassin's Creed Shadows' main story below.
The Animus Hub Could Be a Great Way to Set Up Future Releases Through Claws of Awaji
The upcoming Claws of Awaji DLC will be a huge opportunity for the Animus Hub to really establish itself, with the expansion carrying on the story of Shadows in a way that could have potentially warranted a full sequel to the game. With Naoe seeming likely to reunite with her mother in a brand-new region, the Animus Hub could really make Claws of Awaji feel more like its own story as opposed to a tagged-on narrative of Shadows. Brand-new unlockable rewards and projects through the Hub can give the DLC a further sense of individual identity.
The Claws of Awaji DLC for Assassin's Creed Shadows is currently the only revealed major expansion for the game, planned for a late 2025 release window and aiming to provide over ten hours of fresh content.
Claws of Awaji could also put a greater focus on Data Fragments and Encrypted Files, because the DLC is in a position to perhaps set up Assassin's Creed's modern story for future games like the aforementioned Hexe. Therefore, it's a big test of just how narratively valuable the Animus Hub can be. The Animus Hub seems to have introduced itself to the Assassin's Creed franchise with very few hiccups, though its presence in the base game of Shadows is hopefully just a teaser in terms of how important the new system will be to the series for its DLC and future releases.
Assassin's Creed Shadows
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 82%
- Released
- March 20, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft Quebec
- Publisher(s)
- Ubisoft
