I'm not apologizing for what has been kind of a buggy DLC so far, but I've seen several reviews for it that say the same thing in their title: it's too safe and is same-y.
After 40yrs of gaming, I sincerely don't know what you do to make something not safe in this game. And that isn't to say that the base game is some spectacular thing that couldn't be improved on. It could be. But after over 200hrs of that experience (unlike Shogun, go ahead and judge me 😉), I just don't see how the world the original team (because the DLC is said to have been done by the Mirage team) built could fit in anything too spectacular. The game is, even for how much I've sunk in, kinda bland at it's core, and when they do things like the Dead by Daylight crossover or the animus anomalies, they just sort of don't work in the super grounded, frankly hyper basic, world of this game.
Maybe I'm trying to say that the base game hurt any possibility that the DLC was ever going to wow us. I don't know. But that feels closest to right.
Going one further, I've seen praise for the traps on the island. I hate them, especially at night. Not because they get me, but because it truly is impossible to see them even when you know they're right there. Finding the disarm is tedious and slows down gameplay. They also net whole areas like a 5yo placed them as a joke. It isn't even subtle.
Caltrops are kind of a cool addition to this, but they do too much damage and there's no way to deactivate them. It's also a little bit silly they didn't give us them as a tool. Like.. seriously? Other ninja get those and Naoe can't pick them up and figure them out? Maybe I'm not far enough in yet and we do, but I feel I know Ubisoft and know they just wont. Not now. It'll be in an expansion that is mostly for Yasuke.
@DarianStarfrog It really is so messy. There's definitely a bug with the "throw kunai on assassination" engraving that is making it simply not do that whenever it decides it wants to.
There's also a lot of bugs in the Bo quest. The practice monks have ridiculous timing, even on lower difficulties, and the enemies that attack at the end get stuck in places you can't get to or simply disappear. I had to do the last part 3 times before I was able to get them all to a place where they didn't do either one of those things.
Naoe's movements seem off too. She's kinda clunkier now. It wasn't that bad before, but it's like she wants to just move on her own now.
Funny thing about it is it all seems like very surface level stuff that should have been caught. If they really did hold this back from the games launch, it definitely needed even more time. I can see why they dropped it now, Christmas game drop season is starting next week, but.. ugh.. this is so bad in too many places.
@@ShogunRok It is free for preorder-ers or early purchasers. Physical versions of the game (I preordered a standard copy) had a code insert in the case that also unlocked the Thrown to the Dogs day 1 DLC mission that had you look for a dog you can adopt (who the game won't let you place in your hideout now; the dog has been bugged for weeks now and doesn't show up on your list of available animals, and they didn't fix it in the update. That's a whole other comment, for another time...)
I don't know where online/storefront preorders had their code; I assume it's in a receipt or email for the game. I also don't know how it worked for PC or Xbox, since at least one commentator mentioned that being an issue. I've only been playing on PS5.
That said you also have to download the DLC now that it's released. It wasn't timelocked in last weeks update. The Bo quest was the only thing they timelocked and gave to everyone, instead of their original plan to also include it in Claws of Awaji. It appears some folks thought it meant both would pop up for them when the DLC dropped, and that's not the case.
Anyway, to download the DLC you need to go to the little side panel on the games launch bar homescreen entry, like you would for a game with a free PS4 to PS5 upgrade entry - this is what I did to get to the DLC download.
I assume another method would be to go to the Claws of Awaji product page on the storefront and, if there's a price like some had said, click over on the (...) next to view game and see if there is a "claimed" version of it.
The PlayStation store is often dreadfully organized and they sometimes hide things you actually own, but didn't "purchase" (with money), off on another screen you have to dig for.
Hope this helps someone, otherwise I don't know what's up. I'd contact Sony before Ubisoft if anyone still can't get it. I'd assume it's a storefront/DLC code problem first, then go from there.
@Americansamurai1 I agree with you fully, especially about then training people not to buy games. That's something people really need to take note of from these past 2 generations: after we found out the plan for the PS4 and One, and we buckled down and said we wanted physical media still, to the point of a near boycott, both companies spent a lot of time going the long way around to teach us how to love the thing we didn't want. Both just took very different paths to get there, where Microsoft basically did away with their hardware in the process and simply became a platform.
@LowDefAl They got Blizzard in that acquisition, even with a dip in subs, WoW still makes enough monthly to be considered a money printer. They're likely not hurting too badly to make the money back from gobbling up other companies with that in their back pocket
@ellstormo No idea of they'll add one, but the original didn't. The point of the game, like the movie, was to feel isolated. Even with games out there since that can play with that in a multiplayer experience, it probably wouldn't serve this game any justice to cram the idea in. But we'll see
@MARl0 Switch has it's own issues. There's a bunch of Switch games that are cloud based. Stores are basically locking up an empty case with cover art and an unlock code. Buy some games digitally (like most of the Resident Evils -Capcom is doing this a lot) you're buying something that'll never really install to your system.
And.. yes.. they do figure in used sales.. why do you think they're push for an all digital future where you can't box them out of a portion of the overall sales of their game, at all? This has been an issue for a long time because it cuts into the new games sales, and being "attacked" by the rise in digital sales is why stores like GameStop have consistently played the victim card and looked to diversify towards trading cards and collectibles, basically becoming chain hobby shops. Publishers have spent the better part of a decade subtly making us comfortable with digital because we gave them a hard no before the PS4 and Xbox One came out over used sales and sharing with friends, but it's almost exclusively because this is a business and they care about revenue.
Way I see it is you can't buy a physical game that doesn't exist. Most games are released only digital. Games like Silent Hill 2 have an only digital deluxe version that people will gravitate towards. So combining all these factors, of course the numbers are going to skew towards digital.
There's also a lot of glossing over the fact that making a modular system means more profit for the company, even if it's slightly. You now have to pay almost 800 US for a disc based Pro, due to buying a whole separate piece you need to install, because the 700 US system doesn't have a drive. You're paying for your illusion of control.
@B_Lindz and I believe that was before the PS4 launch where people pushed hard against an all digital, before Sony and other companies conditioned players to want what they really didn't want.
We still have the power to say no to that and push for physical media, but we won't. Customers are too busy being distracted by fights over the newest releases, with a lot of sites fanning the flames, and that seems to be the what these companies want so they don't have to make silly videos to smooth over things like this and have us keep moving in the direction they want so they can have maximum control over everything.
Comments 10
Re: Mini Review: Assassin's Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji (PS5) - Story Moments Carry an Overly Safe Expansion
I'm not apologizing for what has been kind of a buggy DLC so far, but I've seen several reviews for it that say the same thing in their title: it's too safe and is same-y.
After 40yrs of gaming, I sincerely don't know what you do to make something not safe in this game. And that isn't to say that the base game is some spectacular thing that couldn't be improved on. It could be. But after over 200hrs of that experience (unlike Shogun, go ahead and judge me 😉), I just don't see how the world the original team (because the DLC is said to have been done by the Mirage team) built could fit in anything too spectacular. The game is, even for how much I've sunk in, kinda bland at it's core, and when they do things like the Dead by Daylight crossover or the animus anomalies, they just sort of don't work in the super grounded, frankly hyper basic, world of this game.
Maybe I'm trying to say that the base game hurt any possibility that the DLC was ever going to wow us. I don't know. But that feels closest to right.
Going one further, I've seen praise for the traps on the island. I hate them, especially at night. Not because they get me, but because it truly is impossible to see them even when you know they're right there. Finding the disarm is tedious and slows down gameplay. They also net whole areas like a 5yo placed them as a joke. It isn't even subtle.
Caltrops are kind of a cool addition to this, but they do too much damage and there's no way to deactivate them. It's also a little bit silly they didn't give us them as a tool. Like.. seriously? Other ninja get those and Naoe can't pick them up and figure them out? Maybe I'm not far enough in yet and we do, but I feel I know Ubisoft and know they just wont. Not now. It'll be in an expansion that is mostly for Yasuke.
Re: Mini Review: Assassin's Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji (PS5) - Story Moments Carry an Overly Safe Expansion
@DarianStarfrog It really is so messy. There's definitely a bug with the "throw kunai on assassination" engraving that is making it simply not do that whenever it decides it wants to.
There's also a lot of bugs in the Bo quest. The practice monks have ridiculous timing, even on lower difficulties, and the enemies that attack at the end get stuck in places you can't get to or simply disappear. I had to do the last part 3 times before I was able to get them all to a place where they didn't do either one of those things.
Naoe's movements seem off too. She's kinda clunkier now. It wasn't that bad before, but it's like she wants to just move on her own now.
Funny thing about it is it all seems like very surface level stuff that should have been caught. If they really did hold this back from the games launch, it definitely needed even more time. I can see why they dropped it now, Christmas game drop season is starting next week, but.. ugh.. this is so bad in too many places.
Re: Mini Review: Assassin's Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji (PS5) - Story Moments Carry an Overly Safe Expansion
@@ShogunRok It is free for preorder-ers or early purchasers. Physical versions of the game (I preordered a standard copy) had a code insert in the case that also unlocked the Thrown to the Dogs day 1 DLC mission that had you look for a dog you can adopt (who the game won't let you place in your hideout now; the dog has been bugged for weeks now and doesn't show up on your list of available animals, and they didn't fix it in the update. That's a whole other comment, for another time...)
I don't know where online/storefront preorders had their code; I assume it's in a receipt or email for the game. I also don't know how it worked for PC or Xbox, since at least one commentator mentioned that being an issue. I've only been playing on PS5.
That said you also have to download the DLC now that it's released. It wasn't timelocked in last weeks update. The Bo quest was the only thing they timelocked and gave to everyone, instead of their original plan to also include it in Claws of Awaji. It appears some folks thought it meant both would pop up for them when the DLC dropped, and that's not the case.
Anyway, to download the DLC you need to go to the little side panel on the games launch bar homescreen entry, like you would for a game with a free PS4 to PS5 upgrade entry - this is what I did to get to the DLC download.
I assume another method would be to go to the Claws of Awaji product page on the storefront and, if there's a price like some had said, click over on the (...) next to view game and see if there is a "claimed" version of it.
The PlayStation store is often dreadfully organized and they sometimes hide things you actually own, but didn't "purchase" (with money), off on another screen you have to dig for.
Hope this helps someone, otherwise I don't know what's up. I'd contact Sony before Ubisoft if anyone still can't get it. I'd assume it's a storefront/DLC code problem first, then go from there.
Re: Microsoft CEO Says More Xbox Games Will Come to PS5, Hours After Rumours Said Porting Project Was Paused
@Americansamurai1 I agree with you fully, especially about then training people not to buy games. That's something people really need to take note of from these past 2 generations: after we found out the plan for the PS4 and One, and we buckled down and said we wanted physical media still, to the point of a near boycott, both companies spent a lot of time going the long way around to teach us how to love the thing we didn't want. Both just took very different paths to get there, where Microsoft basically did away with their hardware in the process and simply became a platform.
Re: Microsoft CEO Says More Xbox Games Will Come to PS5, Hours After Rumours Said Porting Project Was Paused
@LowDefAl They got Blizzard in that acquisition, even with a dip in subs, WoW still makes enough monthly to be considered a money printer. They're likely not hurting too badly to make the money back from gobbling up other companies with that in their back pocket
Re: The Thing Remastered Looks Like a Superb PS5, PS4 Retelling of an Underappreciated PS2 Classic
@Rich33 Most games did back then. It was the era of "People only play about 25% of a game, so why bother with the back end"
Re: The Thing Remastered Looks Like a Superb PS5, PS4 Retelling of an Underappreciated PS2 Classic
@ellstormo No idea of they'll add one, but the original didn't. The point of the game, like the movie, was to feel isolated. Even with games out there since that can play with that in a multiplayer experience, it probably wouldn't serve this game any justice to cram the idea in. But we'll see
Re: Like It or Not, This Is Why PS5 Pro Doesn't Have a Disc Drive
@MARl0 Switch has it's own issues. There's a bunch of Switch games that are cloud based. Stores are basically locking up an empty case with cover art and an unlock code. Buy some games digitally (like most of the Resident Evils -Capcom is doing this a lot) you're buying something that'll never really install to your system.
And.. yes.. they do figure in used sales.. why do you think they're push for an all digital future where you can't box them out of a portion of the overall sales of their game, at all? This has been an issue for a long time because it cuts into the new games sales, and being "attacked" by the rise in digital sales is why stores like GameStop have consistently played the victim card and looked to diversify towards trading cards and collectibles, basically becoming chain hobby shops. Publishers have spent the better part of a decade subtly making us comfortable with digital because we gave them a hard no before the PS4 and Xbox One came out over used sales and sharing with friends, but it's almost exclusively because this is a business and they care about revenue.
Re: Like It or Not, This Is Why PS5 Pro Doesn't Have a Disc Drive
Way I see it is you can't buy a physical game that doesn't exist. Most games are released only digital. Games like Silent Hill 2 have an only digital deluxe version that people will gravitate towards. So combining all these factors, of course the numbers are going to skew towards digital.
There's also a lot of glossing over the fact that making a modular system means more profit for the company, even if it's slightly. You now have to pay almost 800 US for a disc based Pro, due to buying a whole separate piece you need to install, because the 700 US system doesn't have a drive. You're paying for your illusion of control.
Re: Like It or Not, This Is Why PS5 Pro Doesn't Have a Disc Drive
@B_Lindz and I believe that was before the PS4 launch where people pushed hard against an all digital, before Sony and other companies conditioned players to want what they really didn't want.
We still have the power to say no to that and push for physical media, but we won't. Customers are too busy being distracted by fights over the newest releases, with a lot of sites fanning the flames, and that seems to be the what these companies want so they don't have to make silly videos to smooth over things like this and have us keep moving in the direction they want so they can have maximum control over everything.