How Ubisoft Bordeaux Brought a Side-Scroller to Life in Claws of Awaji

Early in the Claws of Awaji DLC, Assassin’s Creed Shadows players will play through a side-scroller that narrates key events ahead of their arrival on the island. In it, players will play as two different members of the Sanzoku Ippa and then as Naoe’s mother, Tsuyu. This side-scroller is related to Awaji because of the region’s culture with puppet shows, but interestingly, the idea of a side-scroller came first.

During a trip to Ubisoft Bordeaux, Game Rant was able to speak with Claws of Awaji content director Simon Arseneault, following a presentation, about the side-scroller. It began as something of an experiment for the Assassin’s Creed Shadows DLC, with the side-scroller initially being presented as a shadow play. Even in these early prototype forms, it seemed like an homage to the side-scrolling Assassin’s Creed Chronicles games. Claws of Awaji’s side-scroller isn’t as in-depth as they were, but it does a great job of giving key narrative and exposition beats without being a cinematic, setting the tone and key characters players can expect in their time on Awaji.

When I spoke with Arseneault, I was really curious about how it went from this experimental prototype to his “desk” to the final product in the game. Arseneault revealed he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it at first. It’s cool, but how does it fit into Claws of Awaji and the game world? That’s the question at the heart of this side-scroller. Similarly, how would it happen in gameplay? Arseneault thought the ‘flipping a door as it opens’ approach wouldn’t quite fit the vibe. Luckily, research was the answer to both questions.

As Ubisoft properly researched and began the work (as this prototype experiment was earlier), Arseneault learned how Awaji Island is known for the traditional art of puppet shows, and so the initial idea transition from a shadow play to a puppet show. That’s how this could fit into Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ Claws of Awaji DLC, with Arseneault explaining,

“We put it on the shelf and started researching, and that’s when the spark came up. When we started the puppet show, that’s where we could connect this, and now it works. Now there’s a way to make this idea work, and it’s going to give us something unique you’ve never seen before. It’s almost like an homage to AC Chronicles, so we can play on it.”

Somewhat unfortunately, fans can only expect the one side-scroller in the Claws of Awaji DLC. Incorporating a side-scroller in Assassin’s Creed Shadows was an expensive and long endeavor, lasting around 14 months or so to make just one. Arseneault said, “I wish we could have done more of those things, for sure, but it was pricey enough for just one. It’s long, hard work, but it also allowed us to foreshadow our characters. That’s something we have a hard time doing sometimes in AC except with cinematics. That’s our go-to often because that’s where we control everything. Here, we still have some control, but we’re able to show a different vibe of it.”

It’s interesting, however, to see the sentiment around the side-scroller. While how it is ultimately received remains in the air, the question on the mind of everyone in the presentation was “Is there only one side-scroller in the DLC?” Resources did prevent more from happening, but at the same time, that’s ultimately a good sentiment because it means fans, at least some, may want more. I certainly do. I would take it in future DLCs, I would take another Assassin’s Creed Chronicles game, and I would appreciate more unique segments like this. But it is reasonable given the development timeline, and Arseneault understandably could not say if more in the future was possible or not:

Released

March 20, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language