Assassin’s Creed Shadows Ended Up Great–If You Played All The DLC
If you played through Assassin’s Creed Shadows and skipped the DLC, you might have left feeling underwhelmed. But if you completed the base game and then dove into the post-launch expansions, particularly the final one, Black Tides, you might just have the best experience the game has to offer. Black Tides is a surprisingly solid expansion that elevates the core narrative, offering a more cohesive and satisfying conclusion to the story. While it's not perfect—some boss fights are still frustrating—it’s a clear step up from the base game in terms of pacing, structure, and storytelling.
The base game of Assassin’s Creed Shadows has its strengths, especially in the opening act. It's more engaging and fun to play than the first 10 hours of Odyssey, Valhalla, and Mirage, with standout performances from Masumi Tsunoda, who voices protagonist Naoe. However, the narrative begins to falter in Act 2, which is far too lengthy and disjointed. The repetitive target hunts lack the necessary cohesion to give Naoe and Yasuke meaningful character development. This makes the 35-hour segment feel aimless and unstructured, a stark contrast to the earlier parts of the game.
Then comes Act 3, which shifts the focus from Naoe—the more compelling protagonist—to Yasuke. While this act finally ties Shadows into the larger Assassin’s Creed mythos, it ends abruptly, leaving many questions unanswered. However, the story-driven DLC expansions that followed helped fill in the gaps, providing the narrative depth that the base game lacked.
Among the most impactful expansions is A Critical Encounter, a crossover with Critical Role that refocuses the story on fighting Templars. A Puzzlement, a short but challenging treasure hunt, brings in the Isu and subtly references Kassandra from Odyssey. Claws of Awaji addresses the unresolved ending of the base game, while Black Tides wraps up the story in a way that feels earned and meaningful.
In Claws of Awaji, the DLC recontextualizes the issues I had with Act 2 by making the target hunts more purposeful. Each hunt has clear stakes and outcomes, giving Naoe and Yasuke a sense of agency and progress. Similarly, Black Tides adds emotional depth to their partnership, ensuring that both characters are fully integrated into the larger Assassin’s Creed narrative.
In Black Tides, Naoe and Yasuke encounter Black Cross agents—elite Templar operatives who have previously only appeared in books and comics. These agents, Eamon Hathaway and Nirmala, make it clear that they’re not in Japan to follow up on the work Yasuke has already done. Eamon even comments that the events of the main game are of little consequence to him. Despite this, Eamon is willing to leave Naoe and Yasuke be if they agree to let him and Nirmala go.
Of course, Naoe and Yasuke refuse to let things go so easily. They investigate the two and, in a surprising twist, learn that the Black Cross are in Japan searching for the Observatory—the same object that Edward Kenway, the Assassins, and the Templars were searching for over a century later in Black Flag. This revelation ties Shadows into the larger Assassin’s Creed timeline in a way that feels both satisfying and unexpected.
Despite the Observatory being in Jamaica, not Japan, the race between Naoe, Yasuke, and the Templars ends with neither side finding the site. However, the search provides an explanation for how the Assassins obtained one of the Isu-shaped blood vials before the Templars, and it hints at how Achilles Davenport was able to recognize the Isu artifact in Rogue so quickly. It seems that Naoe and Yasuke shared their findings with the Assassin Brotherhood, which retroactively makes sense of some of the game’s earlier plot points.
One of the most intriguing revelations in Black Tides is that Yasuke may have an abnormal amount of Isu DNA, making him something like a demigod. This would explain his extraordinary combat skills and his seemingly unshakable resilience in the face of deadly injuries. It also places him in the same category as Kassandra from Odyssey, who is known for her near-superhuman abilities. This revelation adds depth to Yasuke’s character and retroactively justifies some of the more fantastical elements of the game.
Overall, Black Tides delivers a more satisfying conclusion to the Assassin’s Creed Shadows story, tying it into the larger Assassin’s Creed narrative in a way that feels cohesive and meaningful. It also pays homage to previous entries in the series, including Shao Jun from Embers and Chronicles, adding layers of depth and nostalgia for longtime fans. If you played through the base game and skipped the DLC, you might have missed out on the full potential of Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
