Tactical games have been my jam for quite sometime now. Since my introduction to them with Fire Emblem Awakening, the slow and methodical gameplay just ticks every box to satisfying my brain. I love planning and calculating all possible outcomes for one unit and unraveling the chain of events that follow. They’re like solving puzzles but it never feels like you’re solving one. I have branched out to play others such as War Groove, Marvel’s Midnight Suns and Unicorn Overlord. None of these are quite similar, and after playing Shadow Tactics and its DLC Aiko’s Choice, I would add this to the list of one of the most unique and addictive tactical games I have ever played.
The light of Shadow Tactics
The story takes place in the Edo Period of Japan where Feudalism is the hierarchical structure of power. The peace of the shogunate is under threat from a warlord known as Kage-sama. The shogunate appoints Mugen, a faithful samurai, to lead the fight against this threat. One mission leads to another, and Mugen recruits an unlikely cast of individuals to join the cause. Hiyato, a shinobi who typically works alone but makes an exception for Mugen. Yuki, a talented thief who is seeking a sensei. Takuma, an elder marksman with a pet tanuki. Last is Aiko, an assassin who is a good friend of Mugen’s and offers her loyalty to him. The story isn’t mind blowing but it’s good and I enjoyed it. It’s typically told in cutscenes both before and after missions. The English voice acting is great, and if you enjoy Japanese voice acting you can opt for that as well.
These characters are memorable and I enjoyed playing with them immensely. It was interesting to see these unlikely characters come together. A samurai joining forces with a shinobi? An assassin disguising herself as a geisha! An elder using a sniper barrel as a peg leg! I really like their friendly banter within the missions, and they’re not always getting along. Aiko and Hiyato are always throwing jabs at each other with their different methods of sneaking. Yuki is very goofy and will lighten the mood with a joke. Eventually, they all come to trust each other. They come to understand that they each have different strengths and need each other to succeed. They never said these things, but that’s how I see it after more than 30 hours of playtime.
Blades of strategy
Each character has different tools and characteristics. Mugen, being a samurai, can’t climb or swim due to his heavy armor, but he is the only one who can kill other samurai. Hiyato has a shuriken to throw and can throw a rock to temporarily distract enemies. Yuki can place traps and lure enemies with her bird call. Aiko can disguise herself and distract guards for longer periods, but samurai on patrol will catch her. Takuma has very long range with his rifle, but he makes a lot of noise walking around with his peg leg. Knowing who to use in certain situation is the key to this game. Taking out a group of enemies will feel like solving a puzzle and it was always so satisfying using each character’s unique abilities to overcome difficulty placed groups of enemies.
The way the main mechanic works is each enemy has a cone of visibility reflected by the solid green colored areas in front of them. This is their immediate alert zone which you don’t want to be caught in either standing or crouching. The lined green area is their far sight distance which will enable characters to crouch through, but if you stand it will begin to alert them. Standing in the lined green area will gradually turn yellow, once the yellow zone meets your character then it will trigger the alert of the guard. Additionally, these cones move side to side as an enemy is on the lookout. If they walk the cone will move with them. If two guards face each other to talk, the zone will face in their direction. If a cart or building is partially blocking a guards visibility you will be able to use things like these to your advantage to sneak through tightly watched areas.
The objectives of the missions include getting characters to a rendezvous point, destroying equipment, and eliminating specific enemies. At the beginning of each mission, the characters will discuss the objectives and points of interest that may aid you in your strategy. I really like how the game always give you multiple ways to achieve your objective. When your target is to kill so-and-so you can by booby trapping their resting area or just killing them regularly. You can take the path above on the rooftops or take the garden path with shrubs and trees. Different characters will thrive in different areas and it was nice to always have options to choose from.
Regardless, all paths are littered with enemies possessing different attributes and behaviors. The basic Guardsmen are the easiest to distract, get around, or kill. Straw-hat Guardsmen do not leave their post so getting around them takes more planning. Samurai are the hardest to get around since only Mugen can kill them and they will be unaffected by any distractions. You even need to watch out for villagers who will alert the nearest enemies to them. For the most part these are the basics, but the game will elevate these ideas and add some layers to keep the gameplay fresh and keep the player on the edge.
A challenging plan
Shadow Tactics emphasizes stealth in real-time as its core gameplay. Characters are controllable in expansive 3D maps that let you manoeuvre the camera to your heart’s content. The camera controls will take some getting used to, but once you get a handle on them it works very well. The camera’s maneuverability is essential to succeeding in this game as is somewhat a character in of itself due to its positioning being so pivotal. You might need to see in between two buildings cause it’s just the spot out of the guard’s view. A surprise guard may be hiding in spots like these as well.
I feel like the game is challenging enough on its own, but for those seeking even more challenge there is more the game offers to take the difficulty up a notch. The first is the badge system. After completing a mission a list of badges will be accessible to complete per mission. Some of these badges may be awarded upon first playthrough, but most will require more runs. An example of these badges are, “Finish the mission within 20 minutes” or “complete the mission without killing civilians.” There will be about 5 to 10 badges per mission. And if that’s not challenging enough for you, then you can always turn up the difficulty which will increase enemy damage and their alert rate.
Alerting the enemies results in some punishing consequences. First, if you are in their line of sight they will begin shooting you. Second, all surrounding enemies in the area will swarm your immediate area. Third, a new whole group of enemies will spawn from the buildings and swarm your area. It is incredibly difficult to recover once being spotted. It’s nearly an insta-kill and there are just way too many enemies to hide from. I was spotted many times in my playthrough, and once I was spotted I just paused and went back to my latest save point.
Speaking of which, knowing when to save is essential. Luckily, the game makes it as easy as a press of the minus button to quickly save the game. You are able to load up to 3 saves back so if you accidentally saved yourself into a corner, or hit a save after being spotted (like I did) you are not forced to play through it.
Another great feature, the game constantly reminds you to save, but not in an annoying way. After 30 seconds passes, the game will begin a timer running since your last save. There is an option to turn this feature off. Even with this feature on, I still forgot to save! It’s so easy to get caught up with good momentum and forget to save. I got in the habit of saving before doing anything risky, or even after just moving to a bush. Any little thing matters because going just a minute without saving can have you replaying very tedious segments.
Switch 2 synergy
Shadow Tactics thrives on the Switch 2 console. The main missions are very lengthy which is perfect for a portable system. The first mission took me over two hours because I was still learning the mechanics by trial and error. The maps that span these missions are expansive. It gives you so many options to get around whether it be rooftop traversal, swimming through the waters or just using cover to take the main streets. I had to break the map into chunks and take it section by section. It was perfect for taking on the go, reaching a certain checkpoint, saving and coming back to it later with a fresh mind. And just for the sake of saying it, the game runs flawlessly on Switch 2.
I have two critiques for Shadow Tactics and they are the learning curve for the camera controls and some excessive wait times. The camera controls will take a few missions to proficiently use. The most annoying thing to get used to is that the camera does not follow the character when moving. While I like having the free rein for controlling the camera, I also think having a toggle feature to follow the character moving off screen would be helpful.
Another critique I have is related to wait times. I’m not talking about load times, those are fine. I’m talking about having to wait for NPCs to do certain actions or walk a certain path. There’s a certain mission where you can sneak onto a cart but have to wait for it to loop around the entire village and stop. A fast forward feature could have helped in this instance. Now these didn’t greatly affect my enjoyment. For the most part the game controls amazingly and the game would be perfect if it weren’t for these minor flaws.
An honorable verdict
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is a very entertaining strategy game that is consistent, deep, and challenging. It is consistently fun while pushing you and introducing new elements and it dials up even more in the Aiko’s Choice expansion. It’s deep because you don’t need to know just your characters, but you need to know the traits and behaviors of the enemies. Getting past a group of enemies undetected is one of the most satisfying moments you can have. You will not always be able to kill enemies and once you master sneaking around you will realize you won’t have to kill anyone. And that’s the beauty of this expertly crafted game. Even if the camera has a bit of a learning curve, it’s easy to look past once you realize how well it works. As a tactical game enthusiast, this is a must play for those seeking to be challenged in their strategic prowess.
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is out now on Switch 2. It was previously released on the PC, PS5, PS4, and Xbox One.
