Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

Did you like the classic "Commandos"? Interested in Japanese culture of the Edo period? You will love this! Yes, it's a "Commandos" clone, it uses exactly the same gameplay formula. There is a team of 5 characters, but in nearly all missions you will play only some of them at the same time which forces you to play different tactics combinations. The gameplay depends on how you decide to tackle the problems. If you like to observe, plan and execute and get through the level 'body by body' the game supports this. If you set yourself the goal of not triggering any alarms, killing all enemies, hide them and not to kill any civilians you can spend 2-3 hours on each level. There is also the 'shadow mode' which lets you 'record' characters actions and execute them later simultaniously. The level design is mostly very good. There are nearly always multiple ways to get to the desired place/objective. The graphics are very colourful with attention to detail. The levels look very aesthetically pleasing. The music uses some Japanese instruments, sounds adequate and calm. One very positive exception is the second-to-last mission which conveys a sense of determination and the music reflects this in some fantastic power-orcherstra-like movements. Huge bonus points for (optional) Japanese voices. The spoken Japanese dialogues even use the proper honorifics when addressing the different characters! For some reason the English subtitles don't always reflect this, though. No 'fake' Japanese or non-Japanese names, no black-clad ninjas. It's may be not historically accurate but it's not a circus either. Plenty of seppuku. On the negative note: - The beginning phase of the last level is much more difficult then in the levels before. No fun at all. - The option to highlight enemies and level elements to interacted with also highlights elements that are not currently visible to the player. The whole map is then lit like a Christmas tree which can be very distracting. Buy this!

This is Commandos. In Feudal Japan. Not a Commandos-inspired game, it is almost a direct copy in terms of mechanics, down to even a sniper; there are a two unique skills or so, and that's almost it. Almost: one new feature is the 'Shadow Time' in which one can assign a single action to all or some characters and execute them all with a single key press, which is a real boon for those who aren't lightning fast. For being derivative, I should deduct at least one star, but I won't, because this game is just perfect. It's a bit easier than Commandos (although certainly not easy by today's standards), which is good, because it's not nearly as much save-scummy, which for me personally deducted much from the experience in other games of the genre. The story is simple and somewhat predictable, but it serves the purpose of giving some personality to the characters, together with voice acting with different speech patterns. There is very good variety between the levels, both in terms of visuals and how they play; most offer different ways of completing the objective, not to mention different executions, there is even some limited interaction with the environment. The graphics won't wow anyone in terms of effects and specs, but the game is beautiful by the virtue of graphic design. It's the only modern game I actually bothered to replay for achievements. I didn't even encounter a single crash or bug, how often can you say that about a new game?

Shadow Tactics is fantastic: - Beautiful level design and artwork depicting Japan during the Edo period - Great tactical combat - Huge variety of ways that the levels can be completed. - Badge system for making the game more challenging (like speeding running levels, no killing). - Slow during the critical thinking phase, but then the moves have to be executed pretty flawlessly - Storyline is great - Graphics and audio is great. I recommend you play with Japanese character voices supported with your native language subtitles. There are 13 levels in the game, and on my first run through I was averaging 1.5 hours per level. So you are getting a fantastic 30 hour experience. I hope you also will enjoy Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun!

The Back button on an Xbox controller is set to quick save. The pause menu lets you load from the last few quicksaves. You will fail frequently, but it is satisfying to kill enemies. The varied playable characters in each mission keeps things interesting. I like that there aren't any time limits. Many levels took 2-3 hours, taking things slow, being careful, and often killing more people than necessary. I didn't finish the game, but I got pretty close. Toward the end, it was slower and slower progress, as there was an increasing amount of enemies to evade. I also finally bought RimWorld and got obsessed with that. The sound is pretty good, although there were a few levels where a character kept repeating the same phrase, so I turned the volume way down. The game could be played easily without sound as well. There are visual cues for everything. I like that I could control the character movement with the Xbox controller stick. It adds some tension to have to actively control running and ducking vs click to move.

Loved the Tenchu series because of it's very rewarding stealth killing. This game brings in back for me in a totally new way while awaiting a new addition to Tenchu. Which I don't think will ever happen. I'm playing this in 2022 and it's totally worth it. The satisfaction you get from figuring out various different ways to tear apart the enemies fortifications is amazing. Great graphics. Though they can look a bit cartoon like at times. The vivid themes of each map more than make up for it. Each having their own style and look, it's never dull. The music is great, really sets the mood for Edo period. The keyboard controls where a bit strange at first. But I got used to them after a while without having to switch the key bindings. It can make for some tricky moments and awkward camera moments when you are not familiar with the surroundings. But this can be changed if someone chooses to do so. The game seems to progressively get harder level by level so you have to definitely get used to saving frequently. It's very punishing game but in a good way. Overall I'm very happy I purchased this game. It's the first game in a while that I have been binge playing to no end. I really hope Mimimi keeps up the good work and considers more additions or possibly games like this.