Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

First mission will get you step by step through the game mechanics. The challenges increases and keep the game interesting. Love it =)

I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed and pleased by this game (I own it through a different platform, but wanted my GOG community to understand it is worth the buy). The game itself offers an incredible level of tactical coordination by which the player is required to navigate many maps and situations with given tools. There is an extreme amount of freedom provided to the player in the majority of the game - it does narrow down a few times for areas driven by plot, but it is a point of appreciation at those times. The flexibility offered ensures that people with different mentalities will enjoy the game in different ways. This is not easy to do, since many tactical games rely on system and mechanics being used in the same way; this game has many combinations so that even when you use similar sequences, you're forced to adapt to the new environment. The average player should not expect to fully master the game within a single play-through. There are 9 achievements that can be acquired in each of the 13 missions. These missions offer a replayable experience and a chance to a different challenge and award different approaches to the same level. The story is immersive and engaging; and at a critical point in the story (no spoilers), the characters even provide different comments following the circumstances. It is NOT an RPG where you develop the characters yourselves, but the characters develop their personality and increase how invested the player becomes with those characters. This probably isn't a graphic novel, but it is still an excellent story that brings the player through the game. TL;DR: This game is worth the full price and it is a steal if it is on sale.

I didn't play this kind of game since Commando 2 when I was very young... I tried this game just because I read some good reviews... AND OH MY GOD THAT IS A VERY, VERY, VERY COOL GAME. Right now, I don't sleep anymore... I am just playing it at night when everything is calm and my inner Ninja can come out. I am really enjoying it very much. Cool.

From the very first mission to the last (13) this game is drop dead gorgeous. It's a true successor of Commandos & Desperados tactical games, as others concluded before me. I really enjoyed it, and in my opinion, after playing this whole game, it's worth every penny. The story is fluent, dialogues are sometimes funny and other times intriguing, while plot twists keeps you connected till the very end. Graphics are modern, and the details and players attention are the ones making the difference in the field of battle. The music could have used some improvements (as in more background music), for people taking their patience and and play much longer, but is good as it is too. I really enjoyed this game, and I hope developers will create tactical and stealth games like this in future.

ST: BotS doesn't just embody the best of a particular genre of stealth tactics: it IS the best. Lifting elements from Desperados (a franchise Mimimi Games would take on in their next project) and Commandos, BotS is trimmed of any superfluous mechanics. Set in a beautiful rendition of Edo Japan, the artstyle resembles a watercolor painting, The five protagonists play well off of one another, dialogue is well-written, cutscenes are short but sweet, and the tone is both playful and becomes more serious as the story progresses. This studio's successive titles, Desperados 3 and Shadow Gambit, were a little overindulgent in motion-captured cutscenes and overlong hub missions, and they lacked the beautiful efficiency of BotS. This, and Aiko's choice, is Mimimi's greatest production. The absolute best of stealth tactics, one of the greatest stealth games of all time.