Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

Great tactics and great story too. Challenging but fun!

At first, I thought I made a mistake of buying this game. I didn't even play it for a few days after buying it but then after I played it, I got hooked by how the game forces you to improve your strategy.

I like it very much and I've also purchased Desperados 3. It's a pity that this studio doesn't make games any more. If you like stealth games get it.

This is Desperados in Japan setting. If you like games such as Commandos, Desperados and do not have any issues about Japan setting you should like it. Recommended.

shadow tactics: blades of the shogun is a stealth-focused real-time strategy/tactics game developed by the now-defunct mimimi productions and published by daedalic entertainment. it released in december 2016 for PC and then july 2017 on consoles. players control a group of characters as they perform different kinds of stealth-oriented acts such as assassination, espionage, and even things like stealing important documents and rescuing other ally characters. the game is set in feudal japan and tells an interesting narrative that keeps players intrigued throughout.

i am extremely pleased with this entry in mimimi's catalogue, as it's a giant improvement and complete change of pace from their first game that i played, the last tinker: city of colors. i would say they went from that game being a chikdish 5 or 6 out of 10 kind of game, to developing a superb entry in the tactical-stealth sub-genre that i wouldn't say is anything below a solid 7/10. im excited to potentially get around to playing the expansion, desperados III, & shadow gambit, the other stuff mimimi put out before closing in 2023.

bought this game a while back and my laptop couldn't handle it for more than an hour at a time. I enjoyed it enough that i bought it on console instead and proceeded to have a blast.

updated my laptop and have been eyeing this ever since, thinking about replaying it. it's pretty decent. i'd give it a 7/10 for what it is.

less of a tactics game and more like a stealth puzzler. fun if you like meticulous and challenging gameplay but a real downer of a story.

I felt like the game is fairly well made, and a bit difficult. The graphics are definitely good. But...

It's not fun? Like, I had fun with it for a small while but I didn't find myself engrossed, just bored after a while. But I kept playing for a couple hours to see if it was going anywhere interesting and out of boredom. It's just endless sneaking around. There's not really much variety, overall.

I guess the whole "sneaking around" bit was as advertised but I didn't end up liking it. You can't really get technical or develop your skill because the character moves too clunky and that you can never just fight enemies and win basically. So, it's not like a fighting game where you can execute skill-based moves. If you "know the answer" then there's nearly no challenge to executing it. But if you don't, then nothing you do matters and you just die a ton of times because you can't skill your way out of a tricky spot, so you can sort of soft-lock yourself and then have to reset the level. Particularly annoying on long levels.

Top tier stealth game and a hell of a game to achievement hunt for. Controls are awkward at first particularly the camera movement. Shadow mode to make characters work in unison is fun but not all that necessary to complete a lot of maps so to me it feels more stylistic than a key aspect of the gameplay. I originally had this game on the xbox in the past and revisited on steam some years later and found the same joy I had when I first played. Would highly recommend for anybody interested in stealth games

🏆 Overall rating: 9.5/10
This is one of the games you simply must play.
Having never played Commandos before, this was my first experience with this style of gameplay. With 5 characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, coordinating them, their skills, and interacting with the environment to achieve the best results was truly enjoyable. The feeling of spending hours replaying to achieve all the achievements was incredibly satisfying.
I would rate the game's story as decent, providing a very authentic feeling, making me feel like I was the characters I was controlling (especially when Mugen chose to sacrifice himself).
The music also did its job well. Even if you spent hours replaying a level, you wouldn't feel bored or annoyed.
You really should experience this game. At just 10% of the original price (it's almost always 90% off), the experience it offers exceeds all expectations.

I like the graphics and everything else but the controls are uncomfortable and janky

The best stealth/strategy game I ever played. Brilliant level design with a unique story. Theres also a lot of replayability with different "badges" you can earn by completing different tasks during missions. I will definitely check out the other games by the devs :)

Only downside: It will probably forever ruin other stealth / strategy games for you

The game's strong point is using your squad's unique abilities to get through each map undetected. The different squad combinations and multiple paths to the targets keep it interesting.

Also, pulling off a good shadow mode combo and watching several guards drop at once is very satisfying.

A solid tactical stealth game to expand on the genre created by Commandos. The two games are similar but also very different. Commandos is more of a sandbox where each member shares a lot what they can do, and exploration is a major part of the experience. Shadow Tactics plays more like a puzzle game in the sense that each character is dedicated to their special role and enemy placement is a lot more elaborate so you really have to carefully plan your execution. This means that despite the obvious influence from Commandos, Shadow Tactics has its own character and offers a very unique and unforgettable experience.

Also I would say Shadow Tactics has a better overall story and more enjoyable character development. The entire roster is likable and I cared for the characters. This is something the Commandos games never achieved thus I really recommend that fans of the genre should give Shadow Tactics a try. You won't be disappointed.

Love this game so much, fell in love at the start and it lasted 'til the end lol. I'm sad Mimimi is no more, but still so glad I decided to play this game

Great game.

More like this in the stealth genre would be most welcome

Solid real time strategy game where you carry out varied missions from assassinations to rescue missions.

I found it best to play with keyboard and mouse.

One unique aspect of the game is that each mission will have an assortment of different characters and you'll need to figure out which mechanics for the given characters will work best for the objective. Additionally, you can setup actions for all team members to execute at a single time, allowing you to take out multiple enemies and/or actions at a single time.

I usually took about an evening or so to play through each of the 13 missions. Replayability is there if you really want to execute each mission in a different manner, but a single play through of every mission was enough to scratch the strategy itch for myself.

Story is fairly weak, but didn't detract from the overall game too much. There are some cut scenes between missions that use the in game models but don't expect too much.

Overall, if you are a fan of isometric real time strategy games this one is worth a go when it is on a steep discount. 7.5 / 10

The missions in this game are quite challenging (but fun!), so if you are a slowpoke like me, set aside at least two hours for each gaming session. The developers know this; that's why after you complete a mission, they are caringly taking you back to the menu so you can take a break. The game is pretty much perfect in every way; it has multiple characters who complement each other nicely; there are tons of ways to complete each mission; and, best of all, finishing each little puzzle and mission as a whole feels very rewarding!

Firm suggestion: REMAP YOUR KEYS. The default control scheme is... odd, to say the least. Somebody here on Steam helpfully wrote a guide for a more comfortable control scheme that you can utilize, or at least springboard off of, for your own comfort, so why not use it?

If you're bad at stealth games, like I am, then this is a game you want to play in small doses - maps are large and take time to complete, and even the easier missions can range into an hour or longer depending on how badly you do (in my case, it routinely takes me an hour or longer, because as I said, I'm bad at stealth games). This is also not a game where you can simply charge through and kill everything in sight - your characters are squishy, and even the strongest among you will quickly be torn apart; you will routinely be outnumbered, and if an alarm gets raised, reinforcements get called in to make things even worse; and you have to toggle your combat abilities every single time you want to attack anything, which takes precious seconds that will cost you your life.

However, the game has proven to be very engaging otherwise, and the diversity of each character's moveset strongly urges you to strategize on the fly, aided as well by the Shadow system which allows you to coordinate multiple characters' actions simultaneously. The game urges liberal use of quicksaves, and in fact has a built in function to remind you when you haven't quicksaved in a while. You can load quicksaves at the push of a button, even in the middle of being spotted by patrols, so don't worry about it if you get caught and start dying, just hit your quickload button and it magically never happened!

Mind the voice acting - it's British actors trying to affect Japanese accents. It, uh, it can be a bit touch-and-go in places.

Excellent stealth tactical game.
Shadow Tactics is clearly inspired by the all time classic "Commandos-Behind Enemy Lines", which I played in 1999.

This is a quality game and it's evident in every aspect of it:
- the story is truly captivating, it has interesting, emotional twists,
- the isometric graphics, with a beautiful and detailed art style,
- the addictive gameplay, in which you control 5 assassins, each with his or her unique skills,
- the soundtrack with some very nice tunes,
- the difficulty is challenging, the "normal" difficulty is actually closer to "hard" is most games. all the levels feel like a puzzle, in which you have to study the environments a lot, study the movements of enemies and plan your strike in advance. there will be a lot of saving and loading, trust me. with each new level there will be more guards and they will be more packed together, so the difficulty will go up. but in time your skills will increase. it is very rewarding to complete each level and generally, the entire game after so much effort.
- the voice acting is top notch.

The only downside are the optional in-game "badges" that you can obtain by completing the levels with various very hard and frustrating demands - like not killing anyone, not using certain useful skills, not using disguises, not using certain terrain advantages etc.....Also, you clearly have to finish each map more then once if you want to acquire them all. Those badges weren't needed in my opinion. The developers added them to artificially increase the length of the game, and to force replayability.

It's a great adaptation of the tactical genre, popularized by Commandos.

Pros.:
- Characters.
- Variability.
- Difficulty varies.
- Not demanding.

Cons.:
- Hm... I didn't like the shadow mode controls.

Very fun stealth game. Characters share the same basic stealth mechanic but each have different strengths and weaknesses. There's more than one way to distract an enemy and more than one way to approach each mission. Dialogue is interesting, well done, and well paced.

Desparados 3 which is a game by the same dev is pretty much this game but with mechanics that aren't clunky and levels that aren't horrid. Play that instead. I 100%ed Desperados but this game is like a much worse version of it and I think I am done with it. If you are after RTT games, Sumerian Six is also a much better game than this.

Excellent gameplay. Brings back old memories of playing Commandos and Desperados, only better !!! Outstanding work by Mimimi studios.

I only wish that this game was never ending.

Awesome gameplay
Beautiful soundtrack
Stunningly immersive art style

Great strategy game by the also great former studio Mimimi.
Follows the same formula (actually this one came first) and delivers a touching and interesting story, yet another setting.

Can be a lot of work if you decide to persue all badges - specially time related ones.

Very polished game. Every mission is very unique and there are tons of ways to finish the missions.

10/10

It's more of a puzzle game than a stealth one, with each map being a big puzzle that you have to figure out piece by piece. The game is well made, pleasant to look at and offers a plot that's maybe not groundbreaking, but still fun to follow to the end. A real shame that a quality developer had to close the doors down, because the genre they pretty much perfected was too niche to keep them afloat.

Challenging gameplay that can be solved with careful planning and quick thinking alike! Great sound effects, music,characters and story. Would strongly recommend to anyone interested in a tactical stealth game!

The enjoyable story with a twist.

I wanted to enjoy this game with a gamepad yet it wouldn't work with my Xbox 360 controller, even though it states it supports gamepad. Deal breaker for me.

A very nice stealth game. Hard in places, but not unreasonably so. And it's even more satisfying when you complete those harder missions. The art style and voice acting are first-rate too.

One of the best stealth strategy game

Art style is great, with its own unique flavor, which I really like.

The characters are well-designed, including their appearance, backstory, skills, and voice acting.

Map design is fantastic, featuring doors, secret passages, walls, and vines. There are footprints in the snow, torches at night, just the right amount of bushes, and the placement of vines is very reasonable. There are even built-in traps in the environment (like rocks and levers).

I know this is going against the grain some. A lot of this game is very good. Visually very appealing. Very good controls (I played on the Steam Deck and had zero issues). Really distinct characters with unique mechanisms, nifty new twists in levels (I liked the disappearing snow footprints), and the combinations of the characters really changes how you play. I also liked the Shadow mode that lets you create a simultaneous string of actions to pull off big moves, though I am not sure I truly "got it" and ever truly took advantage of it.

But, the game starts to get really hard. I lost interest after I finished Mission 5 (assassinating Yobu at his castle). The level was so tightly patrolled that it felt like a very tedious, trial and error slog of slowly peeling back and onion to do anything. I spent 30 minutes after I finally assassinated the target just trying to sneak my characters out to the escape point as they added even more guards and patrols. When the game focused on cool powers and figuring out the fun way to do something? I enjoyed it. I liked the experiment. But, by level 5 it just went from "neat puzzle sandbox" to "tedious puzzle" and I put it down after completing the level.

I think the true way they want you to play this is going through the game to learn the levels and the mechanisms. Then, go BACK through to pull off more challenging requirements, or do it without killing or being seen. That all seems fun if you have infinite time and really want to invest. But, I wish the game's approach to difficulty went a different path and not just "infinite guards." It's very cheap, so I definitely got my money's worth the for the 7 hours I played. Still, if asked, I wouldn't recommend it. Not my favorite stealth game.

Still holds up in 2024. Such an amazing game!

a perfect sized, stealth assassin game. quite hard, had me thinking more than id have liked to, but the difficulty was very enjoyable. story was nice, characters were compelling, art style is amazing too. heavily recommend for people invested in the genre

possibly the worst possible combination of Keybinds and Hotkeys you unfortunately cannot change. otherwise great game

Incredible game so far! A true stealth game for stealth game enjoyers

Great Stealth game but really hard.
You have to save every move or you won't progress.
A lot of choices on how to do the missions.

The game is very game-like. With a lot of game-type things to do.

me I will miss you, mimimi games.

love mimimi games, me.

mimimi were masters of manipulation at micro-tactical monsters of memorization and mandatory, metered save moments.

me sing song of mimimi games. let me do some vocal movements to warm up, first.

mi-mi-mi-mi-mi.

give me slow clap medals.

this game grows on you, stick with it. dont often like stealth games but this is one of the best. great art style, music and characters

Great challenge commandos japan pretty much the story is actually very well done and has a hard hitting ending.Really loved this game.

The keybindings are infuriatingly bad. I went to change them and it was just too much hassle due to idiotic dev choices. All I wanted to do was change the camera from the arrow keys to WASD (Like any normal game) But the WASD keys were assigned to skills instead of the skills being on 1234 (like a normal game) I would have switched those but the number keys were set to something else!

Great characters, banter, dialogue, story, missions, gameplay, 10/10 must play for fans of tactical / stealth!

It will 100% be a cult classic people will come back to for decades to come!

Nice game..!
More of make ur own way of completing the quest.
Worthy game to buy on offer..

من المستحيل أن ترتقي لعبة The Elder Scrolls 6 إلى توقعات عشاق السلسلة‼️😮

🔹هكذا قال Bruce Nesmith، المطور البارز (سابقًا) في Bethesda

🔹حيث يعتقد أن Skyrim (الجزء الخامس) وضع معايرًا حدودها السماء للجزء القادم الذي يجب أن يكون "الأفضل" و"الأعظم" في كل شيء وإلا اعتبره البعض "فشلًا"

🔹كما أضاف أن اللاعبين باتوا يتوقعون أن لعبتهم المنتظرة سيئة إذا حصلت على أقل من 95/100 في ميتاكريتك😅

😮وأكد أن هذا الفكر بدأ في الانتقال أيضًا للمطورين😬

📝ما رأيكم فيما قاله؟

This game introduced me to the genre. Absolutely loving it. This genre and game are great for a chilled out experience when you are tired of your typical games that stress your reflexes need you to be focused all the time.

Excellent game with a very well polished gameplay and campaign, and one hell of a devastating button click in a certain moment in a certain mission.

Good Game.
If you play Commandos 2 before, you will definitely love this game.