Shadow tactics review full#

While some hardcores might decry the generous saves, it was absolutely the right call. Because some of the challenges can be quite difficult (especially towards the end of the campaign!) Shadow Tactics becomes infinitely more enjoyable thanks to this ability. Thanks to this, the willingness to experiment comes without any penalty or fear of losing progress.

Getting back to the ifs, the devs avoided a big one by letting the player save at any time with no limits. Something easily solved with one teammate becomes a new challenge with another, and vice versa. Instead of constantly relying on Mugen’s brutal forward assaults or Yuki’s birdcalls to lure guards into quiet corners, the player is asked to make do with who’s around. In addition to the freedom in approaching each scenario, I also loved that the developers had story events affect team composition – some characters aren’t available at certain times, and it keeps things fresh. There’s no one correct answer, which is fantastic. Cautious players can sneak along rooftops and hide in shadows with minimal confrontation, while bold players can kill every soldier in an encampment. Each area is incredibly detailed, offering multiple paths towards victory. The gameplay get as much love and attention as the story and characters. Whether commiserating about the tasks ahead or simply commenting on life, spending time with this team was an absolute treat. From standoffish ninja Hayato, elderly sniper Takuma, thief girl Yuki, fatherly samurai Mugen and sly infiltrator Aiko, I loved their dialogue, and how they breathed life into the adventure. Thanks to the elegant writing, a great deal is conveyed with relatively little, and I had genuine feelings for the whole crew. In my experience, most strategy games don’t do much with plot beyond giving the player a basic premise, but Shadow Tactics goes beyond the typical ‘warring political states’ and tells a tale that’s not only sensible and easy to follow, but creates memorable characters that connect immediately.

For example, the introductory level (doubling as the tutorial) moves at a slow pace while teaching all the necessary elements of the characters, their abilities, appropriate strategies and other basics, but at the same time wastes no opportunity to firmly establish the story and characters. While this description might make Shadow Tactics sound like any of a dozen other titles, there’s so much love and attention poured into every aspect of the experience that it’s impossible not to recognize it as a superior product. It’s up to the player to study their surroundings and figure out a way to accomplish varied objectives based on the current situation and what’s in their skill set. Some hostile troops are stationed at specific places to keep watch, while others have predetermined patrol routes. The player will be ultimately in charge of a team of five warriors, each with a predefined personality and skill set. Each level in the game is a massive, sprawling affair set in feudal Japan and filled with houses, towers, castles, and, of course, plenty of enemies. Shadow Tactics is a real-time strategy seen from an overhead isometric perspective.

Shadow tactics review full#

In a year full of good games, this is a great one. Every problem that might have been an issue has been predicted and prevented (or caught and fixed) by the developers, resulting in a finely-polished, finely-tuned standout experience. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is one of the rare ones.

Games tripped up by ifs are common, but titles that honestly and thoroughly address all their ifs are exceedingly rare. If the difficulty curve had been smoothed out… The list goes on and on. If the story had made a few changes, it would’ve been engaging. If this had a better same system, it would’ve been more playable. WTF YOU GUYS, THERE’S ANOTHER CHOICE HERE!!!Īs someone who spends a lot of time thinking about games in a critical sense, I’ve lost count of how many ‘if’s have held something back from its full potential. LOW Getting hung up on small objects on the ground. HIGH Finally killing that annoying cluster of three patrolling soldiers.