Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun developed by Mimimi Productions and Published by Daedalic Entertainment, released on 6 December 2016. You can pick it up on PlayStation 4, Xbox one or PC The story is set in Japan during the early Edo period and follows a group of five specialists who serve to achieve peace under Tokugawa Ieyasu as he tries his best to suppress rebellion against himself.

Gameplay and Mechanics

Featuring that old-school stealth and strategy gameplay in the vein of classics such as "Commandos" or "Desperados," Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun was never going to be an easy game, but this is one title youearn your stripes. Players play as a team of five characters, with different abilities comprised of:

Hayato - A ninja specializing in stealth attacks and decoys.

Mugen, a sake bottling samurai who uses close quarters combat

Aiko (Geisha Style): A geisha who appears as a civilian and can engage enemies in conversation.

Yuki: A trap hero who makes use of traps and plays a flute to bring enemies.

Takuma: Long range sniper with tanuki familiars to distract enemy units.

Gameplay in the title consists of stealth-oriented missions,which can be completed by infiltrating hostile territories,besides eliminating specified enemies and collecting information along with saving friendly spies. Every mission has incredible replay value, too: there are multiple alternate ways to complete objectives that reward strategic thinking and out-of-the-box creativity. The game interface has a visually represented vision cone system that shows where enemies are looking, encouraging players to carefully plan out their movements in order to avoid detection.

Visual and Audio Design

Here the game's attention to detail shines with lush expansive backgrounds, characters loaded with intricate design that greats an aesthetically pleasing representation of Japan during Edo-Period. This isometric view lets players see birds eye level of the battle field so their characters can move and think with clarity. The presentation is rounded off with some atmospheric music, again in line with the rest of Limbo and serving to enhance that overall 'on-edge' immersion this all seems built for.

Story and Characters

Shadow Tactics follows the five protagonists as they attempt to establish peace under a new Shogun. Every character has their own background and brevity both during the dialogue or games cutscenes. The storyline is good, including political battle and personal drama, makes the gameplay feels different.

Reception and Criticisms

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun has been well-received for both its challenging gameplay and strategic depth, in addition to a beautiful story. On average, the game scores 85 out of a possible 100 on Metacritic for PS4. Still, some players seem a bit turned off by the challenge level and point out that an absence of co-op is somewhat disappointing.

Conclusion

One of the tactical strategy genre's standout releases, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun blends stealth and strategic gameplay while telling an engaging yarn. But it's Assassin in its most interesting form and, barring a few exceptions due to complexity of gameplay (which is nothing new for anyone familiar with such tactical stealth experiences), one that fans need to play.