Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew

Last updated
Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew
Shadow Gambit The Cursed Crew cover art.jpg
Developer(s) Mimimi Games
Publisher(s) Mimimi Games
Director(s) Dominik Abè
Designer(s) Moritz Wagner
Composer(s) Filippo Beck Peccoz
Engine Unity [1]
Platform(s)
ReleaseAugust 17, 2023
Genre(s) Real-time tactics
Mode(s) Single-player

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is a real-time tactics video game, the final one developed and published by Mimimi Games before the studio's closure. The game was released for the PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X and Series S in August 2023.

Contents

Story

The game is set in an alternate version of the Golden Age of Piracy, in which a mysterious curse has revived the dead and granted them with supernatural abilities. The player must assemble a cursed pirate crew to explore an island chain named the Lost Caribbean and steal magical artifacts from the Inquisition, which seeks to hunt down all the Cursed individuals. [2] [3]

Gameplay

Playable characters in the game must evade enemy's cone of vision to stay undetected. Shadow Gambit gameplay screenshot.jpg
Playable characters in the game must evade enemy's cone of vision to stay undetected.

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is a real-time tactics video game played from an isometric perspective. The game features eight characters at launch. Each character in the game has their own unique abilities. For instance, Pinkus can briefly possess enemies and enter restricted areas, while Suleidy can distract enemies with plant spores, and spawn a bush anywhere in the game as a hiding spot for other players. [2] Their magical abilities can also be further upgraded by collecting a resource named "vigour". [4] Players will visit the game's various islands multiple times in order to collect Black Pearls, which can be used to resurrect other characters in the game. Characters, once resurrected, will join the player's crew. [3]

Each map in the game is an open region, and players can use a multitude of ways to approach their objectives. While there are multiple ways for players to enter an island, they must escape through "Tear Into The Below", a portal that magically transports the crew back to their ship, the Red Marley, which also serves as the game's hub area. [3] Enemies are alerted to loud noises and footprint, and players need to avoid enemies' sight, which is displayed as green cones of vision. Players can activate Shadow Mode, which briefly pauses the game, allowing players to issue commands to several characters and execute them at once. They can also use the environments to their advantage. For instance, a large boulder can be dropped onto an enemy, killing them without alerting nearby hostile units. [5] The game also features a quick-save system, allowing players to quickly rewind time after making an undesired tactical error. [6]

Development

Shadow Gambit features a fantasy backdrop, allowing the team to significantly expand character skills. The game also features a more open-ended structure, as the player can recruit characters and complete missions in any order they want. [7]

The game was developed by Mimimi Games. Internally codenamed "Project Süßkartoffel", it was developed with funds from both the German government and Kowloon Nights. It is the studio's first self-published game, [8] as well as its last game. [9] Sweet Baby Inc. consulted on the game's script. [10] The game was officially announced by Mimimi in January 2023. [11] It was released for Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and Series S, on August 17, 2023. [12]

Soon after the game's release, on 29 August 2023, it was announced that Mimimi Games would be closing down due to the rising costs of development and not enough revenue being generated. [13]

Reception

The game received generally favourable reviews according to Metacritic. [14]

Related Research Articles

A stealth game is a type of video game in which the player primarily uses stealth to avoid or overcome opponents. Games in the genre typically allow the player to remain undetected by hiding, sneaking, or using disguises. Some games allow the player to choose between a stealthy approach or directly attacking antagonists, but rewarding the player for greater use of stealth. The genre has employed espionage, counter-terrorism, and rogue themes, with protagonists that are special forces operatives, special agents, secret agents, thieves, ninjas, or assassins. Some games have also combined stealth elements with other genres, such as first-person shooters and also platformers.

In tabletop games and video games, a character class is an occupation, profession, or role assigned to a game character to highlight and differentiate their capabilities and specializations.

<i>Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive</i> 2001 video game

Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive is a real-time tactics video game developed by Spellbound Entertainment and published by Infogrames for Microsoft Windows.

<i>Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy</i> 2003 video game

Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is a 2003 action-adventure video game developed by Eurocom and published by THQ for GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. A version for mobile phones was released in 2004. THQ Nordic published a high-definition remaster for personal computer systems in 2017, and Nintendo Switch in 2019.

<i>Sid Meiers Pirates!</i> (2004 video game) 2004 adventure video game

Sid Meier's Pirates! is a 2004 strategy, action and adventure video game developed by Firaxis Games. A remake of Sid Meier's earlier 1987 game of the same name, it was originally published by Atari Interactive, but in May 2005 2K acquired the rights to the title from Atari's parent company Infogrames and later went on to publish console and handheld ports of the game.

<i>Velvet Assassin</i> 2009 video game

Velvet Assassin is a stealth video game developed by Replay Studios and published by SouthPeak Games. Prior to release, the name was known by the tentative title Sabotage 1943. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in 2009 and on the Mac App Store in 2013. Velvet Assassin's working title was Sabotage. Players take control of Violette Summer, a World War II-era British Secret Intelligence Service spy operating deep behind enemy lines, attempting to help thwart the Nazi war effort. The game's story was inspired by a real-life secret agent/saboteur Violette Szabo.

<i>Jagged Alliance 3</i> 2023 video game

Jagged Alliance 3 is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Haemimont Games and published by THQ Nordic. The game was released for Windows on July 14, 2023. The game was also released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on November 16, 2023. It is the first mainline entry in the Jagged Alliance series since Jagged Alliance 2 (1999).

<i>Pixel Piracy</i> 2014 video game

Pixel Piracy is a 2014 side-scrolling action-adventure game with roguelike elements, developed by Quadro Delta and published by Re-Logic. In the indie game, players construct a pirate ship, hire and train a crew, and guide their crew toward notoriety by defeating the four pirate captains in a procedurally-generated world full of islands. The game features several difficulty modes.

<i>Aragami</i> (video game) 2016 video game

Aragami (荒神) is an action-adventure stealth video game developed and published by Lince Works for Linux, macOS, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The game was originally titled Twin Souls: The Path of Shadows. The players take the role of Aragami, an assassin with supernatural abilities. The player can teleport between shadows and faces an enemy army that goes by the name of 'Kaiho'. This opposing army is formed by mystical warriors with the power to control the light.

<i>State of Decay 2</i> 2018 video game

State of Decay 2 is a 2018 action-adventure survival video game developed by Undead Labs and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game is a followup to State of Decay and was released for Windows and Xbox One on May 22, 2018. Like its predecessor, players are tasked with building a community, managing resources and surviving against the horde of zombies.

<i>Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun</i> 2016 video game

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is a stealth-oriented real-time tactics video game developed by Mimimi Productions and published by Daedalic Entertainment. The gameplay is similar to that of the Commandos and Desperados series. It was released on December 6, 2016, for Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux, in July 2017 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and for Amazon Luna on October 20, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mimimi Games</span> German video game developer

Mimimi Games GmbH was a German video game developer based in Munich that specialised in creating strategy and tactical games. It was founded in January 2011 by Dominik Abé and Johannes Roth, who had previously developed Grounded (2009) while studying video game design. Notable games developed by the studio include The Last Tinker: City of Colors (2014), Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (2016), Desperados III (2020), and Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew (2023). By November 2021, Mimimi Games employed 38 people. On 29 August 2023, the studio announced that it would be closing down.

<i>Middle-earth: Shadow of War</i> 2017 action-adventure video game

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a 2017 action-adventure video game developed by Monolith Productions and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Shadow of War is the sequel to 2014's Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, both of which are based on J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. The game is set in between the events of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings film trilogies, from which the game also takes inspiration. The player continues the story of Talion, the Gondorian Ranger who bonded with the wraith of the Elf Lord Celebrimbor, as they forge a new Ring of Power to amass an army to fight against Sauron. The game builds upon the "nemesis system" introduced in Shadow of Mordor, allowing Talion to gain followers from several races of Middle-earth and command them in warfare.

<i>XCOM 2: War of the Chosen</i> 2017 video game

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen is an expansion pack for the 2016 turn-based tactics video game XCOM 2, released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on August 29, 2017. Versions for Linux and macOS were released on August 31, 2017, and a Nintendo Switch port was released on May 29, 2020.

<i>Dungeons 3</i> 2017 Construction and management simulation video game

Dungeons 3 is a video game developed by Realmforge Studios and published by Kalypso Media. It was released on October 13, 2017, for Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and for Nintendo Switch on September 15, 2022. It is the sequel to the 2015 video game Dungeons 2 and the third installment of the Dungeons series.

Desperados is a real-time tactics video game series originally developed by Spellbound Entertainment, the series was then acquired by THQ Nordic on 24 June 2013. The series is set in the 1880s Midwest, its main protagonist John Cooper deals with living the life of a cowboy, often coming to blows with other criminals and bandits as he struggles to make a living as an outlaw. The series gameplay revolves around stealth with players having the option to take out enemies one by one or going in guns blazing, either by controlling John or numerous other player characters that help John along the way.

<i>Desperados III</i> 2020 video game

Desperados III is a 2020 real-time tactics video game developed by Mimimi Games and published by THQ Nordic. It is the newest installment in the Desperados series since the 2007 spin-off title Helldorado, and it was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, and macOS.

<i>Ruined King</i> 2021 video game

Ruined King: A League of Legends Story is a 2021 turn-based role-playing video game developed by Airship Syndicate and published by Riot Forge. A spin-off to Riot Games' League of Legends, Ruined King uses characters and a setting originating in its parent title.

<i>Roguebook</i> 2021 video game

Roguebook is a roguelike deck-building game developed by Abrakam Entertainment. Nacon published it in 2021 for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Console ports were released in 2022.

<i>Stargate: Timekeepers</i> 2024 video game

Stargate: Timekeepers is a real-time tactics video game developed by Slitherine Poland and published by Slitherine Software. Players attempt to stealthily complete missions with a team of soldiers set in alien worlds from the Stargate franchise.

References

  1. ↑ Saver, Michael; Pung, Julia; Stanton, Devon (2024-01-04). "Made with Unity: 2023 in review". Unity Technologies . Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  2. 1 2 Barnett, Brian (June 12, 2023). "Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew's Unique Stealth-Strategy Is One of 2023's Biggest Surprises". IGN . Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Castle, Katherine (June 12, 2023). "After 7 hours, Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew might be Mimimi's most joyful stealth strategy game yet". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  4. ↑ Denzer, TJ (June 12, 2023). "Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is artfully blending ghost pirates & stealth tactics". Shacknews . Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  5. ↑ Brown, Fraser (June 12, 2023). "Undead magic and tight stealth tactics make Shadow Gambit a joy to play". PC Gamer . Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  6. ↑ Smith, Ed (January 23, 2023). "New Steam strategy game is like Sea of Thieves meets XCOM and Hitman". PCGamesN . Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  7. ↑ Brown, Fraser (January 24, 2023). "The team behind Desperados 3 and Shadow Tactics wants you to lead an undead pirate crew to riches and glory". PC Gamer . Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  8. ↑ Handrahan, Matthew (February 5, 2021). "Mimimi Games: "Self-publishing was a dream -- we never expected it to happen this quickly"". Gameindustry.biz . Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  9. ↑ Square, Push (2023-08-29). "Shadow Gambit Team Mimimi Forced to Close Over Rising Genre Costs". Push Square. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  10. ↑ Randall, Harvey (7 March 2024). "A company called Sweet Baby Inc. Has become the target of 'anti-woke' gamers because it offers consultancy work, an industry-standard service that's been normal for years". PC Gamer.
  11. ↑ Wales, Matt (January 24, 2023). "Desperados 3, Shadow Tactics dev unveils pirate fantasy stealth-strategy Shadow Gambit". Eurogamer . Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  12. ↑ Romano, Sal (June 11, 2023). "Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew launches August 17". Gematsu. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  13. ↑ Bonthuys, Darryn (August 29, 2023). "Weeks After Releasing An Acclaimed Game, A 15-Year-Old Studio Is Shutting Down". GameSpot . Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.