Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

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Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Shadow Tactics Blades of the Shogun title splash.jpg
Developer(s) Mimimi Productions
Publisher(s) Daedalic Entertainment
Kalypso Media (console) [1]
Director(s) Dominik Abé
Designer(s) Martin Hamberger
Moritz Wagner
Felix Friedlein
Programmer(s) Dominik Abé
Artist(s) Bianca Dörr
Writer(s) Martin Hamberger
Dennis Huszak
Composer(s) Filippo Beck Peccoz
Engine Unity
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows, macOS, Linux
  • WW: December 6, 2016
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
  • EU: July 28, 2017
  • NA: August 1, 2017
Amazon Luna
  • US: October 20, 2020
Genre(s) Real-time tactics, Stealth
Mode(s) Single-player

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, [2] [3] in July 2017 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, [4] and for Amazon Luna on October 20, 2020. [5]

Contents

A standalone expansion for the game titled Aiko's Choice was released in December 2021. [6] It has five missions on new maps but adds no new gameplay features.

Plot

The game is set in feudal Japan. The shogun has unified Japan after years of war. However, a mysterious warlord known only as "Kage-sama" has emerged, jeopardizing the country's stability. The Shogun turns to Oshiro Mugen, a samurai in his service, and assigns him to uncover Kage-sama's true identity and bring him to justice. Mugen subsequently recruits four other allies to assist him: Hayato, a cynical ninja; Yuki, a clever, inquisitive young outcast and thief; Aiko, a female ninja and Mugen's paramour; and Takuma, a veteran sharpshooter and alchemist.

The group investigates the corrupt daimyo Lord Yabu, suspecting him of being Kage-sama due to his involvement in the production and smuggling of illegal weapons, but when Mugen decides to have him assassinated without the Shogun's permission, it triggers a rebellion of soldiers loyal to the Shogun's former ally, General Okkoto. The Shogun reprimands Mugen for acting rashly, but allows him nonetheless to deal with Okkoto. Defeated, the general commits seppuku with Mugen's help after providing the group with a map that leads to a secret encampment in the marshlands where Kage-sama is hiding.

The group goes to apprehend Kage-sama, but quickly learn that their target is a decoy and the "encampment" is a trap: the true Kage-sama is none other than Lord Noboru, the Shogun's younger brother and right-hand man. Noboru reveals that he opposes his brother's peaceful rule, fearing that it will make warriors like him obsolete. He intends to seize power and plunge Japan back into endless war. Holding Mugen's companions hostage, Noboru forces the samurai to lead him to the secret refuge of Ryunosuke, the Shogun's heir, and Noboru's son Masaru stabs Ryunosuke dead. Mugen's companions escape captivity, but a guilt-ridden and dishonored Mugen commits suicide, though not before Aiko tells him that she is bearing his child.

After learning that Mugen's companions have survived, Noboru convinces the Shogun that they killed his son; to clear their names, the group abducts Masaru from a bathhouse in Kyoto and sneak their way past the Shogun's men to deliver him personally to their superior. Masaru tries to lie, but the Shogun, noting that only he and Mugen knew about his son's hiding place, forces him to tell the truth. Leaving Masaru to be put to death for his crimes, the group infiltrates Noboru's castle. When they corner Noboru, he attempts suicide. The player can choose to let him do it, or execute him themselves.

Having avenged Mugen, the four comrades are released from their service to the Shogun and go their separate ways. Aiko later gives birth to Mugen's son, whom the Shogun adopts as his heir, allowing his legacy to endure.

Aiko's Choice

The events in the standalone expansion Aiko's Choice take place shortly after Okkoto's death and before the group leaves to confront Kage-sama in the marshlands.

While the shogun's agents are in their hideout at Nagoya planning their next move, they are ambushed by armed men, led by the kunoichi Lady Chiyo. Lady Chiyo is Aiko's old mentor, now employed by Kage-sama, and has been ordered to deal with Aiko and her allies. Chiyo has Takuma and Yuki taken away while leaving Aiko, Hayato, and Mugen to be killed. The three manage to escape and rescue Yuki from Chiyo's men, but learn that Takuma has already been taken to a nearby archipelago on a Portuguese ship. During the voyage, Takuma escapes from his cell and discovers crates of foreign gunpowder and arms intended for Kage-sama's troops. He marks the crates before finding a place to hide for the night.

Aiko and the others reach the archipelago; through signals sent between Takuma and Yuki, they learn about the marked crates. The group rescues Takuma while destroying the smuggled cargo before it leaves the island. He informs them that while listening to the conversations of his guards, he uncovered Lady Chiyo's location: the city of Matsuyama. Mugen and Aiko go on a private mission and steal documents from a samurai revealing his orders to recruit young women for Lady Chiyo. Aiko uses this information to determine that her old mentor's plan is to reopen the Hana Gakuen, a school for kunoichi formerly controlled by the fallen Sakura clan, and where Aiko herself was trained.

The group infiltrates the Hana Gakuen, where Aiko personally assassinates Lady Chiyo. The evening, while the others are preparing to enjoy dinner, Aiko secretly meets with Lady Chiyo, who explains that Kage-sama had come to her hoping to exploit the Sakura clan's former allegiance to him; angered by his deceit and wanting to be left alone, Lady Chiyo had arranged for Aiko and her allies to sabotage Kage-sama's smuggling operation before using her kunoichi training to fake her own death. Aiko acknowledges her gratitude for Lady Chiyo's help, but cannot forgive her entirely for endangering the lives of her friends. Lady Chiyo then gives her the chance to either kill her or let her go free. Afterwards, the group finishes their dinner and goes to sleep, while Mugen and Aiko discuss their future together.

Gameplay

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is a stealth-oriented real-time tactics game inspired by the Commandos and Desperados game series. The player commands a small team and performs various acts of espionage, sabotage and assassination, such as infiltrating heavily guarded fortresses and eliminating enemies from within, killing/capturing special targets, stealing important documents, overhearing conversations to collect information, or rescuing other characters. Enemy guards have a visible cone of vision which the player must evade to remain undetected. Missions generally require the player to methodically eliminate enemies between them and the objective without raising the alarm; players can lure guards into ambushes, kill them with traps or staged accidents, or simply knock them out for a small amount of time. The player can move the bodies of slain or unconscious guards to hide them in bushes, empty rooms, barrels and wells so that they would not be found. If a player character is spotted or a dead body is discovered by the enemy, the alarm will be raised and additional patrols will be deployed to secure the area. In addition to guards, the player must also watch out for hostile civilians, who cannot attack but will alert any nearby guards of their presence, as well as birds and standing water, which make noise that guards can hear. Some missions incorporate environmental elements such as snow and darkness, which alter normal enemy behavior.

Each mission also includes a set of "badges" for the player to earn. Two are for finishing the mission under a set period of time and for completing it on "Hardcore", the most difficult mode. Other badges are awarded for feats such as performing unique kills, not harming enemies, or not using certain skills.

Character abilities

All the team members have a "healing" skill that restores health but can only be used once, and a matchlock pistol with limited ammunition (Mugen has a more powerful "hand cannon" that can kill enemy samurai). In addition, with the exception of Takuma, each character possesses a close-range attack skill that can either kill or knock out enemies. Beyond that, each hero has unique abilities:

Reception

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator website Metacritic. [7] Rock, Paper, Shotgun found the game better than Commandos 2 and Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive . [15] The game received three Deutscher Entwicklerpreis awards (best German game, best PC/console game, best game design).[ citation needed ]

The expansion Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - Aiko's Choice received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator website Metacritic. [16]

Board game

A board game version of the PC game was published by Antler Games after being crowdfunded on Kickstarter in 2019. [19] [20]

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References

  1. ↑ Fischer, Tyler (February 14, 2017). "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Getting PS4 and Xbox One Physical Release via Kalypso Media". DualShockers. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  2. ↑ "official website" . Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun demo now available on Steam and GOG". PC Gamer. November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ Romano, Sal (May 24, 2017). "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun for PS4, Xbox One launches August 1 in North America, July 28 in Europe". Gematsu. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  5. ↑ Gartenberg, Chaim (October 20, 2020). "Hands-on with Amazon's Luna game streaming service". The Verge. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  6. ↑ Hafer, Leana (December 6, 2021). "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun – Aiko's Choice Review – IGN". IGN . Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun for PC Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  10. ↑ Nakamura, Darren (December 20, 2016). "Review: Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun". Destructoid . Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  11. ↑ Starkey, Daniel (December 18, 2016). "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Review". GameSpot . Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  12. ↑ Hafer, TJ (December 15, 2016). "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Review". IGN . Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  13. ↑ Velocci, Carli (December 16, 2016). "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun review". Polygon . Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  14. ↑ Wray, Chris (December 24, 2016). "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Review". Wccftech. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Wot I Think – Shadow Tactics: Blades Of The Shogun". Rock Paper Shotgun . December 2, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016. Atmospheric and impossible to rush, Shadow Tactics is a fabulous game – a game I think I prefer to both Commandos 2 and Desperados
  16. 1 2 "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - Aiko's Choice for PC Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  17. ↑ Hafer, Leana (December 6, 2021). "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - Aiko's Choice Review". IGN . Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  18. ↑ Schütz, Felix (December 9, 2021). "Shadow Tactics: Aiko's Choice im Test: Wenn's vom Guten mehr sein darf". PCgames.de. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun(2019)". Kickstarter and Antler Games. January 15, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Shadow Tactics – The Board Game". BoardGameGeek. 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
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