14 DAY TRIAL // 
Penance Island seems like a bad place to visit, yet here we are, three undead pirates exploring a big fortress and trying to release someone named Bonefinger Barb. We landed without being spotted and it was easy to eliminate the beach patrols and make some progress toward the energy source that sits at the center of the island, guarded by tons of Inquisition goons.
Now, Toya is preparing to use his Bird’s Song ability to draw in at least one guard and then eliminate it, while Captain Afia will use her own Blink to eliminate another, which will also open up one of the portals that leads back to our sentient ship. Gaëlle, the woman carrying a cannon on her back, isn’t needed. The game makes it easy to coordinate their moves and it all goes off without a hitch.
It takes a few minutes to get all the bodies to hiding places as a precaution (one gets loaded into the cannon for future use). Then we split up for a while. Toya will eliminate someone who’s getting a boat ready to sail, while the other two are pushing deeper into the fortress, mostly watching enemy patterns and deciding which are the best hiding places.
Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is both developed and published by Mimimi Games. I played using Steam on the PC. It is also offered on the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X and S, and older consoles from Microsoft and Sony. The title offers a complex stealth-focused action experience in a fantasy world built around pirates.
Afia Manicato is the main character, a cursed pirate captain who grabs control of a ship called the Red Marley, who has consciousness and the power to save and restore memories. They set out to reassemble her pirate crew and then pursue a mysterious treasure. They face opposition from a fire-driven Inquisition that believes all the undead pirates are a threat to be eliminated.
It’s an interesting riff on the real-world Golden Age of Piracy, with the island system based on the Caribbean and character designs that evoke the most flamboyant personalities of the period. The narrative starts off a little slow mainly because it takes time before players get to interact with all the crew members, but all have cool personalities. The Inquisition make for interesting opponents and the game executes a solid twist to add extra stakes.
Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew shines in the gameplay department. It’s the same core concept as with previous Mimimi titles: stealth action with complex setups and a variety of characters and powers to deal with them. Gamers move through islands and missions, first hunting for black pearls to revive every crew member and then on the trail of the mysterious treasure.
Every level features multiple entry points to unlock (multiple missions use the same environments). Only three crew members can tackle each. Once the pirate party is on the ground, they need to use their skills to move and take enemies down undetected. It’s important to track enemy patterns, learn how their view cones swing, determine who is vulnerable to a distraction, and have a clear idea of where it’s best to hide bodies.
Shadow mode allows players to freeze time and then prepare actions for all their characters. As enemy layouts grow in complexity, it becomes more important to use them, mixing and matching character abilities. Only three people go on a mission and, when the entire crew is revived, there are a lot of potential combinations to experiment with.
Red Marley’s bell is an omnipresent feature in the game. It shows up on screen, accompanied by an echoing sound, to remind players that they can quicksave at any time by pressing one button, which is described as forming a memory of a situation. Just as easily players can wipe out mistakes and bring their character to the memorized positions by quick loading. It’s a good way to integrate gameplay and narrative.
The Cursed Crew is designed for gamers who love the Mimimi formula. It’s easy to get detected and end up in a tough situation with no option but to load. Some of the tactical puzzles might seem impossible. Missions can feel too long. The game offers the option to tweak the difficulty for each mission to limit frustration, which is a great idea.
To fully enjoy the tactical puzzles, players need to get a clear understanding of what their crew can do individually and how to best mix their abilities. It’s tempting to focus on a dream team but it’s a good idea to take new people on missions to field test their capabilities. Take time to come up with a decent plan and accept that failure is part of the experience.
Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew creates a beautiful world, seen from the usual top-down perspective of the genre. It’s nice to zoom in and see the exquisite animations (my favorites are those Gaëlle uses when she loads her cannon with a dead enemy and then shoots it) or to pull back and see an entire island, checking enemy presence and how to move past it. There are plenty of nice touches, like Afia’s sword that’s sheathed in her chest or the design of the Inquisition leaders.
Things are also good when it comes to sound design. The voice acting is strong, even when it’s just two soon-dead enemies who are chatting about an element of the level or a narrative detail. Meanwhile, the soundtrack is perfect for jaunty pirate adventures.
The Good
- Great stealth action mechanics
- Character ability variety
- Memory save and load concept
The Bad
- Unlocking all crew happens after several missions
- Time required to complete some set pieces
- Save prompts can become a little annoying
Conclusion
The title tries hard to be accessible to newcomers, offering bespoke introductions for each character and solid tutorial missions. But success and progress require careful thinking, good planning, and cautious executions. It takes time and patience to master Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew and the game offers impressive set-pieces and a great sense of accomplishment in return.
Review key provided by the developer.
