Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun – Aiko’s Choice Review (PC)

Taking down a samurai requires another samurai blade, or a firearm shot and then a stab. But Mugen moves slowly, which means I need to carefully time my attacks on his supporting straw hats to make sure that everyone dies at the same time. Or maybe it’s a better idea to simply temporarily blind one man and distract the other while the samurai killing happens? Or maybe I need to reposition my own people to distract the samurai himself while I make sure that other enemies around are taken care of? These are the kinds of tactical puzzles Shadow Tactics: Aiko’s Choice introduces.

The title is created by Mimimi Games and published by Daedalic Entertainment on the PC. The game is centered on the same characters and mechanics as Blades of the Shogun from 2016, even if it is a standalone release.

The title, as made clear by the name, focuses on one of the five original crew from Blades of the Shogun. Across three big and three small missions, players will find out more about the master of disguise and her past relationships. Lady Chiyo, her former mentor and master, has a small army at her call and is not shy when it comes to hunting her quarry.

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The entire experience is set during the events of the original game in the series. This will disappoint fans who were waiting for the narrative to evolve. The overall quality of the writing is good, but players really need to remember details from Blades of the Shogun to fully understand all that’s happening. Aiko works as the main character better than Mugen but the antagonist feels a little undercooked.

Shadow Tactics: Aiko’s Choice sticks to the tried and true stealth-action formula that Mimimi has long been perfecting. Stick to the shadows, learn enemy patterns, evaluate the best way to use each character’s special abilities, unravel the layers of defenses and reach the objective. The levels are big, with plenty of complexity, giving players a feeling of freedom while asking them to find and implement the best solution for each tactical puzzle.

Because Aiko is the main character, I used her to lead the line, scout out locations, and try to find the best ways to move around spaces. Her geisha disguise, once acquired, gives her a lot of freedom (although not unlimited). Hayato, the ninja, is another good choice for scouting, but also a great fit for quiet kills and plenty of corpse dragging. Mugen, the limited-mobility samurai, is mostly the counter for other samurai and the best at disposing of evidence. Yuki, the thief, is best at distraction and channeling enemies into certain areas. Takuma, the sniper, is the team member I like least but he has his uses in the bigger brawls.

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The one thing that Aiko’s Choice encourages is to avoid dealing with enemies that can be ignored. I tended to kill or incapacitate all opponents in the level. But the levels are so big that it is sometimes easier to move around some groups and work towards the objective rather than the kill.

Working through the carefully designed set-pieces also teaches the value of patience. It’s easy to rely on the quick load too much and spend hours trying out a bad approach when the good solution simply required a little more scouting or planning.

The big issue with the game is that it relies on previous player knowledge for both its story and its gameplay. It feels much more like a big downloadable content pack, with its three massive levels and three interludes, than a new entry in a series.

Shadow Tactics: Aiko’s Choice is a good-looking title for its genre but there’s little in the way of improvement when compared with the 2016 original. The colors are bright, the levels are pretty big, there are some impressive set-pieces. The interface, with its constant reminder that it's time to save again, is also well thought out. I played with the dialogue set for Japanese, which adds to the atmosphere, as does the soundtrack, which could have used a few more tracks.

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The Good

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Conclusion