90% off on Steam: Just $4 for “old-school stealth tactics in a modern look”
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is a real-time tactics game with a stealth twist, set in Japan during the Edo period (1603–1868), when samurai stood at the top of the social hierarchy. As a newly established Shōgun brings peace to the land, a shadowy warlord known as Kage-sama emerges to disrupt the fragile order. To stop this growing threat, the samurai Mugen takes on the mission to track down and eliminate Kage-sama. As a formidable warrior, Mugen can cut down multiple enemies with his katana, but he doesn’t go alone. He assembles a team of four skilled specialists to aid him on his dangerous quest:
- Hayato: A ninja who excels at silent takedowns and diversions. Armed with shuriken, he can eliminate enemies from a distance and uses stones to draw attention away from key areas.
- Yuki: A young thief with a knack for traps and stealth, sets deadly snares and lures guards with her flute – perfect for setting up clever ambushes.
- Aiko: A kunoichi (female ninja) who can disguise herself and distract opponents. She blends in among enemy ranks and uses smoke bombs to sow confusion and open up opportunities.
- Takuma: A sharpshooter who picks off targets from afar with his sniper rifle. He’s accompanied by his loyal tanuki, Kuma, who silently distracts enemies while Takuma lines up his shots.
Players guide this unique team of five through intricately crafted missions – ranging from snow-covered mountain fortresses to heavily guarded towns and secluded temples. Each mission presents a new objective: silently eliminating enemies, gathering intelligence, sabotaging key targets or taking down high-ranking figures. Success relies on precise teamwork. As Yuki lures a guard into a trap, Hayato takes out another with a shuriken and Takuma provides overwatch from afar, Mugen can step in to strike multiple foes at once. Trial and error is part of the experience – frequent saving and reloading are encouraged to pull off the perfect strategy.
Reviews: Challenging and atmospheric tactical gameplay
In its review, the German magazin GameStar praised Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun for its rich atmosphere and tactically demanding gameplay. The detailed, stylishly crafted levels set in Edo-period Japan, paired with fitting background music, left a strong impression. GameStar described it as an "old-school stealth tactics game with a modern twist." The game stands out with its smart level design and a high degree of strategic freedom. Across 13 missions, players can expect around 25 hours of gameplay, with additional replay value thanks to optional challenges and multiple difficulty settings.
Despite the game's strengths, the review also pointed out a few minor drawbacks. The cutscenes feel a bit stiff and the gameplay leaves little room for customization – each mission has a set roster of characters and there are no unlockable abilities. Still, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun earned a strong 86/100 from GameStar. Its reception elsewhere has been equally positive. On Metacritic, it has a User Score of 8.4, while critics awarded it a Metascore of 85. Steam users were even more enthusiastic, with 96% of roughly 30,000 reviews being positive.
90% discount on Steam
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun was developed by Mimimi Games and released by Daedalic Entertainment in December 2016. Normally priced at around $40, the real-time tactics game is currently on sale for just $4 thanks to a 90% discount, available until April 28. According to SteamDB, discounts like this are fairly common – the game was last offered at the same price during the Spring Sale in early March. So even if you miss this deal, chances are it won’t be long before the next one comes around.
Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.
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