Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun review – Aiko’s choice

If you are a fan of tactical games, you have probably heard of Mimimi Games. This German team is famous for its Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, inspired by games like Commandos and Desperados. It was the start of a dream for Mimimi, as the game became so successful that publisher THQ Nordic, who owns the rights to the aforementioned Desperados brand, approached Mimimi to create the third installment of this somewhat forgotten series, which was released last June. It was also a great success and it was clear that the German developers would want to continue working in this genre.

However, while working on a game codenamed Süßkartoffel, they made a smaller and very unconventional move. In the spring of this year, independent DLCs were announced, but not for Desperados 3, but for the 5-year-old Shadow Tactics. And it is this extension called Aiko’s Choice that we will consider in today’s review.

• Platform: PC
• Publication date: 6. 12. 2021
• Developer: Mimimi games
• Publisher: Daedalus Entertainment
• Genre: Real time tactical game
• Czech location: Not
• Multiplayer: Not
• Data to download: 4GB
• Game time: 6 o’clock
• Sales version: Digital

Good old Shadow Tactics

The creation of DLC 5 years after the release of the game is really very unusual, which is why it is independent. You don’t need to have the base game to play, although the developers highly recommend it and I definitely join them. The story takes place in the middle of the original game, but if you really don’t want to play it, a summary is available at the start of the DLC.

And what is Aiko’s Choice? As the name suggests, everything revolves around Aiko, the master of disguise. This is opposed by her former teacher Lady Chiyo, who works with the main villain of the entire game, Kage-sama. Chiyo kidnaps some members of the group and Aiko’s goal is very simple: free them and kill Lady Chiyo.

There are three big missions waiting for you in the game, the action of which takes place on new, relatively large maps. Each is unique in its own way, one, for example, consists of several islands between which you have to swim (which not all characters can, but on the other hand, you can use traps to your advantage. Level design is something that Mimimi is constantly improving , and Aiko’s Choice expansion just confirms this, it’s a combination of the best their products have to offer.

Another plus, of course, is the plot, which is surprisingly interesting and we will learn new information about the characters of the old well-known group, which includes not only Aiko, but also the ninja Hayat, the samurai Mugen, the shooter Takuma and the clever girl Yuki. Their relationship then deepens into smaller interlude missions that complement the classic missions on the larger maps. These interludes are really focused mostly on the story and I have to say it works great. This is probably a small experiment that the developers would like to implement in their other games, and I’m all for it. In addition, everything is complemented by an excellent sound design and, above all, a successful voice acting, which is still of the same good quality as in the original game. Individual messages are not simply listened to.

Return too late

However, I can’t just praise. The biggest downside is simply the fact that this is an expansion for a 5 year old game, which can be seen in the title in several ways. The game lacks all the improvements from Desperados 3, be it a paused planning mode, time acceleration, more enemy variability (of which there is very little), cleaner graphics and user interface, or better cutscenes and animations in general. Especially those in which the characters are talking look very awkward for 2021. Aiko’s Choice is proof that Desperados 3 isn’t just a cheap Shadow Tactics reskin.

On the other hand, it doesn’t change the fact that Shadow Tactics’ gameplay is still enjoyable. You have to plan in detail every step and every kill of the enemy, in which no one will see you, will be a great success for you. Best of all are those moments when you kill, for example, 5 targets at once and everything goes according to plan. That’s when the real feeling of joy comes out of the fact that you really did something.

Some things have to be invented by trial and error, which is already typical for this genre. However, Aiko’s Choice, like the main game, makes it easy to save and load quickly. Also, I never felt frustrated, the difficulty is well balanced and if you don’t like it, you can tweak it. Thus, the highlight remains various bugs and glitches when the character gets stuck in another object and so on. In short, what was already in the original game.

To sum up, Aiko’s Choice is a fun addition to the base game that will keep you entertained for about 6 hours. If you liked Shadow Tactics, you’ll have fun here too. But if, like me, you’ve been playing Desperados 3 in the meantime, you’ll be missing out on a lot of improvements, and that’s just a negative that can’t be overlooked.