Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Reviews

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is ranked in the 91st percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Dec 16, 2016

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun provides a satisfying challenge, making gamers feel like a badass for even the smallest of victories.

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86 / 100
Jul 26, 2017

Old school stealth tactics game in modern garb, motivated by great level design and strategic finesse.

Review in German | Read full review

4 / 5.0
Dec 11, 2016

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun will have you plotting the art of war like a master tactician. You will forge elaborate plans and test them in the fires of a a beautifully realised Edo-period Japan.

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8 / 10.0
Dec 3, 2016

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is a brilliant revival of the "hardcore stealth tactical games" formula. The german developer Mimimi Productions overcome the tradition by offering some new features that surely modernizes the original gameplay. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is fun and challenging, with some technical issues.

Review in Italian | Read full review

ACG
Top Critic
Buy
Dec 8, 2016
Shadow Tactics Blades of The Shogun Review "Buy, Wait for Sale, Rent, Never Touch?" video thumbnail
9 / 10.0
Mar 16, 2026

The Switch 2 port of Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is nearly perfect. It looks beautiful, plays wonderfully, and will keep tactical stealth gamers engaged for playthrough after playthrough. We need more games like this.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 17, 2016

An excellent stealth game with beautiful visuals and incredibly deep, complex and varied gameplay.

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90 / 100
Aug 15, 2017

An excellent and challenging update to a familiar formula, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is one of those games that makes you cheer at your well-planned success when everything goes off without a hitch, and groan at your own poor planning when it doesn't. It gets so much right, that the relentless difficulty, and slightly less gorgeous console port can't mar its beauty. This one snuck up on me, and I couldn't be more glad that it did.

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9.5 / 10.0
Aug 2, 2017

Shadow Tactics is yet another game that proves the past is a good place to look for ideas. Even if they were not successful then, it can make pretty fresh experience now.

Review in Polish |

7.5 / 10.0
Nov 25, 2016

Shadow Tactics brings back the atmosphere of some classics, like Commandos and Desperados, with a hard and fun tactical gameplay.

Review in Italian | Read full review

9 / 10.0
Sep 11, 2017

A remarkably strong challenge of your tactical skills hides some wonderful world-building and character-driven storytelling that helps this game really stand out.

9.5 / 10.0
Aug 28, 2017

While I still believe the game would be best controlled with a keyboard and mouse, I still wholeheartedly recommend this for anyone who appreciates smart, stealth gameplay. It's one of the best examples of the stealth genre with a ton of replayability.

8 / 10.0
Aug 11, 2017

Shadow Tactics is a gorgeous, isometric stealth game with a fun and varied cast of characters

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8 / 10.0
Aug 4, 2017

Shadow Tactics is as good as it was some months ago on PC, with the added benefit that on both PS4 and Xbox One there are fewer worthy real time strategy games. We sincerely hope to see more of these games in the near future on consoles.

Review in Italian | Read full review

NZGamer
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
Nov 29, 2016

A glorious return for the hardcore tactical stealth genre.

80%
Aug 10, 2017

Despite its minor camera and screen tearing issues though, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is great for those looking for a challenge. Its mix of stealth, strategy and action is a highly enjoyable one, and with its wealth of missions and bonus objectives there's plenty to go at.

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Nov 25, 2016

What happens when you mix stealth action, tactical decisions, and beautiful art? You get Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun.

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Game Debate
Joffy S
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Mar 11, 2017

For fans of real-time tactics and stealth games, Shadow Tactics is very nearly without compare. It's that same classic Commandos gameplay wrapped up in an exquisite new shell; still punishing yet not cruel.

Aug 20, 2017

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun brings a particularly brutal challenge, but at no point does it ever feel unfair. With some of the best stealth gameplay I have seen in a game for some time, and unusually large maps to utilise as a playground, there are many hours of fun to be had with this refreshing tactical showing.

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7 / 10
Mar 16, 2026

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun and Aiko's Choice are exceptional strategy games held back by some unusual design choices. They're both still solid without any RPG mechanics, but being able to exploit the quick-save in a way that trivialises the experience was a mistake. It would have been nice to have bespoke checkpoints, though that might have impacted the large-scale, open-ended maps. The foundation for engrossing tactical planning and execution is top-notch, yet the story and character motivations end up being the most gripping aspect of the entire package between Blades of the Shogun and Aiko's Choice.

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