Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun & Shadow Tactics: Aikos Choice Review (Switch 2)
Summary: Overall Shadow Tactics Blades of the Shogun and Shadow Tactics: Aiko’s Choice are extremely well done ports of the 2016 and 2021 originals with plenty of content and smooth gameplay this is one game that has ported very well to the Nintendo Switch 2. Both games are available together in a bundle or can be bought separately if you want to try one before you jump into both. Do expect a hardcore experience but if you feel up to the challenge then you can not go wrong with either of these two games.
4
Hardcore Strategy
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (Blades of the Shogun from here on out) is a real‑time tactics game, and if you’ve played titles like Hitman or the Commandos series, you will feel right at home here.
Set during the Edo Period of Japanese history, the player controls a group of five characters, each with their own unique abilities, as they accomplish the assassination missions given to them by the Shogun. Each level is heavily designed to allow the player multiple routes of execution, and this is reinforced by the medal system. Medals are awarded at the end of the level for completion, but also for meeting specific conditions — for example, finishing without killing any non‑necessary targets or using bushes for concealment. This gives the game plenty of replayability and adds more challenge to what is already a difficult game.
Players expecting a quick top‑down action‑stealth game will be very disappointed, as Blades of the Shogun is all about precision, tactical positioning, and learning enemy movements and view cones. This is a game where you will probably die a lot as you get to know the levels. Thankfully, a quicksave feature is available, allowing you to replay an area without being sent back to the beginning. Do expect to heavily use this, and keep an eye on when it quicksaves, because you can get stuck with unhelpful load states.
The five characters that you play as each have unique abilities, making them essential for various aspects of a level. Mugen is a samurai and is the tankiest of the characters, and he is also able to hit multiple enemies at the same time. Hayato is the ninja who uses shuriken and knives to dispatch enemies quietly and efficiently, all the while blending into the scenery. Aiko is the geisha who uses her appealing appearance to get in close and, like Hayato, dispatch enemies efficiently. Takuma is the wise head amongst the group, experienced with matchlock firearms and acting as the team’s sniper, picking off enemies from a distance. The final member of the team is Yuki, who is the best at setting traps and luring enemies into them using her bird whistle.
Levels are large with multiple paths you can take, ranging from castles to busy markets, each one filled with new options for the perfect assassination. With the wide range of unique offerings, the game ensures that you, as the player, utilise all characters to their full potential and offers plenty of replayability, like the previously mentioned medal system. With around 25–30 hours of content, there is plenty here to keep you satisfied.
Whilst Blades of the Shogun is a very well‑made game, one thing that has been kept constant throughout every version is the camera. At times I found this to be a distraction, and it did lead to a few unfortunate deaths. I guess it is now more a feature than an issue, and once you get the hang of the jankiness, you will not have too much of a problem.
Performance on the Switch 2 is very good both in Handheld Mode and in Docked Mode. With it running at 30FPS at 4K in Docked mode and 30FPS in 1080P in Handheld mode. Both are perfectly playable with stable framerates. I found the Handheld Mode the most enjoyable. Something about the art style and the smaller screen really hit a tone with me.
Blades of the Shogun is a very beautiful game with stunning level design and attention to detail in both the environments and the player models. The ability to choose between English and Japanese voices is a great addition with both still supporting English Subtitles for the best of all worlds.
Also released at the same time is the standalone DLC Shadow Tactics: Aiko’s Choice, adding an additional 8–10 hours of new content following the same characters from the first game. This acts as a perfect addition because it does everything an expansion should do — it gives you more of what you liked in the first game, with refinements like better camera control and, of course, more content. These are split between main missions, which can take 25–30 minutes to complete, and shorter missions, which can normally take up to 15 minutes. These smaller, bite‑sized missions act as a perfect accompaniment to the main missions.
Overall, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun and Shadow Tactics: Aiko’s Choice are extremely well‑done ports of the 2016 and 2021 originals. With plenty of content and smooth gameplay, this is one game that has ported very well to the Nintendo Switch 2. Both games are available together in a bundle or can be bought separately if you want to try one before jumping into both. Do expect a hardcore experience, but if you feel up to the challenge, then you cannot go wrong with either of these two games.
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