Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is a real-time tactics game focused on stealth, developed by Mimimi Productions and published by Daedalic Entertainment. Its style of play draws from the Commandos and Desperados series. The title first launched on December 6, 2016, for Windows, macOS, and Linux, then reached PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in July 2017, Amazon Luna on October 20, 2020, and the Nintendo Switch 2 on March 18, 2026. A standalone expansion, *Aiko's Choice*, came out in December 2021, adding five missions on new maps but introducing no fresh gameplay mechanics.

In gameplay, the player controls a small team to carry out espionage, sabotage, and assassination—infiltrating guarded fortresses, eliminating enemies from within, killing or capturing special targets, stealing documents, eavesdropping for information, or rescuing characters. Enemy guards have a visible cone of vision the player must avoid. Missions typically require methodically removing enemies between the team and the objective without triggering an alarm. Players can lure guards into ambushes, kill them with traps or staged accidents, or knock them out temporarily. Bodies of slain or unconscious guards can be hidden in bushes, empty rooms, barrels, or wells to prevent discovery. If a character is spotted or a body found, the alarm sounds and extra patrols secure the area. Hostile civilians cannot attack but will alert guards, and environmental elements like birds or standing water create noise that guards can hear. Some missions feature snow or darkness that alter enemy behavior. Each mission offers badges for finishing under a time limit, completing it on "Hardcore" difficulty, or achieving feats like unique kills, harming no enemies, or avoiding certain skills.

All team members have a one-use healing skill and a matchlock pistol with limited ammunition (Mugen carries a more powerful "hand cannon" that can kill samurai). Except for Takuma, each character has a close-range attack that kills or knocks out enemies. Unique abilities include: Hayato’s shuriken for silent long-range kills (except samurai) and rock-throwing to distract; he can climb vines, jump from rooftops, and use a grappling hook on hook-rings, as can Yuki and Aiko.