Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew

Lore & Background

The game is set in an alternate version of the Golden Age of Piracy, where a mysterious curse has revived the dead and granted them supernatural abilities. The player assembles a cursed pirate crew to explore an island chain called the Lost Caribbean and steal magical artifacts from the Inquisition, which seeks to hunt down all cursed individuals. The story unfolds across multiple islands, with players returning to each island multiple times to collect Black Pearls and Soul Power, which together can resurrect other characters to join the crew.

Gameplay is presented from an isometric perspective and emphasizes stealth. Enemies are alerted by loud noises and footprints, and their sight is displayed as green cones of vision. Players can use Shadow Mode to briefly pause the game, issue commands to multiple characters, and execute them simultaneously. A quick-save system allows players to rewind time after an undesired tactical error. Each of the eight characters has unique abilities—for example, Pinkus can briefly possess enemies and enter restricted areas, while Suleidy can distract enemies with plant spores and spawn a bush anywhere as a hiding spot. Abilities can be upgraded by collecting a resource called vigour.

Development was funded by the German government and Kowloon Nights, with Sweet Baby Inc. consulting on the script. The game was internally codenamed 'Project Süßkartoffel'. Mimimi Games announced the game in January 2023 and released it on August 17, 2023. On August 29, 2023, Mimimi announced it would close due to rising development costs and insufficient revenue. On December 19, 2024, American publisher Hooded Horse purchased the publishing rights for all platforms to assist with the game's long-term availability.

Reader's Guide

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew represents the culmination of Mimimi Games' expertise in real-time stealth strategy, following earlier titles in the genre. Its fantasy backdrop allowed the team to expand character skills beyond historical constraints, and its open-ended structure let players recruit characters and complete missions in any order. The game received generally favorable reviews according to Metacritic. Its significance is tied to the studio's closure just twelve days after release, making it the final work of a developer known for refining the real-time tactics genre. The subsequent acquisition of publishing rights by Hooded Horse in December 2024 ensured the game's continued availability, preserving access to a title that marked both a creative peak and an endpoint for its developer. The game's quick-save system, Shadow Mode, and environmental interactions (such as dropping boulders on enemies) exemplify the tactical flexibility that defined Mimimi's approach.

Did You Know?

• Sweet Baby Inc. consulted on the game's script.
• Mimimi Games shut down on August 29, 2023, just 12 days after the game's release.
• Hooded Horse acquired the publishing rights for all platforms on December 19, 2024.