Looking at the lay of the pile of unplayed games land I see peaks and valleys. Varying levels of obligations and regret color my gaming countryside. Some are small titles I might’ve simply forgotten about or played a little then got distracted with…life. Others sit atop mountains in beaming lighthouses like the Eye of Sauron times ten. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun commands the landscape with purifying light, humbling me with an eternal reminder I’ve yet to play this award-winning game I’ve bought, been given, installed, and never even booted. Forgive me, Mimimi Games.
Consider this both a love letter to them and a pile of unplayed games post. As you might’ve heard, upon releasing Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, Mimimi Games is closing up shop. You can read all about that here.
Shadow Tactics was released at the tail end of 2016 and many considered it one of the year’s best. I’ve never been particularly good at the real-time tactics genre. I lack the patience to go slow and iterate over trial-and-error gameplay. That’s fine. We don’t have to be good at everything, right? That’s really me just coping.
The genre, and especially any title from Mimimi Games, draw you in with imitable immersion. Every level’s a fully-fleshed out world of impeccable detail. Opportunities for creative engagement are littered throughout, pinging every creative gaming neuron to test and learn. You may not want to be the type to try something then die, like me for example, but the sheer amount of effort placed into both aesthetics and gameplay creates an atmosphere of undeniable charisma.
Look at the video below and see what I mean:
I played Desperados 3, the follow-up from Mimimi after Shadow Tactics, and loved every second of it. The latter, which we’re discussing here, has resounding praise from users and critics alike. Do yourself a favor and dive in. And while you’re at it, send some praise to the developer. [email protected]
The world needs more developers with this clear commitment to quality. Join me in visiting this modern classic by buying the game here.
And tell us what you think of it in our Discord.
-RCGinger