Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - Aiko’s Choice

A masterful, methodical journey through the shadows of Edo Japan – brilliantly polished and perfectly paced, my only real sadness is that there was not more of it.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun was one of my favorite games of 2017, and Aiko’s Choice is a return to form. Mimimi Games continues to deliver tight gameplay, incredible stealth, and a compelling story to tie it all together.

Originally released more than five years ago, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is still one of the best stealth games out there right now. It’s hard not to fall for its premise: a tactical hardcore stealth strategy game in which a small team of shogun set out completing tons of missions across the Edo period of Japan. Shadow Tactics is currently celebrating its fifth anniversary in a big way w...

Aiko’s Choice is utterly unconcerned with critics of the base game, and instead focuses entirely on giving fans a more intense version of its concepts.

Two months ago, I previewed Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - Aiko's Choice. Honestly, there's not much more I can say about Aiko's Choice that I didn't write in the preview or my review of the original game five years ago. Shadow Tactics is a masterclass in real-time tactics gameplay that rivals almost any game in the strategy genre, never mind that subgenre. Still, here we are, with an expa...

Overall, Aiko’s Choice is a great follow-up for one that already loved every aspect of Shadow Tactics. Those that never played the original should definitely play that first before considering the expansion. And of course, players who disliked any aspect of Shadow Tactics will find all of the same flaws or misgivings within Aiko’s Choice.