Back in 2021, I played Desperados III, my very first tactical RPG, and while I never finished it, I did have a good time with the game. Personally, I was not a big fan of the Western setting, but I appreciated the game’s newbie-friendly mechanics and game systems. Then, when I heard that developer MiMiMi Games is back with a new tactical RPG starring a cursed pirate crew aboard a living ghost ship sailing across the Lost Caribbean, my interest was piqued. Starting on June 19, and ending on June 26, Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew will have a playable demo as part of Steam Next Fest. We were lucky enough to get early access to that pre-beta build and after over two hours with the game, I am more excited about it than ever.
The demo lets you experience the first act of Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, which Mimimi claims offers anywhere from 2 to 4 hours of playtime depending on if you tackle the optional objectives or not. You start off in control of Afia Manicato, the undead pirate who conveniently stores her sword in her chest, as she searches for the Red Marley, but your crew soon starts to grow. There are dead crew mates on the Red Marley and you have the choice of which ones you want to use precious Black Pearls to reanimate. The demo doesn’t offer too much of an insight into the story, but it does give a good look at the tone and gameplay.
So far, Shadow Gambit captures the swash-buckling-ness that’s expected of pirate stories. And though there are a lot more paranormal aspects to this world than something like Pirates of the Caribbean, it is still just as fun. The fully voice-acted dialogue is well-written and well-delivered. My only gripe in that department is that character quips during gameplay can get repetitive as they often repeat the same thing when you use certain abilities or do specific actions. The tone is also reflected in the game’s visuals where the levels are highly detailed and the game as a whole looks great. Seeing as I played this on PC, I should mention that I played the game on High settings.
While Desperados III might be classified as a tactical RPG, MiMiMi is reclassifying their games moving forward as stealth strategy. Shadow Gambit still does have tactical RPG elements at its core but stealth is a much more pivotal part of the gameplay than before. You can sometimes survive being spotted if you act fast but sticking to the bushes and cleverly engaging targets is how Shadow Gambit was meant to be played. Each character has unique abilities and it’s up to you as you build your crew which ones you want to take on your journey. Of course, as I said above, because of the character’s personalities, the choice isn’t always dependent on their moves. Sometimes you just want a break from hearing about itchy leaves.
A big part of why Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew works as well as it does is that a lot of its gameplay mechanics are tied into the narrative. For example, just like in Desperados III, losing and trying again is a big part of the gameplay loop. In this game that is reinforced as memories. At any moment, you can click F5 to capture a memory and essentially quick-save the game. If you click F8, it takes you back to your last memory. This is a really handy mechanic that encourages exploration. I found myself much more open to the idea of trying wild ideas because I knew I wouldn’t be punished for it.
Playing through Shadow Gambit‘s levels feels a bit like puzzle solving. As you play, you will face new challenges that require you to use any and all the tools in your kit to overcome them. And how you solve each of those puzzles will change based on who you bring to the field as well. You can tap SHIFT to go into Shadow Mode where you can pause time and plan out your moves carefully for execution. And to exercise your problem-solving skills, there are also challenge rooms below decks that you can visit to test how well you can control a character.
Strategy RPGs are known for being overwhelming for new players. I know quite a few people, some even on our team, who don’t approach the genre because of that very reason. However, Shadow Gambit is very accessible. Features like the highlight button which outlines items and areas you can interact with and location spotting (or at least that’s what I’m calling it) which lets you drop a marker to see if it’s in an enemies line of sight act as a guiding hand if you ever get stuck. An added fact that my cat had me test when he laid across my keyboard is that you can play the game with just a mouse. All the on-screen UI that shows keyboard controls doubles as functional buttons themselves, meaning you can play the game with one hand and pet your sleeping cat with the other.
If these first few hours are a sign of what’s to come in the full release of Shadow Gambit, then I am fully on board. This is a fun and accessible strategy game that I can see myself sinking hours into. It has some repetitive character quips and I hope (and expect) that the campaign will have more visual variety, but, other than that, this is shaping up to be another great game from MiMiMi Games. And this time they are self-publishing the game too. Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is slated to release on August 17 for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. Wishlist the game now on Steam to support the game and be sure to check out the demo on June 19 to try the game for yourself.
You can watch me talk about Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew in the latest episode of our podcast. The conversation starts at 15:56 but we also go through several other games we previewed as well as our favorite games from Summer Game Fest. We are branching out to making new content so any and all feedback is appreciated.
