Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew review – Failure is irrelevant

The life of a pirate is filled with time on the seas, constant survival, and the endless hunt for treasure. Games that can accomplish those three feelings and aesthetics are a considerable success. Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew attempts to bring the struggles of a new pirate captain as you assemble your crew and take on the ever-present threat of the Inquisition’s army.

As the fledgling captain of the Red Marley, you’ll quickly collect most of your crew and spend the rest of the game trying to fight the Inquisition. The gameplay involves character-specific stealth mechanics and precise movements in real-time that amount to some of the more frustrating and satisfying stealth gameplay I’ve ever played.

There are a number of drawbacks though, like each mission taking anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour to complete. This slow slog at the beginning contrasted by the actual stealth planning once you finally start unlocking more than the first crew member, with each subsequent unlock expanding your options for each mission even further.

A supernatural tale from the Caribbean

As the new captain of the Red Marley, you’ll be tasked with helping this spectral and inter-dimensional ship recover its crew and search for the treasure of a lost pirate legend. As with most of the characters, the main character Afia is distinct in personality and abilities, allowing for unique expedition parties that play off each other pretty well.

The characters range in personalities and each ability ties into their aesthetic pretty well, with the plant-based doctor relying on plants and the anchor-wearing repairman diving below the surface for attacks. Each new character allowed for new opportunities that were a lot of fun, but the length of time to unlock my third character was annoying and meant struggling through a large level underpowered.

Once I unlocked my third character though, I was able to feel more like a crew and utilize Afia’s time-stop and recall ability to ensure that each plan went smoothly. The ability to press a single button and save it as a “Memory” to return to the second something goes wrong is one of the better stealth mechanics I’ve ever used. The recall is near instantaneous as well.

While Shadow Gambit is a single-player game, the ability to use the Red Marley’s powers to stop time so you can use each party member to execute a plan makes sweeping small areas a breeze. Using each power at the same time is exciting and would often lead to exciting and organic moments where everything lines up perfectly, with the recall ability allowing me to transport myself back instantly.

Move from island to island in silence

Shadow Gambit‘s stealth gameplay is pretty standard at its core, with developer Mimimi Games evolving on the gameplay introduced in 2016’s massively popular Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. Many of the core mechanics seem to be the same, with enhanced visuals and level layouts being the core focus of the latest pirate-themed title.

That being said, the world and aesthetics are nailed perfectly, but the actual layout of some sections of the island, and the ship deck particularly, feel really busy to look at. I enjoyed the whimsy and creativity presented in many of the environments, but sometimes navigating them felt like a headache as I struggled to switch between the map and standard gameplay.

As stated above, the characters are all unique and varied, but the voice acting seems to differ a pretty good amount between characters. While some interactions are masterful and the actors do a great job, there were also some moments that felt they lacked the required energy the moment required. It’s not all the time, but was noticeable enough that I began to roll my eyes a few hours in.

The best part about Shadow Gambit is planning out your moves and seeing them created with the freedom to return to a moment just before it went wrong at any time. The precision that this allows for is exciting and intensely frustrating when you keep landing a second off from your intended solution. However, those willing to put up with the long levels and repeated trials are sure to have fun.

Try Hard Guides was provided with a PC review copy of this game. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles in the Game Reviews section of our website!