A worthy expansion to Blades of the Shogun?
Set in Japan around the early Edo period, Aiko’s Choice is a stealth strategy game that takes place within the story of Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. The expansion focuses on one of the main game’s protagonists: the kunoichi adept Aiko. She is a master of camouflage and distracts enemies disguised as a Geisha. Although Aiko was certain that she left her old life behind her, Aiko’s former sensei, the cunning spymaster Lady Chiyo, reappears from the shadows to challenge her. Together with her deadly companions she sets out to hunt down the ghosts of her past…
The original Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun was a well-received stealth strategy game, but can this standalone expansion be worthy of the shogun?
First of all, I hadnāt played the original game so I didnāt really know what to expect here. Luckily, thereās a lovely ārecapā cutscene as you begin which gets you up to speed with whatās happened so far which leads to the expansion, which takes place just before the final mission.
It took me a while to get used to the mechanics behind the game, but it became second nature after a while. The stealth elements are well implemented, so I couldnāt blame them when I naturally got caught numerous times during my playthrough. It feels more of a puzzle game in its design, which theyāve managed to pull off well.
I guess if thereās a criticism to be had, its that this standalone expansion is quite short. It also doesnāt expand the gameplay of the original game, so feels more like some add-on missions as opposed to a traditional expansion. Itās not a terrible crime to be fair, plus it does allow new players to get to grips with the basics of the game before deciding to pull the trigger for the base game.
The visuals have a nice charm to them, but seem a bit dated overall. The rest of the game is presented well and the performance never drops in framerate, while load times are short and I didnāt come across any glitches during my playthrough.
The Verdict
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun – Aiko’s Choice is a good introduction for newcomers like myself, but those who played the original will probably feel that this expansion should have been longer and mixed things up a bit.