

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is an exceptional Action/Adventure that raises the bar for the genre.
92
Verdict
91%
Steam
93
IGDB
Verdict score based on confidence-adjusted Steam reviews?
Very Positive on Steam (91% positive from 6.1K reviews)
Critically acclaimed (93/100 critic average)
Compelling narrative and story
Rich open world to explore
No significant drawbacks reported
Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is a real-time tactics video game, the final one developed and published by Mimimi Games before the studio's closure. A year later, Hooded Horse acquired the game's publishing rights. The game was released for the PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X and Series S in August 2023.

Runs well on modern hardware.
System Requirements
Minimum
Recommended
A New Journey
Set sail with the Marley for the first time.
75%
unlocked
The Adventure Begins
Finish Act 1.
50.7%
unlocked
With Great Power…
Unlock your first skill upgrade.
37%
unlocked
Swabbie
Get 10% overall completion.
36%
unlocked
This Belongs in a Museum
Collect all of Mordechai's Relics.
33.6%
unlocked
The Gambit Has Begun
Finish Act 2.
30.4%
unlocked
Somewhere Deep in the Lost Caribbean
Discover all islands.
26.4%
unlocked
Powder Monkey
Get 20% overall completion.
26%
unlocked
Mirror Mirror on the Wall
Finish your first Captain's Test.
25.9%
unlocked
Pirates Assemble!
Unlock all characters.
24.4%
unlocked
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A New Journey
Set sail with the Marley for the first time.
75%
unlocked
The Adventure Begins
Finish Act 1.
50.7%
unlocked
With Great Power…
Unlock your first skill upgrade.
37%
unlocked
Swabbie
Get 10% overall completion.
36%
unlocked
This Belongs in a Museum
Collect all of Mordechai's Relics.
33.6%
unlocked
The Gambit Has Begun
Finish Act 2.
30.4%
unlocked
Somewhere Deep in the Lost Caribbean
Discover all islands.
26.4%
unlocked
Powder Monkey
Get 20% overall completion.
26%
unlocked
Mirror Mirror on the Wall
Finish your first Captain's Test.
25.9%
unlocked
Pirates Assemble!
Unlock all characters.
24.4%
unlocked
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Player thoughts from Verdict.games members will appear here.
I wanted to like this game. I waited until it was 75% off and bout it for $9.99, thinking that this would be another mimimi game like shadow tactics or desperados 3 (which is amazing), but it is a watered down version in my eyes. I am playing on the 2nd hardest difficulty (so maybe i'll up it to the most difficult version for the next island), but it is way too easy compared to those other 2 games. There is no entanglement of the guards that you have to figure out, save a few here or there, but in games like Desperados 3, you had really try and figure out who to kill first, and it was a chain reaction of death if you picked wrong. Here, it's "ok, i guess i'll kill this pack, then the next, then the next...and so on". I can use any of the playable characters to do it really. It's not mind numbing and no thought into the puzzle that is Desperados 3 or Shadow Tactics. boring in my mind, but I'll keep trying to up the challenge I guess.
Recommended because it's a mimimi game, and they are always fabulous, assuming you like tactical stealth games and controlling several characters. Having said that; it's actually my least favourite one. I bought it on pre-order but only got around to playing it now because the theme didn't particularly interest me. I loved the historical settings of of shadow tactics and Desperados 3 - undead pirates not so much lol. The story and narrative didn't draw me in either and I found myself rather bored, especially with all the bits involving walking around the ship and clicking stuff (Crew Tales eg). I also didn't particularly like going back to the same places over and over rather than completing entire maps, nor the system of choosing who to unlock as opposed to them appearing during the story. I followed a guide and unlocked Toya and Pinkus last. I basically never used Pinkus and ended up soloing most things with Toya, once I had them ... Another thing I really wasn't keen on was killing the same boss over and over, and her being able to reload old saves so you have to repeat the same stuff. Unlike the other games that I played a lot, including the DLC, I'm probably going to call it a day on this one after finishing the main story once. Anyway, long story short, if you like mimimi games and/ or tactical, isometric stealth games, I'm sure you will enjoy this, even more so if you are into undead pirates, time loops and, erm, anecdotes, lol.
Incredible design and superb execution. The main complaints I have is that sometimes missions felt Long but that can be a mix of skill issue and stubbornness. The gameplay is tight, characters are interesting and the world is cool as hell. While I haven't done any of the extra challenges post main story, it's great that they are there! Maybe I'll return, but for now, I am very satisfied with what this game gave.
Reviews sourced from Steam. All reviews belong to their respective authors.
Data sourced from RAWG, Steam, IGDB, CheapShark, Wikipedia, HLTB, and GX Corner. Sources: rawg, steam, igdb, wikipedia.
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