Shadow Tactics: Aiko's Choice

🥷 Shadow Tactics: Aiko’s Choice – A Sharp, Stealthy Encore 🕹️ Playtime: ~6 hours 👍 Recommended Aiko’s Choice is exactly what it should be: a compact, challenging, and beautifully designed send-off to the Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun crew. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel—it just spins it with deadly precision. ✅ What’s Great: 🎯 Classic Gameplay, Polished Further Stealth tactics are still tense, tight, and incredibly rewarding You’ll need all your wits (and quick-saves) to survive New missions offer fresh twists, including multiple character combinations and clever map layouts 🧠 Challenging But Fair Difficulty picks up right where the original's late-game left off But it feels more refined, with fewer frustrating or “cheesy” moments The save reminder is back and still a godsend 🧘 🗺️ Level Design = Top-Tier The new "Chaos Islands" mission alone is a masterclass in tactical design Footprint-tracking mechanics and sniper line-of-sight add new strategic depth Visually stunning locations that make sneaking a pleasure 🎭 Character Moments & Voice Work Enjoyable character development and emotional beats, especially in the final interlude Excellent voice acting in both English and Japanese Aiko gets some well-earned depth, and the farewell vibes are heartfelt ⚠️ A Few Caveats: 🚫 Not for newcomers – this isn’t beginner-friendly. Play the original first ⏳ Only ~12 hours of content – you'll be left wanting more 📖 Story is simple – serviceable, but not deep or groundbreaking 💭 Final Thoughts: 💬 "Like a final encore from your favorite stealth-strategy band – brief, beautiful, and brilliant." If you’ve played and loved Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, this is an absolute no-brainer. Just don’t expect an entirely new experience—expect more of what already worked... with just enough new ideas to keep it fresh. 🎌 ⭐ Score: 9.5/10 💬 “Aiko’s Choice is lean, focused, and deeply satisfying. I just wish there were more of it.”

Quick Description: -Aiko's Choice is the standalone follow up to Shadow Tactics Blades of the Shogun. While I really enjoyed my time with this game, it feels like a missed opportunity. There is really only 3 true missions (3 other story/tutorial levels that only last a few minutes). There are no new enemies, no new classes, and no new abilities. All 3 of the new levels are excellent, but they are really meant for ppl that have finished the base game, b/c they are quite challenging. I only paid $5 for this and so I'm very happy with my purchase, but I would have been disappointed if I had paid $20, so it's something to keep in mind. Cosensus: -Solid Game (Tier 3 and makes up 35% of my reviews). Mimimi Games is the king of real time tactics games. Aiko's Choice was a lot of fun, but most players will complete it in 8-10 hrs. It's really not meant for ppl that are new to the genre, so it's a hard game to recommend unless you can snag it on a good sale. Fortunately, it's on sale all the time, so pick it during a sale and have fun slicing and dicing baddies in the shadows.

A good expansion to Shadow Tactics, although a little short and easy. Still worth the purchase though and you get some good dialogue between the characters.

Very fun game. Great group of characters. Yuki-chan it's the best, followed by kuma-chan

Amazing game. Played it many years after playing the original and loved it. I really missed this kind of game, it was like visiting an old friend and talking about good memories of the past.

Missions felt a little easier than those of Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, but overall it's a good game, especially for those expecting to see more of Mugen.

the mechanic, the story, the ability, i think it need suvival mode or skrimish or something like that, or even some upgrade ability, or make a game like hitman or assasin game, that need to earn point to upgrade the ability or survival game that similiar like this. the point is ilike the game, and i like to see more game like this on different genre.

7/10 Shadow Tactics: Aiko's Choice is a solid stand-alone expansion to the original Shadow Tactics that works flawlessly on the Steam Deck. All five characters are back for another adventure, allowing you to plan elaborate approaches to take out guards and navigate hostile environments without getting caught. Aiko's Choice is shorter thanthe original, but the missions that does have are fairly large in scope. Especially for the price, it's a solid value. I do dock Aiko's Choice a point (I gave the original game an 8/10) because I felt like multiple missions had a few instances where the game was cutting it a little too close between "get lucky that the guard doesn't quiiite see that" and "I feel good for pulling that off". It made for a couple instances that were frustrating and felt more transparently like hoping for good RNG than what was found in the base game, but it wasn't too bad. The other thing that stuck out to me throughout the game was that the story being shoe-horned into the middle of the campaign of the original broke the suspension of disbelief a bit, especially because the game keeps highlighting this issue. Overall though, these are admittedly pretty mild criticisms. Aiko's Choice is a very good stealth/strategy/action game, just like the original Shadow Tactics was. If you enjoyed the original, you'll enjoy this as well. If you haven't played the original, I suppose you could use Aiko's Choice as a cheap "demo" for the original - feel free to take a look at my review of Shadow Blades if you want to know more about what you're getting into.

[h1]Shadow Tactics: Aiko’s Choice – 100% Completion Review[/h1] [i]All achievements earned, all badges unlocked, every mission cleared on Hardcore, all optional challenges completed[/i] [b]Aiko’s Choice is not just more content. It is a tightly focused expansion that expects you to be an expert from the first move.[/b] Set during the events of the main campaign, it includes six missions in total: three full-scale maps and three brief but meaningful interludes. Every level is built to test your understanding of enemy behavior, character abilities, and timing. Completion requires near-perfect execution and deep planning. [b]This is Shadow Tactics at its most demanding and rewarding.[/b] Enemy vision cones overlap with precision. Patrol routes are dense. Badge challenges force you to replay missions in entirely new ways. Finishing every challenge on Hardcore is an exercise in discipline and creativity. [b]The story centers on Aiko, offering a more personal narrative thread.[/b] Her confrontation with a figure from her past adds nuance to her character and slightly shifts the tone. It remains understated, like the main game, but the writing is sharp and consistent. The presentation remains strong. The painterly visuals hold up, and the soundtrack continues to reinforce the mood without drawing too much attention to itself. Aiko’s Choice is not for newcomers. It is a victory lap for those who already understand what makes Shadow Tactics great.

great campaign albeit a bit short

Great fun

I miss Mugen.