Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is a real-time stealth strategy game set in a fantastical Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy. The Inquisition is trying to eradicate the people of the islands while searching for a powerful pirate artifact buried in the region. You recruit and lead an undead pirate crew from your ghost ship, using blades, sorcery and stealth to fight back and protect your home.

The cursed crew

Eight undead crew members can be revived, and you choose who to recruit and when. Each has supernatural abilities and a distinct personality; your selection shapes how you traverse the islands, your experience of the campaign’s story and the abilities available to you. Missions limit how many crew members you can bring, so choose a team suited to the task and the way you want to play.

The crew’s abilities support different approaches, including manipulating movement, working behind enemy lines, hiding the bodies of dispatched enemies and killing effectively. You can combine their skills to create synergies and coordinate attacks. For example, Gaëlle can use her magical cannon to launch friends over walls and chasms, while Mr. Mercury can bypass obstacles from below. Von Presswald can possess a guard and use him to unlock gates; Suledie can create cover where none exists. Gaëlle’s cannon can also launch friends or foes onto watchful guards, knocking them out.

Infiltrate the islands

The Inquisition’s forces are numerous and well-armed, and can overwhelm your crew in a fair fight. Use cover, darkness and magic to avoid detection and neutralize opponents as you complete objectives across the islands of the Lost Caribbean. Missions cover entire islands, and you choose both the order in which to tackle them and where to arrive and depart. A less-patrolled landing point may be safer but farther from your objective, while a heavily guarded one may put you closer.

Enemies have different strengths and weaknesses, so a tactic that works against one may have no effect on another. You’ll face foes ranging from footmen and high-positioned snipers to magically linked pairs who must be killed at the same time. Watch their movements and lines of sight, and make sure no one is watching when you strike. Your crew’s powers can work with the surroundings or create new options when the environment offers no obvious route.

Missions and progression

The campaign has a non-linear story. You can unlock crew members in any order, while progress reveals more islands, each with multiple missions and rewards beyond simply defeating the enemy. Every mission offers multiple approaches depending on your chosen team, and there is no single designated path forward.

You can put off a difficult mission to pursue an easier one and gain experience, which lets you upgrade crew abilities to more powerful versions that may open new routes. You can also wait until another, not-yet-unlocked crew member is available if their abilities would help. Your choices of crew and mission shape how you advance through the campaign.

Life aboard the ship

Your ship serves as home between missions. There, you can explore crew members’ personal stories and side quests, and plan how to stay ahead of the Inquisition.