When setting off to develop Shadowveil: Legend of The Five Rings, – the very first video game in the fictional setting which turns 20 this year – developer Palindrome Interactive wanted to make sure it would accommodate any newcomers.
“It’s really a soft start to the universe for new fans, the kind of classic good vs evil scenario,” Game Director Filip told me during a recent hands-on preview event. “We want that as a kind of stepping stone so that you can get into the larger picture of the universe, where you have all of these clans vying for power.”
Although Shadowveil: Legend of The Five Rings mainly focuses on the Crab Clan, Andersson says that there’s plenty to dig through for those who might be familiar with L5R.
While I can’t speak for the lore, playing the demo – which is now available on Steam – left me intrigued by how approachable the blend of strategy, rogue-lite, RPG, and autobattler elements played.
A run of Shadowveil: Legend of The Five Rings’ campaign starts with selecting one of two playable characters – each belonging to different classes.
You then prepare to set out into the Shadowlands – a perilous, corrupted area which you’ll grow to know intimately – by interacting with several buildings inside the watchtower that acts as your home base.
There, you’ll selecting and customize the characters in your party, unlock new abilities and classes, and select side missions.
Although the campaign is split into defined chapters, progressing through them is done by completing missions structured in a rogue-lite fashion.
You’re faced with branching paths that throw different types of challenges and rewards your way, getting more complex the further you progress. Carefully weighing which option suits your run better is a key aspect of pushing forward but overextending can spell doom for your party.
Certain battles can yield cards or items, others might yield resources or valuable Jade, which lets you camp. Pushing too far without giving my troops the time to rest and heal after hard-fought battles predictably brought a swift end to my run.
Characters can equip the former, enhancing their array of skills that automatically trigger during battles. As you unlock more classes, there’s rich potential for synergies and experimenting with your build is greatly encouraged.
Duplicate cards are easily turned into upgrades, while combining two items yields new ones that might be better suited for your current situation, so fighting feels rewarding even when you do eventually fail a run.
An important thing to note is that once you’ve chosen your party’s equipment and engaged in a battle, you only get to select their starting hexagon, which can sometimes confer bonuses. From that point on, the combat itself is entirely automated, with your troops picking their own targets.
I was told that some late-game artifacts can give you more direct input during fights, but for the vast majority, you’ll sit in the strategist’s chair, hoping that you made good decisions.
Shadowveil: Legend of The Five Rings’ visual style looks a bit rough at a first glance, especially given its stop motion-style animations, but I warmed up fairly quickly to it, finding the latter quite interesting.
Andersson noted that, although it already divides the game’s community, it is an artistic choice meant to express the corruption in the Shadowlands, which “almost bends reality.” The team wanted “that uncomfortable feeling” of a strange, foreign territory to shine through.
Autobattlers aren’t my usual jam, so I was surprised to see that Shadowveil’s combat never felt like it overstayed its welcome, while finding new cards and items did make me curious to see more of what it had to offer.
Shadowveil: Legend of The Five Rings is slated to launch on PC on March 4. Its demo is available now, so you can guide your own party of samurai through the Shadowlands ahead of the official release.
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