GAME REVIEW: Shadowveil: Legend of the Five Rings

My knowledge of Legend of the Five Rings comes from two very specific places: a 5e campaign my housemate Phoenix ran, and Josh Reynolds's Daidoji Shin novels. Both of these things are very dear to my heart and gave me an excellent impression of the setting. So when I was offered a chance to play and review the first L5R video game, of course I said yes. My knowledge of the world may be primarily comprised of foppish gentleman detectives and the fae romance my friends and I played for a year, but I was here to dive in further.

I was not expecting a play style very, very targeted to me.

A little about myself and my experience with games: between having a strict upbringing and some neurological issues, I don't have the same video game muscle memory as many of my fellow Xennials. When I did start gaming on the regular, I stuck largely to tactical games: things I could think about like chess and that had less danger of seizure-inducing visuals. Super Robot Wars has been a fave, for example.

Shadowveil: Legend of the Five Rings slots right into the type of game I became comfortable with out of necessity. Equal parts resource management, deckbuilding, roguelike, and tactical game, the game puts you in charge of an ever-growing army venturing out into the Shadowlands. You start by choosing between a berserker and a tactician (I recommend the former as you're getting your feet wet), then heading out with ronin to fight off ghosts and goblins.

You can pick your route across the map based on what rewards you'll receive for each battle—items, cards, card slots, and so on. Camping to heal up gives you potential bonuses as well. Cards can be boosted and items can be combined and leveled up for bonus effects.

The combat itself takes place on a hex grid. This takes a little bit of learning, but once you've figured out the quirks of the maps, you can have a lot of fun laying out your combat. Some hexes give you power-ups; others are traps you can lure enemies into. Beating a level by placing your leader behind a spike trap and waiting is, well, weirdly satisfying.

The good news is, defeat gives you opportunities to regroup and try again, better this time. Returning to the watchtower after a defeat triggers dialogue relevant to the circumstances of your defeat, then opens up opportunities to level, recruit, and gain abilities from different crab clan families. The first handful of runs will be short, and you will be brutally defeated, but it's rewarding to start building up a strong squad and seeing measurable improvement.

The art is gorgeous, and cut scenes include voice acting. I don't expect that level of aesthetic for a game like this—I'm happy to move my pieces around the board without all the artistry. The fact that it's there is a bonus, and shows how much the devs care about this world.

As someone on the ragged edge of the Rokugan experience, I still recognize enough of what's laid out to care about the action. I can't imagine how amazing this will be for someone even more immersed. If you're a fan of tactics and deckbuilding, this one is a no-brainer.

Pick up Shadowveil: Legend of the Five Rings on Steam.

video games