I’ve been playing Fire Emblem Shadows since it was both announced and released on September 25th. This is the first mobile game developed by Nintendo since Mario Kart Tour in 2019 so the moment is somewhat momentous. It is rather unfortunate, then, that Fire Emblem Shadows is a game for nobody.
Fire Emblem Shadows is a game which purports to mix social deduction gameplay with the tactical experience the series is known for. The game primarily plays out via online matches featuring a team of three players, and each match takes place in two phases. The first phase is PvE, as the three players work together to defeat the trash mobs onscreen, primarily by tapping spells tied to a cooldown. The twist is that one of the three players is secretly aligned with the shadows, and they need to sabotage the other players while also keeping up appearances by defeating the trash mobs. This mostly comes via “accidentally” including other players in AoE attacks, or directly targeting players with shadow abilities which obfuscate their source
After the first phase, there is an Among Us-style voting screen, where players attempt to pick the traitor.
Once the trash mobs are defeated, the battle moves into the second phase, where the traitor reveals themselves and transforms into a beastly shadow form. The battle becomes PvP as the two lightside players battle the darkside player. In this mode, the health of the lightside players is determined by the previous two phases. If players successfully pick the traitor, they receive an extra life. If they were killed during the first phase, they lose a life. The lightside needs to defeat the traitor once, whereas the traitor needs to expend all of the lives of his opponents.
It is a novel idea, and I was intrigued enough by the premise to check it out. Unfortunately after putting a dozen hours into the game, I am left wondering who exactly this game is meant to be for.
I don’t imagine fans of social deduction games will be particularly enraptured by Fire Emblem Shadows. The social deduction elements are tremendously surface level. There is no voice or even text chat, there is no way to interact with your fellow players aside from simply using spells. The “social deduction” entirely comes from watching for unusual instances, such as getting hit by a friendly AoE or noticing that your ally decided to wait until your health was 99% full before they healed you. This really is “baby’s first social deduction game”, and I don’t imagine there is much here for fans of the genre.
It certainly isn’t for Fire Emblem fans either, in fact I think it is more likely to offend them. Just about no elements of the franchise meaningfully transition to Fire Emblem Shadows. It does not feature the SRPG gameplay the series is known for. Your character mills around the battlefield entirely autonomously, the only decision you make is what spell to use when the cooldown is over. There is nothing tactical here. Likewise fans of the newer, more relationship-focused titles like Three Houses are going to be disappointed too, as “support conversations” are a joke reduced down to a line or two of dialogue every few levels, and inter-unit relationships don’t exist (at least as far as I currently am.) This very much feels like a game that was developed independently of the franchise, and given a Fire Emblem coat of paint out of a desire to tie it to an existing IP.
I am then left wondering who this odd experiment is for. Fire Emblem Shadows isn’t a bad game, but it is a bit mindless, and the core experience is not really enough to hook me. The social deduction is not very exciting, and the Fire Emblem elements feel obligatory. I honestly feel like this game will struggle to find a long-term audience. Sexy werewolf Dmitri can only win you so many points.
Have you tried out Fire Emblem Shadows? Are you perhaps enjoying it more than I am? What are your feelings about the experience? Let me know in the comments below!
Featured Image: Nintendo of America
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