So much to my surprise we got a brand new Fire Emblem mobile game that just released out of nowhere. I had no idea this was coming out nor did I even have any hints to this, but naturally as a Fire Emblem fan I had to give this a try. For this game our story stars Kurt who is fighting for his kingdom, Ast, after being forced to go on the run. The thing that makes this game unique is how it’s a social deduction game. Both the story and gameplay heavily emphasize not trusting anyone as there’s a traitor hidden in your ranks.

So the story is honestly nothing bad or groundbreaking. It follows a lot of traditional longstanding Fire Emblem elements. The story of a ruined kingdom, a lord banding people together to save it and everything you’re used to from Fire Emblem. For the most part it’s a solid but unremarkable tale. Though their are a couple of twists I really like. First is the story alludes to a traitor in your ranks so the party dynamic feels very different. Previous entries are all about working together even when you recruit enemies, but here there is an ominous feel because of the impending mic drop from the traitor. Equally interesting is how you have two stories to play. One where you pick the light side and one where you pick the shadows. You can play these stories concurrently and both are interesting enough to keep my attention. You unlock story moments by playing the battle mode in the game and unlocking both characters and new story chapters.

That’s where I’ll talk about the gameplay because I’m a bit mixed on this. It doesn’t play or feel like Fire Emblem in any way. I think the only Fire Emblem elements present are the weapons triangle, where some weapons are weak/strong versus others, and a couple of previous characters from the franchise appear. I won’t spoil who but one is a personal favorite.

The battles are done in two stages. In the first stage you are set up with two other players and you either play as a warrior of light or the shadows. If you’re on the side of light you work with your team in the first fight as the warrior of shadows messes with you while pretending to fight by your side. If you are a warrior of the shadows you pretend to ally yourself with the other two players to win while both secretly doing damage to them and hiding your real identity. When the first map is cleared everyone has a chance to pick someone as the traitor. If you get it right you gain an extra life in the final battle as the traitor transforms into a monster and now it’s light versus dark, winner takes all.

As for how you play the maps the characters move automatically and will periodically do melee attacks. You the player control the magic attacks that you can use once the cooldown time expires. You can hit friend or foe and also heal them as you drag each power to the part of the map you want it to hit. You must plan out who you want to hit as they both function as combat and the means to hide or affirm your identity to the other players. I had a lot of trouble mastering how to really do this well at first because it’s so different. However, once I got a feel for the controls I started to enjoy planning out my attacks.

As a social deduction game I think it misses the mark here to some degree. The first battle ends too quickly for you to really have any time to deduce much of anything. So you’re left with a 50% guess most of the time. It’s not boring as I found myself really entertained by this aspect but not in the same capacity as other social deduction games like Among Us. I also don’t like how you don’t control character movement and so if you’re waiting for your powers to cool down all you can really do is wait.

With that being said I still have fun with this game. It’s not nearly as lovable as frankly every other title in the franchise but it still has its charm. The quick matches makes this a game that’s easy to pick up and put down in short spurts. Plus I love the art and character designs here. It has a bit of a traditional Fire Emblem feel for the new characters, but with a different art style that is very aesthetically pleasing.

I also really like how you can customize your characters with weapons, skills and more. Plus new characters aren’t unlocked via a gacha mechanic. You simply grind the game and collect the stuff needed to unlock them so it’s a welcomed change to the pay to win format I’m so used to with mobile games.

Overall Fire Emblem: Shadows is a social deduction game that really doesn’t feel like either a Fire Emblem or an actual social deduction title. The story is cookie cutter Fire Emblem with a traitorous twist that manages to be satisfying enough to be invested in. The gameplay is unique and too quick to fully embrace this new direction like other games have done. With that being said it’s still an enjoyable game to play as the quick rounds makes it easy to pick up for a few minutes and the gameplay does have a charm once you get the hang of it. Plus it’s a very pleasing game to look at as I am in awe in how much I love the art style and character designs. In a way this game brings an entirely new twist to the tactical love of Fire Emblem but not so much the nerve racking social deduction aspect. Even so, it still manages to be fun in its own individual way.