Previewing the Gameplay of Shadowveil

Step into the realm of Rokugan with the first-ever L5R video game, Shadowveil: Legend of the Five Rings, coming soon from Palindrome Interactive. This week, we’ve been giving fans their first look at the combat demo at Gen Con, and you’ve told us how well the roguelite mechanics work with the premise of the Shadowlands. Today, we’re excited to preview a slice of the game’s mechanics as shown off in that demo. (Of course, we need to note that as with all games still in development, things might yet change, so consider this a snapshot in time from Gen Con 2024.) If you haven’t seen it already, check out the trailer on YouTube. And don’t forget to wishlist Shadowveil: Legend of the Five Rings on Steam!

Command and Develop Your Party of Samurai

In Shadowveil: Legend of the Five Rings, you are the commander. Your role is to focus on the high-level decision-making, leaving your forces in charge of executing those battle plans. To fill out your ranks, you’ll recruit veteran samurai as well as fresh troops from the farthest reaches of the Crab Clan’s domains, including the Kuni Witch Hunters, Hiruma Scouts, Hida Berserkers, and others. Finding the perfect balance of spellcasting, subterfuge, and brute force will be the first of many choices you’ll need to make, and because the Shadowlands are ever-changing, the perfect party composition that worked for one run might not be the most effective arrangement in another.

After each combat, you’ll be rewarded with a selection of cards that represent special abilities or items your samurai can equip. Fans of Legend of the Five Rings will recognize iconic spells such as Jade Strike and Earth Becomes Sky, along with a bevy of new school techniques unique to Shadowveil. Some abilities can be used by any class, while others are class-specific. Certain cards are commonly encountered, but others are awarded only rarely, so each run will play out differently depending on the cards you earn. If you earn multiple copies of a card, you can combine them to create a rarer and even more powerful version of that card. As your party members level up, they’ll be able to equip more ability and item cards. Items will often boost your samurai’s stats, whether that’s Attack Power, Elemental Power, Hit Points, Movement Speed, or another attribute.

As you continue your expedition, you’ll be able to build up your Fortitude, representing your party’s momentum and stamina. You’ll need both in order to face the stronger enemies that await you deeper in the Shadowlands. Once you reach a new Fortitude level threshold, you’ll be awarded with different boons that can increase your party’s strength and capabilities. One such award is Command Points, which affect the number of samurai you can send into combat, and can help even the odds against the seemingly endless hordes of Shadowlands monstrosities. Other awards include special items or “card packs” of multiple abilities for a given class, allowing you to better kit out an underdeveloped recruit.

Enlist Heroes of the Crab Clan

Shadowveil: Legend of the Five Rings features two iconic heroes from the Crab Clan and ongoing Clan Wars storyline who can lead your party. Hida O-Ushi is a Hida Berserker who brings a no-nonsense attitude as well as the prowess and courage to tackle any Shadowlands threat head-on. There’s a reason many call her an “ox,” for few can match O-Ushi’s stubbornness and strength. The only daughter of the Crab Clan Champion is a ferocious fighter who brings her warhammer to bear against any goblins, skeleton, or spirit that stands in her way. For her, the fight against the Shadowlands Horde is personal, and she is determined not to lose any more of her loved ones to the Shadowlands’ corruption if there’s anything she can do about it.

Hida Sukune, her younger brother, is a Hida Tactician who embodies the idea of brains over brawn. While his older brother and sister were honing their skills in single combat, Sukune spent his youth poring over the scrolls of the Hida family library, absorbing centuries of lore and combat tactics to bring to bear on the battlefield. While most Crab samurai rush into the fray, Sukune considers all options available before committing to a given course of action, allowing him to uncover potent solutions that might not be obvious at first glance. Sukune believes that if he can outsmart the Shadowlands and deliver victory to his clan, he’ll finally be able to prove his worth in his father’s eyes.

Will you choose to follow the hard-hitting O-Ushi or the clever-minded Sukune into the Shadowlands?

Face Powerful Foes

The evil Shadowlands have devised innumerable means of killing any who would dare step foot in to this blighted domain. As part of your expeditions, you’ll confront swarms of spear-wielding goblins who make up for their lack of strength with sheer numbers. Goblin Chuckers rain death down from afar, while the dreaded Goblin Firemouths use dark sorcery and “magic mud” to weaken their opponents. The Goblin Warmonger is an overgrown goblin whose strength can match that of a half dozen Crab Clan samurai, and can easily take down even the most battle-hardened heroes if they aren’t careful.

Many more threats await in the Shadowlands, so stay tuned for new field reports from the Wall detailing the twisted forces you’ll face.

Control the Battlefield

To have any hope of surviving, wise commanders will need to use the terrain to their advantage to best position their forces during deployment. In addition to placing bruisers on the front lines and holding back less-armored samurai, commanders can also seek out magical buffs that can turn the tide of combat in the Crab’s favor. Harness the innate elemental power of the battlefield to be granted special boons, such as increased defense granted by a friendly earth elemental spirit.

You’ll face many different battlefields in the course of your adventure, with different terrain offering opportunities or drawbacks, such as the fetid bogs that slow any units attempting to trudge through them. Deployment requires careful consideration of each samurai’s capabilities, weaknesses, abilities, and remaining health in order to balance their effectiveness with survivability.

We’ll continue to share more news about this upcoming Legend of the Five Rings video game soon. In the meantime, keep up with Palindrome Interactive by visiting their website or following them on Facebook and Twitter. You can also sign up for their newsletter by visiting this link and scrolling down to the sign-up form.