Shadowveil is On Sale Now

Shadowveil: Legend of the Five Rings, the first-ever video game set in the fantastical realm of Rokugan, is now available! In Shadowveil, you play as the commander tasked with leading an expedition of Crab Clan samurai into the dangerous Shadowlands to confront an ancient evil. The game combines strategy, roguelite runs, RPG mechanics, and dynamic deckbuilding to create an epic adventure set during the Clan Wars storyline. Unlock powerful cards, build a party of samurai, and embark on a journey through a corrupted wasteland where your party’s fate rests on your choices.

Watch the release trailer on YouTube now!

A Strategic, Roguelite, RPG-like Adventure

Shadowveil is a single-player game available now for PC through Steam. In the game, you’ll lead one of two heroes on expeditions into the blighted Shadowlands to find and defeat the evil threat growing there. Strategic choices made both on the battlefield and within your base at the Wall will determine the outcome of each encounter and the fate of your expedition.

Each run offers new opportunities to claim victory; as you progress, you’ll unlock new classes of recruits, from Scouts to Witch Hunters, as well as new items and cards that will upgrade your healing, speed, defense, and combat. Every decision matters, and you’ll need to quickly adapt your forces, skills, and starting positions for each fight. With new cards to unlock, unique card combinations, special starting positions to increase defense and combat capabilities, and the option for tactical retreats, players have complete control to ensure every run is different from the last.

As you set out on the adventure, you soon discover that the Ancestral War Banner of the Hida has been lost. This powerful relic dating from the earliest days of the Crab Clan must be retrieved at all costs, and so after a patrol sent to recover it disappears, it falls to Hida siblings O-Ushi and Sukune to embark beyond the Wall and return the banner to Watchtower of Wistful Strife. As they undertake their mission, they’ll find help from the powerful daimyō and shindōshi Kuni Yori, as well as be able to recruit familiar and beloved Crab Clan and allied characters from the Clan Wars era.

The Shadowlands are ever-changing, so players will need to adapt their strategy on each journey deeper into that evil realm. From the very beginning, you’ll be faced with a variety of quests and challenging strategic battles against terrifying Shadowlands inhabitants, including swarms of goblins, armies of ghosts, and cults of blood sorcerers known as madōshi.

Choose Your Commander

In Shadowveil, one of the first choices you’re confronted with is whether to play the game as Sukune or O-Ushi. Each of the Hida siblings offers a different playstyle and a unique perspective on the unfolding story, so you’ll want to choose your character wisely—or play through the game a second time as the other sibling to experience both narratives. You can read more about the voice talent bringing these characters to life in The Voices of Shadowveil.

Hida Sukune believes that knowledge, when wielded properly, can be a weapon just as deadly as a katana. A devoted student of tactics, lore, and history, he is able to make connections and discern insights invisible to the common soldier. Although he will never be a great fighter like his older siblings due to his chronic illness and physical frailty, Hida Sukune is already proving himself one of most formidable strategists of his generation.

In game terms, Sukune is a Tactician, meaning that he uses his knowledge of strategy and battlefield maneuvers to outsmart and outflank his opponents. Though he does not excel in single combat, he can greatly improve the effectiveness of those following him. The Tactician’s card abilities primarily revolve around supporting his party of samurai, including healing, shielding, and buffing himself and allied units. He can also unlock powerful, unique Masteries to help preserve his party’s precious Health from combat to combat.

Where Hida Sukune has the brains, Hida O-Ushi has the brawn. There’s a reason she’s called an “ox,” for few can match O-Ushi’s stubbornness and strength. The only daughter of the Crab Clan Champion is practically unstoppable once she starts swinging her warhammer. She knows she’s one of the greatest warriors of the clan, but growing up in the shadow of her older brother Yakamo has given her something of a temper and a chip on her shoulder.

O-Ushi is trained as a berserker, so she’s all about dishing out and withstanding damage in the front lines. Donning heavy armor and wielding a tetsubō, she can demolish weak enemies such as goblins with ease. Card abilities for the Berserker class improve her physical damage, make enemies more susceptible to harm, and even taunt nearby enemies to divert them from attacking weaker party members. When unlocked, O-Ushi’s signature Masteries help her and her allies hit even harder and survive even more punishment from enemies.

Prepare to Journey Beyond the Wall

For the first time, Legend of the Five Rings’ rich legacy of tactical combat, political intrigue, and clan loyalty comes to life in a hybrid roguelite-strategy video game. Head over to Steam to purchase the game today, and share your experiences with the game on the Shadowveil Discord server and Subreddit!