Eager to find wealth, fame, and adventure, Afia Manicato boards the Sapient Ship Red Marley, and finds that the Cursed crew have been captured and incapacitated by the zealots of the Inquisition. Afia must work together with the Red Marley to revive the crew, and compete against the Inquisition to find clues to Captain Mordechai's lost treasure. The Red Marley herself has the power to rewind time, giving the crew a chance to redo their actions after they embark on an island. Her power has limits, but the potential benefits don't go unnoticed: Ignacia of the Inquisition is trying to find a way to exploit Marley's power in a way she sees fit, in order to eliminate the Cursed forever and bring her version of purity to the world. Along the way, the Red Marley and her crew of pirates find that perhaps there is more at stake than dividing a hoard of gold, and some mistakes from the past can't be undone.
On December 6th, 2023, Mimimi Games released two DLCs as the studio's final releases. The first one is Yuki's Wish, featuring the return of Yuki, one of the playable characters of Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, as well as Kuma the trusty tanuki, as they both join the Marley 's crew in the search for a fabled lost island "Dragon's Dream" in pursuit of a legendary dragon who's said to be able to grant any wish. The second one is "Zagan's Ritual", featuring an original character Zagan, a former high-ranking Inquisitor Prognosticar Mad Scientist who joins the Marley 's crew intending to perform a dark experiment and harness the very essence of the Maiden's fire. Both DLCs featured six new missions and a new island each.
Tropes found in Shadow Gambit include:
- Alternate History: The game is set in a fantasy world where undead pirates scour the seas, and both the Cursed pirates and the Inquisition can wield magical powers. But occasionally, references to real-world places and historical names are mentioned in dialogue.
- Anchors Away: John Mercury's weapon is a large anchor.
- And I Must Scream: The Isle of Penance is a prison that holds the souls of prisoners who died before completing their sentence. Thousands of soul jars are inside the prison, and the bodies of the prisoners have long been discarded. Some prisoners have been driven mad by being held there for over a century.
- Bag of Holding: Quentin carries a chest on his back at all times. He can dispose of bodies by pulling them into the chest, which never gets full.
- BFG: Gaëlle carries a ship's cannon on her back that is large enough to fit another person inside of it.
- Big Bad: Ignacia, a high-ranking member of the Inquisition. She's really the only antagonist with any kind of personality other than being a disposable mook.
- Bigger on the Inside: Descending into the lower decks of the Red Marley leads to the Below, an otherworldly Eldritch Location that can only be reached by the Cursed. The Below appears as a haphazard arrangement of decks and bulkheads floating in a vast space, and only Estelle seems to be able to navigate it without getting hopelessly lost. Even Marley mentions that she loses track of everything in her lower decks, and she relies on Estelle to keep track.
- Bilingual Dialogue:
- Whenever Sir Reginald (an ordinary fish) talks to John, all we hear is a *blub blub* sound. John always acts as if he is conversing with Sir Reginald.
- When Quentin talks with Estelle, a monkey. Estelle can only make animal noises, but Quentin can understand and respond like normal.
- Blind Weaponmaster: Theresa has no eyes and wears a blindfold, but she is the team's sharpshooter. She lampshades this at one point when another character asks her how she manages to shoot using her soul rather than normal ammunition, saying that at least they're past the point of asking how she manages to do it without any eyes.
- Captured on Purpose: Pinkus tells that in his past, he walked into an Inquisition prison to be captured on purpose, just to experience what it's like to be a prisoner.
- Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: Saving the game frequently and loading when you make a mistake is a staple of Mimimi's games, but here, it has been written into the story as a Time Rewind Mechanic. This means that even from the perspective of the characters In-Universe, any false move can be undone and retried until reaching a successful outcome.
- Death Is Cheap: The Cursed crew have all died long ago, but carry on as undead pirates. Even when killed in this state, they can be revived by infusing a black pearl with soul energy.
- Defector from Decadence: Theresa's clothing is no coincidence - she used to be a Iudex of the Inquisition.
- Dem Bones: There are several unnamed skeletons walking around the decks of the Red Marley. Supposedly they take care of the menial tasks on board the ship.
- Dressed to Plunder: All of the pirates incorporate elements of the typical pirate costume. We see eyepatches, peg legs, long beards, and at least one Hook Hand.
- Eldritch Abomination: The Time Soul is a primordial entity with the power to manipulate time and space. It speaks "eldritch gibberish" that only Marley can comprehend.
- Eldritch Location: The Below is an otherworldly realm that can be accessed by the Cursed. When seen, it manifests as a chaotic blend of ship decks and bulkheads floating in space. Descending into the lower decks of the Red Marley is one way to reach the Below, but it is apparently much more vast than what is shown.
- Elite Mooks: Prognosticars are more difficult to take down than ordinary mooks, and there are usually only a few in each mission.
- Extradimensional Shortcut: When the crew needs to return from land to the Red Marley, they use a Portal Door that leads them through the Below and back to the the ship.
- Eyepatch of Power: Some of the pirates have an eyepatch, but it's Captain "Black Eye" Mordechai that has a special eye that qualifies him for the "power" part of the trope.
- Flash Step: Afia can attack by teleporting over a short distance directly to her target.
- Gameplay and Story Integration: On one level, Ignacia rewinds time to erase the level's entire events. The endgame summary for that level lists your characters as having done nothing - no kills, no abilities used, and so on - since, after all, none of it happened. It will even unlock any "finish a level without using X" achievements that you haven't completed already.
- Ghost Pirate: All of the playable characters are undead pirates. Even the Team Pet is an undead monkey.
- Ghost Ship: The Red Marley is referred to as a ghost ship, and is apparently a normal ship that has become possessed by a spirit.
- The Golden Age of Piracy: It's the time period of the game's setting, although this is an Alternate History where the pirates have magical powers.
- Grand Theft Me: Pinkus's signature ability has him possessing the body of an enemy, making a perfect disguise.
- Great Offscreen War: The war between pirates of the Lost Caribbean and the Inquisition. The Blackbeard himself is mentioned several times in the lore as one of the key pirate leaders, with him leading a clash against the Inquisition's Third Iron Fleet at Calamity Reef which unleashed extreme raw energy that twisted the landscape. Captain Mordecai and the crew of the Red Marley also took part in the war as well, and Afia is revealed to be a war orphan who was rescued by Mordecai himself during the battle at Port Royal which killed her parents.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: Late in the game, when Ignacia uses the power from the Time Soul, she reshapes the world to meet her vision of rigid order and purity. Each time she perceives a flaw in the system, she resets the world and tries again. This has been going on for over four thousand iterations.
- Hates Baths: When John has to make his special soap to clean the deck of the Red Marley, Marley tries to talk him out of it and insists that she doesn't need cleaning. John notes that it's been years since she's been cleaned and it's an important part of ship maintenance, but Marley still balks at the idea.
- Hook Hand: Theresa has a hook for a hand.
- Hub Level: The real missions all take place on land. Between missions, the Red Marley serves as a hub level where you can chat with the crew and engage in side quests for character development.
- Human Cannonball: Gaëlle can load a mook or an ally into her cannon and then shoot them to another location.
- Impoverished Patrician: Pinkus was once wealthy and lived in high society. Some event in his past led to him becoming impoverished and he wound up as a pirate on the Red Marley. His Coin ability description on the ship points out he might be a bit less impoverished if he didn't toss coins around...
- Instant Death Stab: Several characters kill mooks with bladed weapons. Especially noticeable with Toya, who kills quickly with a single stab from his sword. Downplayed as there are varying durations for these attacks, so some characters take longer (at most, a few seconds) to kill their targets with their blades than other ones.
- Interchangeable Antimatter Keys: In some missions, locked doors can be overcome by taking keys from mooks. Each key can be used only once and then disappears from your inventory.
- Jolly Roger: Suleidy's outfit includes a cloak seemingly crafted from a pirate flag, including highly visible skull and crossed bones.
- Killed Off for Real: Captain Mordechai was the leader of the undead pirate crew, but he has been permanently killed by the Inquisition.
- Long John Shout Out: John Mercury has a similar name to John Silver from Treasure Island. Both of their surnames are metals, and another name for the element mercury is quicksilver.
- Loves Only Gold: Quentin is a treasure hunter who is obsessed with amassing loot. He doesn't have a real job on the Red Marley and spends his time fishing in the sea, although he is trying to catch treasure instead of fish.
- Loyalty Mission: All of the Red Marley playable crew except Afia has their own "Captain's Test" that's part of the process to find Captain Mordechai's treasure. A Magic Mirror as mentioned below shows the spirit of Mordechai who gives each of his crew a mission to resolve their past issues and get closure. You're required to do this for at least four crew members, but you can also finish the other crew members's missions later on after you finish the main storyline.
- Magic Mirror: Captain Mordechai left such a mirror locked away in the lower decks of the Red Marley as an essential clue that helps the crew find his lost treasure.
- Magical Eye: The Captain is called "Black Eye" Mordechai for a reason.
- Mental Fusion: Suleidy has a method for fusing her soul with another. She uses it to help the Dread Vine after it has been weakened by the Inquisition. Later, Suleidy uses her method to temporarily fuse Afia's soul with the Red Marley, allowing Afia to describe what it's like to have a ship for a body.
- Multinational Team: The Red Marley's core crew comprised of, among others, a a Japanese cook/assassin, a French cannoness, a German quartermaster, etc. Everyone in your party all came from various origins and walks of life, each with their own reasons for being there sailing under Captain Mordechai's leadership (or in Afia's case, trying to find his legendary treasure after his death).
- My Skull Runneth Over: Any Inquisition mook caught nearby when a Custodes is killed is completely overwhelmed by visions of the Grand Design. Apparently, the Inquisition considers this an honor.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie: Toya of Iga is a skeleton pirate who is also a ninja. He's even also a cook! No, we don't know if any of the ghost pirates actually need to eat either.
- Nostalgia Level: Toya is pretty obviously designed to be a tribute to Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, sharing a general color scheme with Hayato and coming from the same clan as him. He also has Yuki's Bird's Voice ability.
- One-Armed Warrior: Toya is missing an arm. He is a ninja that kills with a sword.
- Only One Name: Suleidy, Virgilio, and Ignacia each have only one name given.
- Pirate Booty: Getting Captain Mordechai's treasure is the goal of the pirates, but Afia becomes aware that his treasure is more than just gold and jewels. Still, when the treasure is eventually found, there are indeed huge piles of gold to be claimed.
- Plant Person: Suleidy is shaped like a human but with plant-like limbs and leaves sprouting about her body.
- Portal Door: The crew always leaves the island through a doorway to the Below. These doorways can only be seen by the Cursed, and they allow the crew to reach another Portal Door on the Red Marley.
- Post-End Game Content: After defeating Ignacia, you can replay any mission you've already completed, and complete the captain's test missions for every crew member. There is even one more unlockable character to be obtained while working for 100% Completion.
- Prison Level: The Isle of Penance is an island that is used as a prison by the Inquisition.
- Quieting the Unquiet Dead: Pinkus's loyal servant Sebastian has been imprisoned by the Inquisition for over thirty years. After dying in prison, Sebastian's ghost only wishes to be laid to rest. Pinkus endeavors to help Sebastian complete a ritual that will give Sebastian a true and final death.
- Religion of Evil: The militant zealots of the Inquisition show few redeeming qualities. Theresa mentions that she used to be a devout follower until she realized that the religion used the martyrdom of the Maiden as an excuse for atrocities. She also points out that a sanitarium was once a place for rest and healing, but over time had been repurposed into a place where dissidents are imprisoned and reeducated. Theresa decided to abandon the religion because of her disdain for its transition to evil.
- Ridiculously Alive Undead: The crew of the Red Marley are undead pirates, but they often mention eating, drinking, smoking tobacco, and sleeping. Some of them can't swim, implying that breathing is necessary as well.
- Rod And Reel Repurposed: Quentin's fishing rod is used to hook objects in the environment, or to reel in dead bodies or even to pull allies to him.
- Sapient Ship: The Red Marley is a sailing ship of wood, but is inhabited by a spirit that has become the soul of the ship itself. Marley can see, hear, and feel everything that happens on board, as if the ship is her physical body. Afia mentions that she has met other "ship souls" in conversation, with Marley being the most powerful she's encountered.
- Save Scumming: Much like Mimimi's other games, the game encourages this by timing how long it's been since you last saved which is Color-Coded for Your Convenience like a traffic light again, starting out green, becoming yellow after two minutes, and going red after five minutes. Each level's stats will record how often you had to reload a level. Unlike their other games, however, the Marley will explicitly say something to remind you that it might be a good idea to make a save-er, use her power.
- Sea Monster: Angler's Grave is an island so named for the remains of a giant angler fish, whose bones remain after being killed long ago.
- Seadog Beard: Captain Mordechai has a very impressive braided beard, that somehow stays on his skull even after his flesh is gone. John Mercury has a beard, too.
- Seadog Peg Leg: Toya and Theresa each have a wooden leg.
- Sliding Scale of Gameplay and Story Integration: The Red Marley can rewind time to a moment stored in her memory, essentially giving an In-Universe explanation for the player saving and loading the game. This isn't just an arbitrary explanation, though: Ignacia is determined to find the secret to Marley's power so she can control it herself, and in fact, at certain points in the story you find this power used against you when Ignacia is able to rewind time.
- Soul Jar: At the Isle of Penance, souls of deceased prisoners are kept in jars to complete their sentence. Some have been driven mad by being held imprisoned without a body for over a century.
- Stealthy Teleportation: When Toya uses his Shadow Step skill, he instantly and quietly teleports to where he left his katashiro.
- Still Wearing the Old Colors: Teresa, who deserted the Inquisition long ago, still wears the tattered remains of the outfit of an Inquisition Iudex.
- Talk Like a Pirate: Captain Mordechai has the most typical pirate speech, and he even gives us the occasional "Arrr!"
- Team Pet: Estelle is a zombie monkey that has intimate knowledge of the lower decks of the Red Marley. Due to Marley being Bigger on the Inside, the other characters seldom venture into the lower decks without relying on Estelle as a guide, lest they become lost in the Below.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: Like pretty much any stealth game, the Mooks are like this. For example, Suleidy can instantly grow hiding by tossing a seed that will sprout into a bush. Mooks will not find a bush suddenly appearing in a place where there wasn't one before while they were looking away suspicious at all, and sprouting a bush directly in their viewcone will only cause them to be surprised and distracting by the sight of the bush sprouting right in front of them rather than sounding the alarm because, obviously, strange magic is being used.
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything:
- While on board the Red Marley, some members of the crew are seldom seen doing any meaningful work. Pinkus is the ship's quartermaster, but he spends his time in leisure. At some point he admits that he doesn't even know what a quartermaster's responsibility is. Quentin doesn't even have a job, and just spends his time fishing in the sea.
- More generally, while your crew of pirates does fight the inquisition and technically loots and plunders from them (if you count grabbing quest objectives, anyway), it doesn't engage in any actual piracy per se.
- Throwing the Distraction: Some characters can throw something to temporarily distract the mooks, like Pinkus tossing a coin or Gaëlle throwing firecrackers.
- Time Rewind Mechanic: The Red Marley has the magical power to rewind time to a moment stored in her memory, as long as it's within the past day. While this appears as a justified reason for saving and loading the game, it's also an integral part of the story.
- Torso with a View: Gaëlle has a large hole through the middle of her body.
- The Undead: Everyone on board the Red Marley appears to be undead. Some are walking skeletons while others have varying amounts of flesh still intact. Even the Team Pet Estelle is a zombie monkey.
- Wise Tree: The Dread Vine is an ancient talking plant with roots and vines branching out across an entire island. Although, he has a grumpy disposition, and he is choosy about sharing his wisdom.
