Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew gets mod support in surprise final update

16.12.2023 - 14:31 / eurogamer.net

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is one of the year's best releases as far as I'm concerned, but its arrival was bittersweet, given developer Mimimi Games announced it was shutting up shop shortly after. Since then, the team has wrapped up work on two final DLC drops introducing new characters, islands, and more — but it turns out that wasn't quite everything it had in store: in a surprise final update, Mimimi has now launched an expansive «modding tool» for PC.

Shadow Gambit launched back in August, and saw Mimimi revisiting its beloved stealth-tactics genre — which it'd already bought to life with impressive flair in Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun and Desperados 3 — with an instantly appealing pirate fantasy twist. The result, as I wrote in my four star review was a blend of «raucous, high seas adventure and cerebral, slow-paced stealth» that proved to be a «joyous mastery of a very particular form».

Shortly after its release, Mimimi announced Shadow Gambit would be the studio's last project, as its «increasingly ambitious games» had taken a «heavy personal toll on us and our families». Two final DLC releases for Shadow Gambit were to bring the studio's activities to a close, but it's now surprised fans with a «very final parting gift»: an expansive «modding tool» designed to enable players to create their own custom mods.

«This new feature puts the creative powers in your hands, allowing you to craft your own missions and forge your own captivating stories,» Mimimi explains in its announcement post. «Spawn characters, enemies and NPCs throughout a level. Have fun placing different objects and interactive elements to create a new dynamic landscape within the existing locations of Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew. Set animations, establish routines for enemy guards, and even add your own dramatic flair with dialogues and cutscenes. Just let your creativity run wild!».

While Mimimi acknowledges it's not a «fully-fledged modding editor», it says it hopes the new tool will «offer a really fun way for you to get creative and to keep the Shadow Gambit flame alive». Additionally, all custom content can be exported to a designated «Mods» folder on PC and then shared on a «dedicated and official» Shadow Gambit modding space on Mod.io.

Some initial tips on creating custom mod content for Shadow Gambit can be found on Mod.io, and Mimimi has also created a short tutorial video and several mod examples to get players started. «We really hope you'll enjoy this new feature and we can't wait to see what you will come up with,» it concludes. «Let your modding adventures set sail in the vast seas of Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew.»