A new real-time tactics game, Yakoh Shinobi Ops, is in development and aims to carve out its own space in a genre often associated with titles like Commandos and Desperados. The game, inspired by a turbulent period in Japanese history, focuses on stealth and tactical gameplay. This announcement arrives as the real-time tactics genre continues to see a resurgence in popularity, fueled by innovative approaches to gameplay and immersive historical settings.
Unlike other games in the genre, Yakoh Shinobi Ops will emphasize cooperative play, allowing players to control four shinobi on covert missions under the cover of darkness. The core gameplay loop centers around avoiding detection rather than direct confrontation, prioritizing skillful maneuvering around patrolling guards.
One distinctive feature of Yakoh Shinobi Ops, as showcased in the trailer, is the absence of traditional line-of-sight indicators. Instead of seeing what enemies can see, players’ own vision will be obstructed by environmental elements. Success will depend on careful attention to noise levels, leveraging each character’s unique abilities, and strategic coordination. Characters possess diverse skills, including grappling hooks for vertical traversal, wall-breaching hammers, and distraction or chaos-inducing grenades.
Adding another layer of complexity, the game will feature supernatural entities alongside conventional soldiers, presenting a greater threat to players. The trailer offers a glimpse of these creatures and the game’s overall brutal aesthetic. The project appears ambitious, though a single trailer provides limited insight into the final product.
Yakoh Shinobi Ops is currently slated for release on PC and PlayStation 5, with a projected launch window of sometime in 2027.
