Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew — 5 Best Tips for Beginners

“Ahoy, Matey!” I hope you’re getting comfortable with your ninja pirate alter ego because Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew doesn’t plan to waste your time. The opposite. It’s a fun game of stealthily hiding in the bushes and attacking when enemies least expect it. Get spotted, though, and the alarm bells go wild, calling to every soldier nearby to come finish you off.

Not to worry, because all it takes to come out on the other side is proper preparation and mastery of the mechanics. And with these Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew— best tips for beginners, you’ll be well on your way to becoming the next Captain Jack Sparrow (or whatever pirate tickles your fancy the most).

5. The Environment is Your Playground

Often, you’ll have to cover your tracks. Often dragging dead bodies to hide them in bushes, throw them into water sources, stash them behind closed doors, and the like. Alternatively, you can use Suleidy’s cover seeds (or bush) to hide dead bodies instantly. Or Quentin’s treasure rod to drag corpses into the chest on his back. 

But if you use environmental traps, the other guards will just assume that their fellow died in an accident. So, no hiding of the dead bodies is needed. What’s more? Some traps can easily take down a group of enemies without breaking a sweat. All you need to do is activate them using a trigger or by pushing a button.

Not only environmental traps come in handy. There are plenty of hiding spots, too, just within the environment itself. There are the usual bushes that come in handy at night. Or buildings that have well-placed corners and obstacles that provide the perfect cover. Additionally, there are objects that you can interact with, too.

4. Distracting the Enemy Actually Works

Stealth games can really test your patience, especially if you’re used to going into battle guns blazing or like to see quick results. But Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew needs you to take the time to craft the perfect strategy. Trust me, seeing your plan work is enough reward to want another go at it.

In the game, you’ll find certain areas that are too close together to sneak past. The only way is to distract some of them so you can find the windows of opportunity to move your pirates for a fatal attack or closer to the goal.

It’s crucial to always include a pirate with impeccable distraction skills each time you go on a quest. For instance, you can use Afia to freeze guards in place for a few seconds with a snap of her finger. Or, Mr. Mercury can come in handy to summon his pet fish, Sir Reginald, to distract the guards.

Additionally, you can make the guards not only unaware of your presence but also have them leave their posts for a while. For instance, Suleidy can use wander dust to make guards take a walk in a straight line away from your position. Pretty grand, huh?

3. Pull Up Enemy View Cones

How do you know when a guard can see you, you ask? Well, you pull up their view cones beforehand. In fact, view cones play a crucial role in the game, I doubt you can go very far without using them at least once. The enemy view cones help to assure you that it’s safe to pass through a certain place. When you turn them on, they appear like an actual cone showing a guard’s vision. 

You’ll see that the cones have a partially stripped and filled part. The stripped part shows that the area is a no-go. However, the stripped part is free for you to move. Remember, though, that you must always move while crouching. If you walk upright, the guards will see you. 

Also, the view cones only come in handy during the night. In the day, they can obviously see for quite a distance, so you may want to stick to hiding in bushes or behind big enough objects, or sometimes moving to higher ground can work, too.

When the view cones turn yellow, it means you have been spotted. So now, you either run and hide until the guards calm down or take the fight to them. If they turn red, it means the guards have reached where you are. They will attack you, and, well, it’s game over.

2. Use the Highlight to See Better

If you’re wondering how you can see all of the environmental perks you can use, there’s a key feature you can use to highlight all of these for you. And not just for a moment. You can set it always show guards and objects. With a single button press, you can see the view cone of any guard or highlight all the interactables and guards on the map.

The good news is that you don’t have to pause the game to highlight useful features. You’re free to either activate it for a short time or permanently. Either way, you always have access to all the necessary information and never miss a fun trap or an enemy.

1. Try, and Try Again

If you die, don’t worry. There’s always room to try again. After all, these are undead pirates who can always come back to life as often as needed. The trick is to perfect your strategy with each revival. You can even pause the screen, give commands to each character, and watch them unfold. Then, take note of the point where the plan crumbles and fine-tune it for the next round.

Don’t worry about losing your progress, either. You can always use Red Marley’s save scumming feature to save your progress. And, because there are numerous paths to the end goal, you’ll find yourself devising a one-of-a-kind, clever strategy that will feel incredibly satisfying to execute.

So, what’s your take? Do you agree with Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew — best tips for beginners? Are there more tips we should know about? Let us know over on our socials here.