Choose Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Choose Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun if you want an Indie experience. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 8,989 Steam reviews back the pick.
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun vs Desperados III
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun and Desperados III both land in Strategy on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Strategy games on Steam. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (2016) is 4 years older than Desperados III (2020). Both sit near 95% positive on Steam (Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun: 8,989 reviews, Desperados III: 4,284). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Desperados III
Choose Desperados III if it's the newer release (2020) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 4,284 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun and Desperados III sit in Strategy on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (94.9% vs 95.7% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun |  Desperados III | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2016 | 2020 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie | Strategy |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Playable |
| Price | 39.99 USD | 39.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 94.9% positive (8,989 reviews) | 95.7% positive (4,284 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Mimimi Games | Mimimi Games |
Side by side
- Both are Strategy games on Steam.
- Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (2016) is 4 years older than Desperados III (2020).
- Both sit near 95% positive on Steam (Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun: 8,989 reviews, Desperados III: 4,284).
- Desperados III is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (39.99 USD vs. 39.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is Deck Verified, Desperados III is Deck Playable.
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun vs Desperados III — FAQ
- Which is better, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun or Desperados III?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun sits at 94.9% positive (8,989 reviews), Desperados III at 95.7% (4,284). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun or Desperados III first?
- If you want chronology, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (2016) came out before Desperados III (2020). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun and Desperados III similar?
- They overlap on Strategy on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.