Fire Emblem Shadows mixes in a little social deduction with its tactics

Nintendo recently announced that the next mainline Fire Emblem game is coming in 2026, and it looks like the company has another take on the popular strategy series to tide you over while you wait. Fire Emblem Shadows is a new mobile spin-off that combines the series’ tactics gameplay with some of the social dedication mechanics popularized by games like Among Us, and it’s available to download now.

Shadows follows groups of heroes — the typical collection of royals, rogues and anime archetypes — navigating an underground labyrinth. “Players choose to take on the role of either a disciple of light, aiming to find their way through the labyrinth, or a disciple of shadow,” Nintendo writes.”After the initial battle, players vote to determine who they believe is the treacherous disciple of shadow. The outcome of the vote affects whether the next battle is more favorable or more challenging.”

Unlike a typical Fire Emblem match, though, you don’t have direct control over your characters during battles. Instead, you can see the path they’ll take through a map and are tasked with deploying spells that hurt enemies, heal heroes or offer other buffs while they move. The gameplay-style makes the whole thing feel hands-off and even a little boring in early battles, but it’s possible that could change with more difficult foes. You also earn upgrades as you play, and Nintendo is selling a season pass that unlocks premium rewards while you work your way through either of Fire Emblem Shadows’ two plots.

While Nintendo’s push into mobile games has slowed in recent years, the company has fairly consistently updated its original spin-off, Fire Emblem Heroes, since it was released in 2017. That game offered a take on the series’ gameplay that hewed closer to the original, just with a gacha-style lottery system for unlocking new characters. If it proves popular, it seems likely Fire Emblem Shadows will see the same level of support.

Fire Emblem Shadows is available to download for free on iOS and Android.