Campfire Cabal is back with the third round of Dev Diaries for Expeditions: Samurai, the newest instalment in the beloved series, currently available in Early Access. The latest blog post is dedicated to the most significant addition to gameplay compared to the previous games: stealth.
“Every Expeditions game undergoes a few gameplay changes compared to previous instalments, both to keep the series feeling fresh, but also to support the themes of each game’s distinct setting and story. This dev diary will delve into the most significant change we’ve made to Samurai, being the addition of stealth mechanics, and show how this new aspect of the game plays together with other new features.”
Such major new element coming to Expeditions: Samurai is, of course, the stealth system and the associated AI behavior. Note that it doesn’t make Samurai a full-on stealth game, but it does give enemies a more human behavior, and makes transitions between real-time exploration and turn-based combat more smooth and interesting.
Taking away omniscience from the enemies and starting the battle without them knowing exactly where your characters are makes for a more dynamic experience. Enemies now need to see you, or see an ally who’s already fighting you, or hear you moving around, hear shots being fired, etc. This adds a new dimension to the sort of tactics and cunning you can use to give yourself an edge.
Expeditions: Samurai – How Stealth Works
Stealth in Expeditions: Samurai works similarly to other turn-based adventures. If enemies have a direct line of sight to you, they will begin to identify you as a threat, with the speed determined by your chosen game difficulty. Once they realize that you are a hostile target, they will pull you into turn-based combat. If you manage to break line of sight before an enemy has fully identified you as a threat, they will come searching for you, seeking out the area where they saw you last.
Certain actions or objects can also alarm the guards. For example, your footsteps make sound. Louder if you cross wood or puddles, quieter if you move across the tatami. Enemies will also get spooked if they see a dead body of an ally, and will try to immediately raise alarm and hail others to search for the intruder. If they don’t find you despite their best efforts, they will enter the “High Alert” mode, which will alter their behavior into more aggressive searching pattern. Note that High Alert doesn’t fade, once enemies enter this state, they stay in it.
Note that though you may be able to tackle certain encounters fully without entering combat if you are particularly skilled at stealth, you are never expected to play this way.
Previously, the developers also outlined the upcoming changes. Check them out!
