Kizoku no Kage

About this game

Latest news

• Announcements·22 Jul 2026Official

  Noble Shadows Report #3 - Mission 1: Wrath of Heaven - Level Design Preview

  Shadows,Today I want to break down the level and map design for Mission 1 - Wrath of Heaven.Mission 1 is a rectangular walled village built as a semi-open world. You start at the main gate of the village, positioned out of sight from enemy patrols to allow for initial planning and observation. From there, you work your way inward toward the central castle where the main target, the Wicked Merchant, is located.Because it is semi-open world, a dedicated map of the village will be a feature added soon to help with navigation and route planning.The map is designed with multiple vertical layers: ground alleys, rooftops, and future interior shortcuts.Level Design GoalsPlayer freedom - 3 to 4 viable infiltration routes to the castle at any pointVerticality - almost every house and building is accessible via roof for stealth Light as gameplay - deep shadows for hiding, lanterns as hazards to avoidTechnical BreakdownLighting at ScaleThe map is lit by thousands of dynamic lanterns, all casting real-time shadows. This would normally kill performance, but I'm using Unreal Engine 5's MegaLights system. This allows me to have this many shadow-casting lights with minimal cost, which is essential for a stealth game where lighting IS gameplay.Custom Weather SystemWhat you hear is all in-game. No background music added. I built a custom Blueprint class from scratch that controls randomized lightning flashes with emissive sky pulse, delayed thunder SFX, and dynamic heavy rain audio mix. This system will drive gameplay later - thunder will mask footsteps.Current StatusThis is a Level Blockout Preview - In-Engine. Scale and flow are locked. Interiors, enemy AI, and final art pass are still in development. Guards seen are just scale dummies for route testing.Up NextFull lightning strike VFXWet surface shadersInterior blockouts for the castleVillage map featureThank you for your continued support.Sherwin | Kizoku no Kage
  Read full article on Community Announcements (UltraHypedGamer)

• Announcements·29 Jun 2026Official

  Noble Shadows Report #2 - Hair Customization by Popular Demand

  Hey everyone, Sherwin the Dev here 👋Real talk on what I’ve been doing in Kizoku no Kage.Why hair, and why now? Two reasons:The full character design is still a work in progress and I got sick of staring at the same default haircut while testing combat.There’s been a lot of requests about customization from you all. So I decided to quickly develop this hair style & color feature as a fast iteration on character design. Consider it me listening.Dev priority check:My main focus is still on core stuff — combat systems, level design, enemy AI, story beats. That’s where 90% of my time goes. This hair system was basically a “sudden insert” into development, but your requests + my sanity made it happen.So what’s this preview?Showing 5 hairstyles today - mostly anime style right now. Topknots with questionable physics, braids that defy gravity, that one dramatic eye-covering strand.Game will have 10+ styles total.All Unlockable. All earned through quests, clan rep, exploration.No more default-hair jail - you won’t be stuck and bored on a single hairstyle. Change it up before starting a mission.It’s WIP - the actual customization menu/UI is still being built and I’ll reveal that in future updates.Scope reminder:Hair is just the first piece. The plan is clothing and accessories will be unlockable too — kimono, masks, headbands, all dyeable. But combat and levels come first, so don’t expect the full wardrobe yet.I genuinely need your vote since you asked for this:Do you LIKE the anime hair direction?Or do you want more serious, grounded historical styles? Less anime protagonist, more exhausted shinobi?What should the other styles be? You requested customization — now tell me what to fill it with.Comment below or yell at me on. - I’m solo so I literally read every post.Thanks for pushing me to add this. At least now we both don’t have to look at the same haircut for 20 hours.— Sherwin / Kizoku no KageKizoku no Kage (Noble Shadows) is a stealth-action game inspired by Tenchu, set...
  Read full article on Community Announcements (UltraHypedGamer)

• Announcements·15 Jun 2026Official

  Noble Shadows Report #1 — Grapple System Prototype

  Hello Shinobi!Welcome to the first development update for Kizoku no Kage (Noble Shadows).I recently discovered Steam’s Events & Announcements feature. This looks like the best way to share progress directly with you and keep the community updated as development continues. I’ll be posting here whenever there’s something worth showing.Today I want to share a major new system currently in prototype: the grapple.\Grapple System — In DevelopmentThe goal is to capture the deliberate, committed movement of classic Tenchu. This prototype focuses on weight and positioning, not arcade-style swinging.Current features being tested:Hooking & Swinging — Attach to wooden beams and ledges to cross gaps or reposition during stealth. Tuning the arc and momentum now.Ledge Movement Expansion — New controls for shifting, climbing, and dropping while hanging. Opens up vertical routes for planning assassinations.Contextual Stealth Kills — Additional takedowns performed from grapple points and ledge positions. Early implementation, but core flow is working. Development StatusPlease note: Character models, animations, and sound effects in this footage are temporary. The purpose of this test is to evaluate traversal feel before visual polish. Expect placeholder assets. From the DeveloperTenchu is the reason I became a game developer. Kizoku no Kage is my attempt to honor that style of tense, methodical stealth with modern controls. The grapple is critical to that vision — it’s not just mobility, it’s part of the hunt. Community Feedback & Feature RequestsThis is early prototype footage, and your input directly shapes development. I’m looking for thoughts on the core movement first: does the swing have the right weight, and does it feel grounded compared to PS1-era Tenchu? Beyond that, I want to hear your feature requests. What Tenchu mechanics or new stealth tools would you love to see in Noble Shadows? If there’s anything about traversal, combat, or stealth that you think is missing, let me...
  Read full article on Community Announcements (UltraHypedGamer)