Shank

69%
Game Brain Score Based on 825 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Shank Game Cover
While there is certainly an argument for style over substance here, it is hard to see any fans of the genre being disappointed with Shank's enticing gameplay.
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"Shank" is a hack and slash game that combines single-player and local multi-player modes for up to 2 players in split screen. The game features a good plot, wonderful mechanics, sensational graphics, and a phenomenal soundtrack. Players control Shank, battling through hordes of enemies and bosses in a stylized, grindhouse setting, with a weapon-based combo system that allows for endless combinations of mayhem. However, the game can be quite grinding and has been reported to have bugs.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Cloud
  • Linux
  • NVIDIA GeForce NOW
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

69%
Audience ScoreBased on 825 reviews
story68 positive mentions
stability9 negative mentions
  • Engaging and fun combat mechanics with a variety of weapons and combos.
  • Beautiful hand-drawn art style and animations that enhance the overall experience.
  • Fast-paced gameplay with a satisfying sense of violence and action.
  • Short playtime, typically around 3-4 hours, which may leave players wanting more.
  • Repetitive gameplay and enemy types can lead to a lack of variety over time.
  • Control issues, especially when using a keyboard, can hinder the overall experience.
  • story268 mentions

    The game's story is primarily a straightforward revenge narrative, featuring the protagonist Shank on a quest to avenge his girlfriend's murder, which is often compared to the style of Quentin Tarantino films. While some players appreciate the over-the-top and gritty presentation, others criticize the story for being clichéd and lacking depth, with significant portions edited or censored in the Steam version, leading to plot holes. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop to the action-packed gameplay, with a co-op mode that adds additional context to the narrative.

    • “The game's story is decent, focusing on revenge and redemption.”
    • “The story is as simple as they come.”
    • “The story follows the classic arcade game design; hordes of goons, heaps of weapons and move combos, excellent boss fights and a story about revenge.”
    • “The story is as generic as they come, but it's only there to give some context to the action.”
    • “The story is a very basic revenge tale, nothing really interesting going on there.”
    • “On top of all of this they censored the game and removed a ton of cutscenes which thus made the story make even less sense than it already did and gives you little motivation to be invested in the game unless you really just like mass murder.”
  • gameplay169 mentions

    The gameplay in Shank is characterized by fast-paced, fluid combat mechanics that provide an engaging experience, despite some criticisms of repetitiveness and simplicity. Players appreciate the dynamic fighting system and beautiful graphics, although some find the platforming elements and enemy variety lacking. Overall, while the gameplay may not be groundbreaking, it delivers a satisfying and entertaining beat 'em up experience.

    • “Shank offers fast-paced and intense gameplay.”
    • “The challenging boss fights and level design keep the gameplay engaging and exciting.”
    • “With its beautiful graphics, satisfying combat, and intense gameplay, it provides an entertaining experience.”
    • “The gameplay lacks in so many aspects with so many good examples to take note from.”
    • “It's a real shame that Shank has some tediously nonsensical platforming sections, mindlessly easy challenges, and gameplay that grows stale far too quickly.”
    • “However, what I can fault it for is its terribly unresponsive controls, repetitive gameplay that's only real progress is gained from achieving arbitrary weapons at times that most of the time are worse than the first few weapons you unlock anyway.”
  • graphics161 mentions

    The graphics in Shank are widely praised for their vibrant, hand-drawn art style that evokes a comic book aesthetic, featuring smooth animations and bold colors that enhance the game's gritty atmosphere. Many reviewers note that the visuals have aged remarkably well since its 2010 release, providing a visually stunning experience that complements the intense gameplay. While some critiques mention that certain level designs may lack variety, the overall artistic direction and fluid animations contribute significantly to the game's appeal.

    • “The graphics in Shank are beautifully crafted, with vibrant colors and smooth animations.”
    • “One of Shank's unique features is its comic book-style graphics, with bold colors and exaggerated animations that make the game visually stunning.”
    • “The graphics are beautifully hand-drawn and are a visual feast, reminiscent of a Saturday morning cartoon filled with action.”
    • “The level designs are quite boring graphically and in playability.”
    • “Certain aspects of the art and animation look very good - the character movement and style is outstanding - but what Klei calls a ‘grindhouse’ aesthetic instead translates as bland and uninspired.”
    • “It was clearly made by amateur indie developers and the only thing remotely polished about it is the art style, which is fairly polarizing as it is.”
  • music58 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its ability to enhance the intense action and overall atmosphere, while others find it repetitive and occasionally annoying. The soundtrack is often described as fitting and well-suited to the game's themes, with some standout moments, but it may not be memorable outside of the gameplay experience. Overall, it contributes positively to the game's aesthetic, though opinions vary on its long-term appeal.

    • “The background music perfectly complements the intense action, enhancing the gameplay experience.”
    • “The soundtrack is also incredible, and is possibly the best I have heard in a game since Halo; everything is so well suited to the theme, and enhances the experience noticeably.”
    • “Great beat 'em up with good and dynamic combat and kickass music.”
    • “Mixed voice acting, dull and - with enough time - annoying soundtrack, bad sound remastering, volume leveling is off, very lackluster choice of sound effects.”
    • “In comes the soundtrack which just gets more and more annoying with time, blaring its looping fanfare into your ears, wishing you would stop playing already.”
    • “Another issue with the game is the blah music.”
  • replayability18 mentions

    Shank offers moderate replayability through its multiple difficulty levels and unlockables, but the absence of additional game modes or multiplayer options limits its long-term appeal. While some players appreciate the variation in combat and the challenge of hard mode, many find the overall experience repetitive after the initial playthrough, leading to a consensus of low to decent replay value. Overall, it may be enjoyable for genre fans, but its short length and lack of diverse content suggest waiting for a sale.

    • “Shank offers a decent amount of replayability with its multiple difficulty levels and various unlockables.”
    • “However, Shank manages to be a part fighting game with platforming elements to give it enough variation for replayability to make the game memorable and last longer.”
    • “A solid action platformer with good replay value!”
    • “However, the lack of additional game modes or multiplayer options limits the game's long-term replay value.”
    • “There's some replayability if you want to try hard mode or unlock all the costumes, but frankly after you settle into a pattern of attack that you like, beating up very similar goons already becomes somewhat repetitive in the first playthrough, so I'm not sure how many more I'd be interested in doing.”
    • “I would wait for a sale with this one; I found the game to be good, but it is both way too short and lacking in replay value to buy at full price.”
  • humor16 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by a blend of cheesy action movie tropes, dark comedy, and absurd violence, creating a fun and entertaining experience. Players appreciate the witty one-liners, humorous graphics, and the overall charm that adds a lighthearted touch to the intense gameplay. While the humor is generally well-received, some may find it too mature or triggering due to its graphic content.

    • “Cool game with nice graphics and good humor.”
    • “The game itself is full of great combos, kill mechanics, and one-liners so hilarious and awful it's amazing that it wasn't the first draft.”
    • “A nice addition is simply a little bit of a stupid plot with a grain of salt and some dark sense of humor with plenty of occasions to shed blood.”
  • atmosphere9 mentions

    The game's hand-drawn art style and varied music create a gritty and immersive atmosphere that players find captivating. Reviewers praise the atmospheric levels, unique character designs, and the balance of absurdity and violence, contributing to an engaging experience that encourages multiple playthroughs. Overall, the combination of visuals and sound enhances the game's appeal significantly.

    • “The hand-drawn art style adds a unique and gritty atmosphere to the game.”
    • “Yet, the atmosphere is so good, I literally completed the game 3 times in a row; it's simply so well made.”
    • “Another very positive aspect is the sound and the music: both are varied and atmospheric.”
    • “The whole 'machete' atmosphere is totally there; the absurdity balances out the violence.”
  • stability9 mentions

    The game's stability is marked by a mix of significant bugs and glitches, particularly during traversal and combat, leading to issues like character freezing and getting stuck in animations. While some players report experiencing few technical problems and no lag during gameplay, others highlight frequent softlocks and execution issues that necessitate reloading saves. Overall, the game has notable stability concerns that detract from the experience.

    • “Jumping out of the chainsaw aerial is super buggy; it leaves you stuck in place and the enemy frozen. Assuming you don't trigger a softlock, you can jank-cancel it into other moves for free. I have no idea how they didn't catch any of that.”
    • “Buggy traversal sections and frequent issues with getting stuck in an execution animation, making it impossible to progress without reloading a save.”
    • “Our character freezes a lot.”
  • grinding8 mentions

    Reviews highlight that grinding in the game is often tedious and repetitive, with players expressing frustration over the monotonous enemy patterns and platforming sections that detract from the overall experience. Many feel that the gameplay becomes stale quickly, with some even describing it as mindlessly easy or frustratingly difficult due to uninterruptable attack animations. Overall, the grinding mechanics seem to clash with the game's intended aesthetics and narrative flow.

    • “Games today mostly revolve around grinding to get loot.”
    • “It's a real shame that Shank has some tediously nonsensical platforming sections, mindlessly easy challenges, and gameplay that grows stale far too quickly.”
    • “The levels are all the same, the platforming is tedious and boring (and buggy), always the same enemies with the same patterns (slight variations but in the end same boring generic bulky dude).”
  • emotional3 mentions

    Reviewers note that while the cutscenes enhance character depth, the narrative lacks development for a stronger emotional connection with the protagonist. The inclusion of named enemies adds a wholesome touch, but some players miss the intense, action-packed experiences of earlier games that evoked a sense of empowerment.

    • “The cutscenes add depth to the characters, but the narrative could have been further developed to create a stronger emotional connection with the protagonist.”
    • “Pretty wholesome that all enemies, including common ones, have their names shown.”
  • optimization2 mentions

    The game's optimization has been criticized for its clunky mechanics and lack of fluidity, with players noting a preference for spamming attacks over skillful combos. Additionally, there are no incentives for improved performance, leading to a gameplay experience that prioritizes rapid actions over precise dueling.

    • “The game is pretty clunky sometimes, so don't expect a fully optimized experience.”
    • “Chaining attacks instead of combos leads to a mashtastic combat system, with no incentives for better performance.”
    • “Chaining attacks instead of combos leads to a mashtastic combat experience with no incentives for better performance.”
    • “The combat system is laden with offensive maneuvers, where actions per minute (APM) take precedence over precise dueling.”
    • “The lack of optimization results in a frustrating gameplay experience that prioritizes spam over skillful execution.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Character designs may initially seem unappealing to some players, but many reviewers note that they quickly become more endearing as the game progresses, suggesting that initial reservations are often overcome with time.

    • “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with any of the characters.”
    • “I found the character arcs to be predictable and uninspired, leaving me disappointed with their growth.”
    • “The lack of meaningful choices in character development made the experience feel linear and unengaging.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

61% average critic score

Buy Shank

Play time

5hMedian play time
4hAverage play time
3hMain story
10hCompletionist
3-5hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 7 analyzed playthroughs

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