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Shogun Showdown

Shogun Showdown is a cracking game that lures you in nicely with its simplicity but eventually becomes a rather complex beast with a lot of very well thought-out moving parts.
Shogun Showdown Game Cover
95%Game Brain Score
gameplay, music
grinding, stability
97% User Score Based on 3,579 reviews
Critic Score 90%Based on 2 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchAndroidPlaystation 5Playstation 4XboxSteam DeckiPhoneWindowsPlayStationLinuxXbox Series X|SPCTabletWeb BrowserAmazon LunaCloudMac OSPhoneXbox OneiPadMobile Platform
Shogun Showdown Game Cover

About

Shogun Showdown is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Roboatino and was released on June 27, 2023. It received positive reviews from critics and overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Shogun Showdown is a turn-based combat game with rogue-like and deck-building elements. Position yourself and attack at the right time, upgrade your tiles and combo them to get ready to face the Shogun!

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97%
Audience ScoreBased on 3,579 reviews
gameplay303 positive mentions
grinding35 negative mentions

  • Shogun Showdown offers a unique blend of tactical turn-based combat and roguelike elements, making each run feel fresh and engaging.
  • The game features a charming pixel art style and an excellent soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
  • Players appreciate the depth of strategy involved, as every move and action must be carefully planned to avoid damage and maximize combos.
  • The game can feel repetitive after several runs, especially as players progress through the days and face similar enemies.
  • Some players find the RNG elements frustrating, as they can lead to runs being determined by luck rather than skill.
  • The meta-progression system can feel slow, with some players expressing dissatisfaction over the grind to unlock new tiles and characters.
  • gameplay
    604 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Shogun Showdown" is widely praised for its balance, depth, and addictive nature, combining simple mechanics with complex strategic elements that keep players engaged. The turn-based, roguelike format encourages thoughtful planning and offers a variety of character abilities and enemy interactions, making each run feel unique. While some players note a desire for additional features like an undo button or more diverse mechanics, the overall experience is described as satisfying and rewarding, with a strong emphasis on tactical decision-making and replayability.

    • “The gameplay is incredibly satisfying - combat feels like a dance, that once you get into a rhythm and things click, you feel quite accomplished.”
    • “The gameplay mechanics are incredibly clever and surprisingly deep – at first glance it seems like there wouldn’t be much to it but the amount of tactical depth is incredible.”
    • “The gameplay loop is fast and clean while still giving me that crunchy tactical feeling like 'Into the Breach' or 'Fights in Tight Spaces.'”
    • “My main gripe is that the gameplay is a bit slow and repeat runs force you to play hours of easy levels each time.”
    • “However the gameplay of different characters is similar (largely due to the very simplistic system), and random chance can completely ruin your run in one turn, which can be frustrating at times.”
    • “The gameplay also becomes repetitive very fast, with the best strategy seeming to be maxing out your starting cards.”
  • music
    345 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its catchy, immersive quality that enhances the overall experience, with many reviewers praising its ability to complement the game's atmosphere and gameplay. The soundtrack features a mix of samurai-inspired chiptunes and engaging themes that resonate well with the game's aesthetic, although some players noted a desire for more variety to prevent repetitiveness during extended play. Overall, the music is considered a standout element, contributing significantly to the game's charm and replayability.

    • “The music is also a pleasure to listen to — it perfectly supports the atmosphere and gives even the most stressful fights a smooth, immersive flow.”
    • “The soundtrack is fantastic, animations nostalgic, and gameplay excellent.”
    • “The music complements the samurai aesthetic well, though the soundtrack can feel repetitive after extended play.”
    • “The soundtrack is nothing special but gets the vibes across well.”
    • “The music is a bit of a mixed bag, sort of shamisen chiptune with some random metal or whatever thrown in there.”
    • “The music is repetitive and quickly fatiguing.”
  • graphics
    222 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming pixel art style that many players find visually appealing, enhancing the overall experience with its vibrant colors and smooth animations. While some reviews note the simplicity of the visuals, they effectively convey gameplay mechanics and contribute to the game's immersive atmosphere, particularly with its Japanese aesthetic. Overall, the graphics are praised for their polish and integration with the gameplay, although opinions vary on their originality and depth.

    • “Love the music, love the visuals, gameplay is fluid and every tile feels meaningfully different and impactful.”
    • “The art style is gorgeous, and the soundtrack feels like authentic Japan.”
    • “The visuals are really impressive, the game has great sprites and backgrounds to admire while you take your time with planning.”
    • “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
    • “There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
    • “The graphics are okay but nothing special.”
  • replayability
    158 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's replayability is highly praised, with many reviewers noting the variety of characters, power-ups, and strategic options that keep gameplay fresh and engaging. While some players mention a decline in replay value after extensive play, the overall consensus is that the combination of randomized elements and unique character abilities offers substantial replayability, making it a compelling choice for fans of roguelite and turn-based strategy games.

    • “Wanderer + random tiles = immense replayability.”
    • “Each character has their own set of achievements and progression, and they play quite differently, so this game has a tremendous amount of replay value.”
    • “The replayability here is exceptional.”
    • “Low build variety pretty harshly tanks replayability past the dozen-hour mark.”
    • “After having completed enough of the game to feel like I've finished it, I have to say, the game is incredibly fun while it lasts, but once you've beaten the last day with everyone, the game doesn't have much replayability or challenge beyond that.”
    • “I'm not entirely sure the game wouldn't have been better served by simply having everything unlocked from the start, though - is there really enough replayability here to justify a drip feed of mechanics?”
  • story
    50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story aspect of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and well-integrated into the gameplay, while others criticize it for being vague and lacking depth. Many appreciate the aesthetic and music, but feel that the narrative is minimal and often difficult to follow, with some noting that it serves more as a backdrop to the gameplay rather than a central focus. Overall, while there are elements of story progression and character context, the consensus is that the game prioritizes gameplay mechanics over a compelling narrative.

    • “Lovely pixel art, great music, a fun little story as well, and the replay value is going crazy with this one... each character has a few loadouts (final one is always randomized each run.) there are 7 days to play through for each character and the story progresses and gives you context depending on which character you're playing.”
    • “Shogun Showdown has similar incremental post-clear story snippets to something like Hades, but unlike Hades, the story and characters don't take up too much time, and instead exist just to add a pleasant sprinkling of flavor to the game.”
    • “Additionally, the challenging increase flavored as 'day 1-7' was a great idea... even a small thing like that feels less like choosing difficulty and more like you are progressing through a story.”
    • “Well, I'm unfortunately not a university student anymore, and unlike Cobalt Core, there's no clear ending point or story to Shogun Showdown.”
    • “There are cutscenes at the end of each completed day (ascension run) that paint a story, but to be completely honest, the story is rather vague and difficult to piece together.”
    • “There really isn't much story, just a small bit of lore.”
  • grinding
    36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often leading to frustration as they progress. While some enjoy the challenge and complexity, many feel that the grind becomes overwhelming after a few hours, particularly due to the need to restart runs and the lack of meaningful progression. Overall, the game offers fun gameplay initially, but the grind can detract from the experience, making it feel more like a chore than an engaging challenge.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “This looks like fun, but it is very grindy and a huge disappointment.”
    • “The only thing I hate is grinding for the ultimate stamp for no hits; just a single wrong move or miscalculation costs a whole 20-30 minute attempt.”
    • “It starts to feel incredibly tedious after a while, same stuff over and over.”
  • atmosphere
    21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its immersive quality, enhanced by a captivating soundtrack that complements the gameplay and evokes a sense of intrigue. The pixel art effectively conveys a moody and eerie environment, reminiscent of classic titles, while the detailed backgrounds and smooth animations contribute to a visually stunning experience. Overall, the combination of art, music, and design creates a compelling atmosphere that draws players into the game world.

    • “The music fits the atmosphere perfectly and really enhances the immersion.”
    • “Pixel art is being utilized perfectly to not only present various settings, but also conveys an interestingly eerie and moody atmosphere reminiscent of the first Dark Souls as well as the very first Mortal Kombat.”
    • “There is just enough lore sprinkled throughout to get you intrigued by the setting, and the creative score is the cherry on top that elevates both gameplay and atmosphere into something brilliantly sleek.”
    • “Love the aesthetic, the soundtrack absolutely nails the atmosphere to the point where I got Inscryption vibes at times.”
    • “Great art, music, atmosphere, but let down by unnecessarily frustrating mechanics such as ranged enemies charging up attacks behind other enemies leading to unavoidable damage, and grindy feeling progression.”
    • “The pixel art is functional - but it's clear, easy on the eyes, conveys just the right atmosphere and lets you forget it's frikkin pixel art.”
  • stability
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's stability is generally positive, with smooth performance reported on platforms like the Steam Deck, Linux, and even older hardware like a 2016 MacBook Pro. However, some users have experienced random freezes and minor bugs, indicating that while the game is mostly stable, there are occasional issues that could affect gameplay. Data recovery options are limited, which may be a concern for some players.

    • “It runs great on the Steam Deck as expected, and the hours will creep up very quickly as you unlock the various characters and tiles, which offer enough variance to keep each run fairly fresh.”
    • “Runs great on Linux.”
    • “Runs great on a 2016 MacBook Pro as well.”
    • “I just wish there was better data recovery, as I tried troubleshooting but couldn't do anything since there was no backup file.”
    • “I can run it fine on the other system (which has much less powerful hardware), but it randomly freezes.”
    • “I've encountered minor bugs, like freezes.”
  • optimization
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's optimization is generally well-received, with smooth and responsive performance noted across platforms, particularly on the Steam Deck. While it benefits from its pixelated design, some users express a desire for further improvements in optimization. The cohesive presentation enhances the experience, making it enjoyable despite minor optimization concerns.

    • “Still, the overall presentation is cohesive and polished, with performance remaining smooth and responsive throughout.”
    • “From a performance perspective, battery life, graphics, size of game files, etc., it's all a big two thumbs up for Steam Deck play, which is always a bonus!”
    • “Well optimized: it is a pixelated game, so it should be a given, but in 2024 even some 2D pixel platformers are not well optimized.”
    • “I hope this game gets better optimization.”
    • “3 - optimized for Steam Deck.”
    • “From a performance perspective, battery life, graphics, size of game files, etc., it's all a big 2 thumbs up for Steam Deck play, which is always a bonus!”
  • emotional
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players describe the emotional experience of the game as both heartbreaking and exhilarating, highlighting the satisfaction of overcoming challenges and mastering gameplay mechanics. The robust upgrade system fosters a continuous sense of improvement, while the emotional highs of defeating tough bosses and exploring new regions create memorable moments. However, some users express a sense of emotional let-down, indicating a disconnect between expectations and the actual experience.

    • “It's weird to write as I didn't know this is what I was getting into when I picked it up, but once you get the hang of it, this game delivers on the emotional experience of being your favorite out-manned action hero better than just about anything else.”
    • “The emotional highs of defeating a tough boss, the satisfaction of mastering a new character, and the joy of discovering new regions make every moment spent with this game memorable.”
    • “Heartbreaking.”
  • humor
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is widely praised, with players highlighting its funny game mechanics, amusing visuals, and entertaining combos. Many find it unexpectedly hilarious, comparing it to a comedic twist on traditional games like chess, and appreciate the lightheartedness brought by elements like the "freeplay smokebomb." Overall, the humor significantly enhances the gaming experience, making it a standout feature.

    • “Great music, funny game mechanic with a lot of combos, worth the money!”
    • “Funny as hell”
    • “Like 2D chess, but way more funny.”
  • monetization
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game primarily revolves around microtransactions and in-game purchases, which some users find misleading in relation to advertising. Despite extensive gameplay hours, players express dissatisfaction with the relevance and appeal of advertised alternatives.

    • “Microtransactions are well-balanced and don't feel intrusive.”
    • “The in-game purchases enhance the experience without being necessary to enjoy the game.”
    • “I appreciate that the monetization model is fair and allows players to progress without spending money.”
    • “I think the advertising for it is somewhat misleading.”
    • “Since I put hundreds of hours into Slay the Spire, I keep getting advertisements for other deck builders, autobattlers, and roguelikes, but none of them ever looked interesting or fun to play.”
  • character development
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features charming character designs and a cohesive aesthetic that enhances its themes, but some players desire more options for character development and customization. Overall, the character development is engaging, with a blend of familiar and innovative elements, though there is room for expansion in this area.

    • “To top it off, the themes of this game are great: charming character design, a sound direction that is classically familiar yet not passé, and backdrops that all flow together with their theatrical scenes.”
    • “I like turn-based gameplay; it's easy to learn but hard to master. The Japanese-style weapons and character designs, along with the ways to create powerful combos, make this game exceptional.”
    • “I really love the ambience and the character design in each location.”
    • “I only wish there were a bit more options for character development and design, but I suspect this will come.”
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24h Median play time
54h Average play time
8-80h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 18 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Shogun Showdown is a role playing game.

Shogun Showdown is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Steam Deck and others.

On average players spend around 54 hours playing Shogun Showdown.

Shogun Showdown was released on June 27, 2023.

Shogun Showdown was developed by Roboatino.

Shogun Showdown has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its grinding.

Shogun Showdown is a single player game.

Similar games include SpellRogue, Monster Train, Alina of the Arena, StarVaders, Into the Breach and others.