The Shogun waits for you, but you might not be ready yet.
Another day goes by, and another Roguelike jumps into the mix, but this isn’t your average Roguelike. We all start somewhere, and it seems that Roboatino wanted to hit the ground running, blades in the air, with their first release, Shogun Showdown. Unfortunately, not much is known about the studio besides their very brief stint on Itch.io, with their past creations being HE is out of CTRL and The Pale Blue Pixel.
However, let’s not linger on the past; instead, look at what’s going on in the present since Shogun Showdown was released on Early Access in 2023. But a year later, with many updates, Roboatino deemed their creation fit for a full release on 5 September. As expected, the full release includes a metric ton of new content, including a new location, new enemy types, quests, and the list goes on for miles. So, let’s dive into the chaos of this Japanese-inspired Roguelike; after all, you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Starting off, there isn’t exactly a story to follow in Shogun Showdown. It’s just you against the world with a simple objective: fight your way to the end and face off against the Shogun. Easy, right? Well, no. It would be boring if it were a simple straight shot to the end, and the Shogun Showdown would have no problem making that clear. So, like any other Roguelike release, you’ll start a run with just the bare basics at your camp.
Before jumping into it, your camp is essentially your respawn point, where you’ll end up many times after each attempted run. The most important thing you can do here is buy new tiles (more on this real soon) and change your character type.
These options might seem limited, but they also work really well, considering how well Shogun Showdown plays into the Roguelike archetype. You go on a run, probably fail at some point, but make more progress each time, and return to get a few upgrades that let you go further. It is a vicious battle of attrition, but you reach the top sooner or later.
The most significant aspect that Shogun Showdown has to offer is how combat is laid out. It’s a mix of side-scroller, turn-based strategy, and deck builder, all mixed in the same developmental pot. However, it comes with a difficulty scaling that’ll make you feel like you’re playing a pixel version of any Souls-like. This is because almost every move you make counts as a turn, literally, every move.
Instead of a massive arena, you’ll have a set of tiles you can move around to. However, bear in mind that every move counts, and while moving from one tile to the next counts, you’ll also need to turn your character around and line up attacks. These actions count, too. Welcome to the wonderful of strategizing, and you’ll need to play a little more carefully to avoid taking unnecessary damage. To make matters worse, your Tiles (actions) will usually also come with a cooldown.
Luckily, the cooldowns aren’t as bad as they seem since each turn goes by in an instant, and all it takes is a little fancy footwork to bring your tiles out of the cooldown. However, health will still be a primary concern unless you have an endless supply of consumables, which also happen to be the only thing that doesn’t take a turn to use. Unfortunately, consumables are few and far between and you’ll rarely get them to drop from an enemy, the only other alternative is from shops between stages.
On the matter of shops, these are an absolute godsend after a very intense boss fight. Aside from a free Edamame Brew for some much-needed healing, the various shops will also allow you to buy new skills and upgrades for your current and sometimes new tiles. There is no way to put into words how valuable a new tile or skill can be, the same can be said for upgrades that add damage to your attacks or lower the cooldown. You’ll want to be as dangerous as possible in this regard.
Diving a little deeper into shops, you’ll find out very quickly that there are several different types, each with a unique selection. For example, one shop will focus on defensive skills and tiles, while another is more aimed toward passive skills or attacks. Luckily, you’ll typically have a choice between the different shops as you progress through the various areas, giving you some leeway to semi-plan for your play style.
Now, you can’t always rely on shops for new attacks or upgrades; that might be a little too hardcore for some. Luckily, you’ll also occasionally get a stop between fights where you’ll get to choose a new attack to add to your list or maybe a change to upgrade. The one thing to look out for is the ability to reroll the upgrades or tiles, granted, these do come at a cost in gold but it’s well worth it if you’re looking for something else.
Apart from Shogun Showdown’s glorious combat, as mentioned before, strategy is vital, but you’ll also need to keep an open mind and possibly even change your plan on the fly. How combat works is pretty interesting because there are ways to ‘cheese’ a fight, but getting careless can land you in a tight predicament where you’ll be forced to take some bad damage. Those same predicaments can also cost you a run if it goes really badly for you.
Things take an interesting turn in Shogun Showdown concerning quests, though they’re not quests for a story. These act more as requirements to unlock some of the other characters, and each one comes with a unique ability that they bring to a fight. However, the quests also seem to follow the trail to the Shogun, so just progressing will likely net you a few unlocks as you go. However, this is still easier said than done.
Aside from being a brutal but somehow brilliant roguelike with some interesting genre combinations, the main thing that draws the most attention is the visual side of life in Shogun Showdown. It seems that more games are going for simpler art styles or less over-the-top textures in favor of overall gameplay.
What makes Shogun Showdown stand out is the use of pixel art for the art style, but how smoothly it was implemented counts for the most. At a glance, you wouldn’t think that it uses pixel art with how well done the animations are.
You’d need some great sound engineering and music to go with an already stunning art style. Well, Shogun Showdown definitely won’t disappoint in that area, either. While giving a more retro feel, some 8-bit sounds mixed with a modern touch breathe so much extra life into the game while keeping it fresh. This is a feat to pull off since this type of music can become repetitive, but Shogun Showdown somehow keeps it light enough that it doesn’t become annoying.
Overall, Shogun Showdown is well worth a shot if you’re up for a challenge while leaning more towards a casual atmosphere. The gameplay and combat might look a little daunting, and you’ll find yourself getting drawn back to it for another round after each run. Luckily, with an endless supply of skills and weapons to unlock, there’s never a dull moment to be had, and we can’t forget about the speedrunner potential.
