The Indie Informer

The first step of my journey lands in a verdant bamboo forest. It’s not wide — only a handful of tiles grace the screen. My mission and the confined quarters make me deadly, so the enemies in this opening level of Shogun Showdown don’t last long. But later down the path — whether in a moonlit waterfront or snowy waste — I’ll fall. But with the skills, abilities, and resources I’ve picked up along the way, those waiting for me to tread back through the bamboo will wish I’d never set out to challenge the Shogun.

Shogun Showdown is a well-crafted roguelike with gameplay smartly suited to the genre’s looping nature. I start the game as The Wanderer — one of several characters with unique skill I’ll unlock before the end. Setting off on a run leads you to a level set with distinctive background and a singular row of tiles. Both my opponents and I must use these to move. The game is turned-based, so I can take however long I want to plot my plan of attack. As with a deck-building game, I have a number of abilities listed below the battlefield which I can slot in above my head. These won’t do anything until I hit the attack button, but the simple act of placing them counts as a turn.

When I take a turn, so do my enemies. Their intentions are loudly telegraphed, making the action highly strategic and fair-feeling. If I failed to plan for the enemy’s charge, that’s on me. After a few sessions, the early levels go by in a snap. I know when to step, dodge, and attack to take down hostile fighters while staying alive. This makes for a game that flies by, blocking a lot of the frustration in roguelikes that set you back at the beginning of a path once you’ve died.

Finishing a level requires me to beat a boss. These have unique play styles which push my skills and loadouts — usually forcing me to change up my typical fighting rhythm. Once defeated, I claim a number of skulls which act as resources for permanent progression. Skulls can grant my completely new abilities or moves. And I can also use them to unlock more inventory in the shops dotted throughout the land.

Before moving on to the next segment of my journey, I visit upgrade shrines offering anything from making a sword strike more deadly to lowering the cooldown on a special ability. With the generous series of shrines and shops on my path, I can quickly grow into a formidable force, though I still have to keep my wits about me because my opponents grow stronger, more numerous, and capable of trickier combat the farther I go.

Shogun Showdown is a great game to dip into for a few hours, if you can pull away from the urge to make one more run. I have not been face-to-face with the Shogun yet, but I hope to make it soon.