My new roguelike obsession is a turn-based strategy game that makes you feel like a samurai John Wick

GamesRoguelikeMy new roguelike obsession is a turn-based strategy game that makes you feel like a samurai John WickWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Roboatino)

A samurai looking up at the vast shadow of the Shogun in Shogun Showdown.

We’re living in the golden age of roguelike deckbuilders. Just in the last year and change we’ve seen standouts likeCobalt Core,Wildfrost,Astrea, and loads more I haven’t tried yet because of how much timeBalatrosucks up. Every time I think I’ve seen the best the genre has to offer, I uncover some new gem that blows me away. Enter:Shogun Showdown.

Still in early access but already feeling like a full-fat release, the game puts you in the shoes (sandals?) of a samurai warrior and charges you with defeating a demonic shogun—and a few hundred of his corrupted minions along the way. Each level, fought on a 2D plane, throws wave after wave of these enemies at you. You’re always outnumbered and always surrounded.

Instead of a whole deck of cards, you have a small set of tiles representing your attacks. These start out simple—such as a sword slash that hits any foe adjacent to you, or a punch that pushes an enemy back—but your arsenal grows more complex as you add new tiles and apply upgrades and modifiers to them all.

(Image credit: Roboatino)

A samurai facing three enemies with two bear traps laid out in front of them in Shogun Showdown.

The action is turn based, with every enemy acting after you, but it’s not as simple as just throwing out attacks. Each tile must be prepared before it can be used—taking one turn to add it to your action queue. You can have up to three prepared tiles in your queue, ready to be unleashed all at once at the right moment. But all the while, enemies are preparing and deploying attacks of their own, and you have nowhere to hide. Even moving one space or changing your facing counts as a turn, so you need to always have a plan to avoid their blows or slay them before they can strike. This is where the game really clicks, because it forces you to think multiple steps ahead—and when your combo works out just right, you feel like a samurai John Wick.

One string of tiles might see you shoulder-charging forward, slamming a hulking warrior down with a club, and then hurling a barrage of kunai at the sneaky archer behind who has an arrow nocked. Another time, you might throw down a bear trap, yank an enemy into it with a rope dart, then finish off his friend behind you with a casual backwards stab. The further you progress, the more elaborate these deadly dances become as your foes get more and more numerous and powerful.

(Image credit: Roboatino)

A samurai slashing the tiles adjacent to them during a battle in Shogun Showdown.

Beyond the deckbuilder influences, there’s more than a littleInto the BreachDNA here. Enemy intentions are displayed above their heads, ensuring you always have perfect info for the turn ahead; positioning is key, and many tiles let you move enemies around as well as yourself, even throwing them into the path of friendly fire; and even the clean pixel art animations are reminiscent, despite your foes being possessed ashigaru rather alien bugs. But not only does Shogun Showdown feel like a really fantastic implementation of those concepts, it has enough of its own personality and ideas to feel greater than just the sum of its inspirations.

The more I play, the more I’m discovering weird and wonderful new ways to win—from a build designed to get to one edge of the arena as fast as possible and then lay waste with a max-upgraded, screen-clearing barrage of kunai, to one all about hurling myself backwards and forwards slamming into foes like a deadly pinball. Unlockable characters, quests and challenges, and an ever-expanding library of new tiles and abilities keep the experience fresh, and when you finally beat the Shogun himself, it proves to be just one step on a long journey of escalatingly brain-twisting difficulty modes.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

More about roguelikeHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterThis bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spinesLatestThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilSee more latest►

More about roguelike

Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterThis bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines

Hyper Light Breaker player characters standing in a row with yellow cloud and dark background behind

Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of Drifter

A series of large explosions in Bio Prototype.

This bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines

LatestThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilSee more latest►

Latest

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

the last of us season 2 trailer

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

See more latest►

Most Popular

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals