This finely-honed samurai strategy game deserves a place in the roguelike hall of fame this year just as much as Balatro

GamesRoguelikeThis finely-honed samurai strategy game deserves a place in the roguelike hall of fame this year just as much as BalatroWhen 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)

Shogun Showdown

Personal Pick(Image credit: Future)In addition to our mainGame of the Year Awards 2024, each member of the PC Gamer team is shining a spotlight on a game they loved this year. We’ll post new personal picks, alongside our main awards, throughout the rest of the month.

Personal Pick

(Image credit: Future)In addition to our mainGame of the Year Awards 2024, each member of the PC Gamer team is shining a spotlight on a game they loved this year. We’ll post new personal picks, alongside our main awards, throughout the rest of the month.

(Image credit: Future)

GOTY 2024 Personal Picks

In addition to our mainGame of the Year Awards 2024, each member of the PC Gamer team is shining a spotlight on a game they loved this year. We’ll post new personal picks, alongside our main awards, throughout the rest of the month.

I made sure to make time toreview this oneeven when I was still in the grip of Balatro earlier this year. After following its Early Access journey, it was a pleasure to see it hit full release in 2024 with a confident and polished 1.0 version. It was always great, but now it’s truly excellent—one of the tightest, smartest, and most satisfying roguelikes around.

What makes that truly sing is how the game pushes you to be perfect. Most roguelikes thrive in chaos—they’re about trying to snatch something that can work out of a storm of randomness, and succeeding just enough at each step to survive. Shogun Showdown is different—it’s always gently judging you on how long your run is taking, how many turns each fight requires, and, most of all, how many hits you’ve suffered.

(Image credit: Roboatino)

Shogun Showdown

In a deckbuilder, your approach to each turn is based around what cards reach your hand. In Shogun Showdown, your comparatively much smaller set of attacks—starting with two, and growing to six over the course of a run—is always available. The onus is entirely on you to choose and use them effectively, balancing their unique properties, and planning for what you’ll be doing during their lengthy cooldowns.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Despite the simple graphics, a perfectly executed turn can feel truly spectacular. Click to let loose a queued-up combo, and your character might stab backwards to kill the enemy behind them, smash the enemy in front of them back to collide with another foe, and then swap places with another so they’re suddenly in the way of one of their allies' arrows. Or any of countless other clever combinations, tailored each time to the specific position you find yourself in and the threats coming your way.

All of this depth, in a game still simple enough to be played just with left click, right click, and middle mouse, and approachable enough to draw you in as quickly and effectively as any greats of the genre.

It was bad luck for Shogun Showdown to launch into 1.0 in the same year as the all-consuming Balatro, but it’s just as deserving of a place in the roguelike hall of fame. Even if you’re still honing your high card build, you should still make some time to study the blade.

More about roguelikeWormhole is an impeccable arcade revival of Snake that plays like it fell off the back of Derek Yu’s vanHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterLatestCivilization 7 has been Steam Deck Verified ahead of its launch next monthSee more latest►

More about roguelike

Wormhole is an impeccable arcade revival of Snake that plays like it fell off the back of Derek Yu’s vanHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of Drifter

Wormhole

Wormhole is an impeccable arcade revival of Snake that plays like it fell off the back of Derek Yu’s van

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

LatestCivilization 7 has been Steam Deck Verified ahead of its launch next monthSee more latest►

Latest

Civilization 7 has been Steam Deck Verified ahead of its launch next month

Digital Ben Franklin looking very perturbed on dark background

Civilization 7 has been Steam Deck Verified ahead of its launch next month

See more latest►

Most Popular

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

18 games the PC Gamer team can’t wait to play in 2025

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

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! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD 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

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

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