Experience the Tactical Brilliance of Shogun Showdown

Mastering Strategy in Shogun Showdown

Shogun Showdown sometimes breaks my brain. The new deckbuilding roguelike is all about tactics, and a key part of the game is that you can always see what the enemies plan to do next. Every once in a while, that gets me in a quandary where I know I’ll lose. But when things click into place and I clear everyone out in one fell swoop, I feel like a strategic genius.

In the game, which just left early access, you’re constantly trying to position your character across a small level to either attack your foes or dodge their moves. As you play, you can upgrade your “tiles” (think: cards) to improve their damage, add perks like freezing ice, or lower their cooldown so that you can use them more frequently. You’re also able to stack up to three tiles so that, with one press of the attack button, you send off a salvo of moves to take out a bunch of bad guys at once.

Strategizing in Every Move

Since you can see what the enemies will do, you’re constantly strategizing about whether to move in to strike or if you need to back off to stay alive. It can get complex, and sometimes it feels like I have to galaxy brain each move to survive difficult rounds. The strategizing is all worth it when you pull off a series of attacks that clear the battlefield.

Here’s an example of how it comes together. Playing as the starter character, called the Wanderer, I start with a pair of swords that can simultaneously hit the spaces to my left and right as well as an arrow that can fire across the level. With some strategic maneuvering, I can set up the Wanderer to strike a baddie behind her and then shoot an arrow in front to eliminate all dangers on the map.

Enhancing Your Gameplay

During each run, you’ll have opportunities to improve your tiles, pick up new ones, and shop for upgrades. Sure, those are familiar roguelike trappings, but with a little planning, you can create extraordinarily powerful tiles. For my first winning run, I upgraded an arrow tile for high damage and no cooldown, allowing me to fire off arrows without breaking a sweat.

As you play, you’ll also collect skulls that can unlock new tiles and purchase items. Spending skulls quickly adds variety to each run, ensuring no two experiences are ever the same. Once, I went all-in on a dragon punch move that sent enemies flying into each other; while it didn’t secure a win, it was exhilarating to clear space in a crowded battlefield.

Continuous Challenges Ahead

I’m still early in the game, having unlocked only one of four additional characters, meaning plenty of surprises await. As you clear runs, you can also tackle harder “days” featuring tougher enemies or fewer item drops.

Even though I’m engrossed in major titles like Astro Bot and the long-awaited Mass Effect trilogy, I keep returning to Shogun Showdown. The fun of experimenting with its many weapons and strategies is simply too addictive. Maybe it’s time to try that dragon punch build again or discover something entirely unexpected.

Shogun Showdown is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox.