Shank

 PC
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 183 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 74 out of 183
  2. Mixed: 87 out of 183
  3. Negative: 22 out of 183

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  1. Rekaelle
    May 8, 2012
    3
    After I bought this game and saw the description about that the game is best with a controller, I went and bought one. While waiting for the controller to come via mail I tried to play the game with keyboard and it was horrible. The game felt so awkward, stiff and random. I actually liked the graphics a lot, I am a big fan of comic book style graphics, but playing the game was so...After I bought this game and saw the description about that the game is best with a controller, I went and bought one. While waiting for the controller to come via mail I tried to play the game with keyboard and it was horrible. The game felt so awkward, stiff and random. I actually liked the graphics a lot, I am a big fan of comic book style graphics, but playing the game was so... unnatural with keyboard. After the game pad I ordered (PS3 usb controller) arrived I tried to play the game again, but now I noticed that the horrible controls weren't because of the keyboard, it was the game which had so stiff and random control. I couldn't get some actions to happen even when pressing buttons, the character shot up in the air half of the time after smacking somebody with a melee weapon even I wanted to shoot somebody in front of me. Combos were nice, but those broke the game, since you could just repeatedly press 2 different buttons to achieve unlimited combo which no normal trash enemy could stand. The boss fights involved moving, which the game is not good at, and it frustrated me a lot. Boss fights were already very repeating, since there was only a single tactic which could seriously hurt the boss and after figuring those out it still took many tries to get the boss to leave himself vulnerable, since some of the triggering effects were totally random.

    Long story short, the game repeats itself after few minutes and has very serious issues of stiff controls and bad movement. Graphics are good and appealing, the storyline is meh, animations are nice, sounds are decent but the game play drags the game into Hell. Shank is like an old, dry crap covered with whipped cream: it looks nice but tastes totally ****    … Expand
  2. PooPooPerson
    Jul 1, 2013
    2
    I was barely able to muster the willpower to finish the first few levels. Shank is shallow, using violence to give it depth, but more importantly just dull. Combat is boring and spammy. The whole thing felt like a button mash-fest. To top it all off, they used some 2D Gears-Of-War ish art style that looks ridiculous and stupid.
  3. PurpleXVI
    May 15, 2011
    4
    Decent visual style, miserable controls and poor action. If it had a small selection of context-sensitive controls instead eight-different actions, almost all of which are required to avoid getting molested by split-second quick-time events, it might have been fun to play.

    Boss battles consist of dodging over and over and then delivering the same "trick" attack when the boss opens    Decent visual style, miserable controls and poor action. If it had a small selection of context-sensitive controls instead eight-different actions, almost all of which are required to avoid getting molested by split-second quick-time events, it might have been fun to play.

    Boss battles consist of dodging over and over and then delivering the same "trick" attack when the boss opens himself for it, intensely boring. Almost every fight after the earliest stages mixes in a frustrating selection of enemies that temporarily stun you or knock you over. Ultimately it's just not fun and I put it down before even getting halfway through it.    … Expand
  4. Boris
    Aug 11, 2013
    4
    As dull as a game can be. It's not horribad either, but the game is not in any way worth the ten bucks it costs on Steam. It's the perfect example of a boring console game. It has nice aspects, like the atmosphere and the genre; but outside of that, everything is average at best.

Awards & Rankings

60
#60 Most Discussed PC Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. Absolute Games
    Jan 31, 2011
    69
    Shank may sound like the best game in the world, but in reality all its virtues are undermined by a fatal flaw – it's way too simple.
    Read full review
  2. PC Gamer UK
    Jan 20, 2011
    39
    Shank is a visually attractive but completely shallow excuse for a 2D brawler game. Frustrating combat doesn't help.
    Read full review
  3. PC PowerPlay
    Dec 30, 2010
    60
    Shank - like the hero - is a pleasure to watch, but there's not much going on inside. [Jan 2010, p.64]
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