Showgunners

Showgunners creates a bombastic, colourful, chaotic world that incorporates elements of reality TV, turn-based combat, dystopian energy and characters that grow alongside a strong narrative. All of these elements combined could have made the game a messy experience, but the story kept me engaged, and I felt intrinsically motivated to conquer Homicidal All-Stars so that Scarlett can finally find peace. Showgunners is a successful mash-up, and Artificer’s inclusion of various intertwining gameplay features make the game an ever changing, fun ride that made me excited along each step of the way.

A tight, turn-based take on classic 80s cinema, Showgunners is a bite-sized blast that is sure to appeal to fans of Xcom. It doesn't reinvent the wheel in any way, but it does nail both the core gameplay loop and the aesthetic and you can't ask for much more than that

If you like Running Man style movies, this time you can experience for yourself what it's like to be both hunter and victim at the same time. A successful combination of exploring the environment with real-time traps and puzzles and intuitive turn-based battles creates a fun and unconventional experience.

Showgunners is a violent delight that leans into its setting and premise to great effect. It may not be the deepest tactical RPG out there, which, in turn, removes a lot of the replayability that the genre is known for, but as a 12-15 hour experience that puts spectacle and accessible systems first, it’s a hell of a good time.

Although it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, Showgunners adds its own twist on the formula, and I think it works pretty well. If you’re an XCOM fan, this is a no-brainer.

The setting is a good fit for turn-based tactics and the bite-sized approach really works in its favor. Just don't expect a game that will last you for weeks, and once it's finished, you have seen pretty much everything it has to offer. However, if you are looking for an accessible tactics game that is fun to play and doesn't overstay its welcome, Showgunners is an easy recommendation.

Showgunners is a fast-paced, often surprising mix of turn-based tactics and real-time exploration in a scenario reminiscent of The Running Man and other 90’s movies aesthetics. Smooth controls and well-crafted characters are cornerstones of the generally familiar XCOM-like.

In its looks and execution, Showgunners does what it set out to do and creates a turn-based love letter to the 90s, updating those themes for a modern audience, while still somehow not managing to lose authenticity. It’s a job well done and I’d much like to explore this universe further in the future.

If you like the genre you'll find Showgunners a worthy inclusion, despite its no-frills approach. Just go in with the right expectations.

Although it has a great atmosphere, Showgunners doesn’t cultivate the pathos that it’s capable of. As such, you’ll find pulpy motivations for the polished turn-based strategy, which positions the title in the secondary tier of XCOM-type titles. Tactics fans could do worse.

Showgunner blends real-time action and turn-based combat very carefully, adding nothing to either genre but placing them within a brutal reality show in which surviving is everything that matters. The result is fun and the game is recommended for loyal fans of the genre, but those hoping for some new features may be disappointed.

An interesting turn-based tactical game that doesn't innovate but is an honest proposition for fans of the genre.

There’s nothing groundbreaking about Showgunners, but the game engagingly blends turn-based combat with real-time exploration and uncomplicated yet intellectually challenging puzzles. Despite some degree of repetitiveness, the dragged-out ending, and a couple of other shortcomings, I believe Showgunners deserves giving it a chance.

A fast-paced mix of turn-based tactics and action elements. Partly confusing combat areas with cool events. Little tactical depth.

Showgunners doesn’t let a clutter of subsystems distract it from its main focus, which is to deliver a series of intense and varied turn-based battles in an atmosphere that neatly fits the genre – it’s not revolutionary and you won’t find yourself replaying the game again and again. Those looking for exactly that, however – a well-defined and very competent experience – will get their money’s worth.

Showgunners has its fair share of new ideas, and it's best when it uses them. Moving around the world to find useful rewards adds an additional, relatively low stress, layer to a solid tactics experience. Meeting new contestants and fans, who are varied, expands the world and those that live in it. Inside combat, a lot will feel familiar to tactics veterans, but fresh elements are at least complex enough to sustain a playthrough. Forgoing procedural generation in contestants, defenders, and levels limits replayability, but it also eliminates pressure. You will never lose your favorite playable contestant for good because of a miscalculation. Their worst fate is a battle restart. Once the season is over, it's hard not to imagine the next as one with a plethora of characters who could be knocked out of competition for good, but the first season is at least good enough to leave you wanting a second.

A fun strategy video game bent on spontaneously breaking the rigid rules of the genre.

A pared back turn-based strategy that successfully replicates the action of XCOM but is so lacking in originality and variety it feels like half the game it could have been.