The Showdown Effect

 PC
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 83 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 83
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 83
  3. Negative: 15 out of 83

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  1. Powerzzz
    Feb 9, 2014
    1
    It's a multiplayer game with a completely dead multiplayer community. Great concept but really needed a single player campaign, without one you might as-well just flush your cash down the toilet because you wont be playing it.
  2. chess123mate
    Oct 10, 2013
    3
    I found I couldn't get into this game. For one, there's a large learning curve. There was barely a tutorial (just a few screens explaining most of the controls, though they missed the concept of going down through the platforms) and the "practice" mode is only against stationary targets. Most of the learning happened in the game against other players I couldn't find any ranked matches toI found I couldn't get into this game. For one, there's a large learning curve. There was barely a tutorial (just a few screens explaining most of the controls, though they missed the concept of going down through the platforms) and the "practice" mode is only against stationary targets. Most of the learning happened in the game against other players I couldn't find any ranked matches to play, so I went to custom games, where I was repeatedly killed for a few hours. I started to gradually understand how the fighting system worked, but I could never duplicate the other player's actions, both due to lag and due to the fact that the stronger weapons and characters are all locked. It seemed to me that certain load-outs/weapons were overpowered. Finally, I found that, even in practice mode, the graphics seemed laggy and the audio stuttered frequently. I sense that, if you were to stick with the game for 10s of hours learning all the moves you need to do to kill your opponents and unlocking the weapons you need, you'd find a pretty enjoyable game. That said, all I found during my experience was frustration.… Expand
  3. GDawgTUK
    Aug 18, 2013
    3
    Pros:
    - Looks great
    - Awesome Concept - Interesting Mechanics Cons: - Lame unlockables - Completely and utterly broken gameplay - Lag makes players GODLIKE - Complete lack of balance - Bad Hitboxes This game had some great potential but sadly it is completely broken. What could have been a fun combination of Smash Brothers Shank, essentially became a race to bank off the    Pros:
    - Looks great
    - Awesome Concept
    - Interesting Mechanics

    Cons:
    - Lame unlockables
    - Completely and utterly broken gameplay
    - Lag makes players GODLIKE
    - Complete lack of balance
    - Bad Hitboxes

    This game had some great potential but sadly it is completely broken. What could have been a fun combination of Smash Brothers Shank, essentially became a race to bank off the efforts of other players. Basically, two players meet, attempt a dance-of-death which means they attempt to hit each other through the bad hit-boxes, uneven balance and weapons only for the "victor" to be murdered shortly after managing to beat the system for a shallow, short lived "win." It becomes painfully apparent that there is nothing more than that early on, and it makes the game feel like a shallow attempt to lure you into purchasing items in game with real money to attempt to get an edge.

    Sadly it won't matter, because the items cannot fix the game's mechanics. I would recommending watching this from a distance and possibly getting invested when it's playable.    … Expand
  4. Eglin
    Sep 15, 2013
    3
    This could've been an AMAZING Contra clone, but somehow the developer neglected to create single-player and co-op campaigns. I have zero interest in playing this style of game in a competitive online-only environment, especially with miserable server populations, so I'm pretty disappointed. Of course, the game's complete lack of controller support means that I probably wouldn't beThis could've been an AMAZING Contra clone, but somehow the developer neglected to create single-player and co-op campaigns. I have zero interest in playing this style of game in a competitive online-only environment, especially with miserable server populations, so I'm pretty disappointed. Of course, the game's complete lack of controller support means that I probably wouldn't be playing it regardless of the other issues. A shame, really.… Expand
  5. Camion7878
    Sep 15, 2013
    2
    This is an example of a great game ruined by horrific matchmaking. On my first round, I was pitted against characters that I had no idea existed, using custom weapon skins and other horrible things.
    This trend continued for the next couple of days of me playing it.
    Once I got the knack of how to play, another issue arose. Lag. I would join a game, and have 300 ping. I wouldn't be    This is an example of a great game ruined by horrific matchmaking. On my first round, I was pitted against characters that I had no idea existed, using custom weapon skins and other horrible things.
    This trend continued for the next couple of days of me playing it.
    Once I got the knack of how to play, another issue arose. Lag. I would join a game, and have 300 ping. I wouldn't be downloading anything, I wouldn't be using any other internet other than to play this game, but I'd get 300 ping, rendering the game unplayable.
    When I did get a game where either I or my opponents were teleorting all over the place, it would be after about 5 10 minutes of sitting in the 'Ranked Match' lobby, doing nothing. I then tried custom matches.
    There were about 10 of them, 6 of them requiring passwords to get into. The first one I tried wouldn't let me on as 'the server is not responding'. The next one, I joined, and got insta-killed whenever I spawned.
    This game is fun once in a blue moon.    … Expand
  6. dsscsd
    Nov 27, 2013
    0
    the games is the unlocks are lame and the aim system is awful. some weapons are over powered and it doesn't say how much damage the weapons does. the game

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Jun 5, 2013
    63
    Following Magicka’s bad example, we have the same formula. Fun gameplay, miserable connection problems. [May 2013]
  2. CD-Action
    May 7, 2013
    65
    Until you get bored with characters and arenas, fun can be had. Updates will decide whether The Showdown Effect stays with us for longer. [CD-Action 05/2013, p.69]
  3. Eurogamer Sweden
    Mar 28, 2013
    70
    The Showdown Effect offers fast paced and fun multiplayer action for a low price of admission. Unfortunately the price point is also evident in the amount of content. However it clearly succeeds as a bite-sized game of frantic, skill based killing.
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