Review - Showgunners

Developer: Artificer

Publisher: Klabater (console ports), Good Shepard Entertainment

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Steam Deck

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5

Violence is a silent obsession in Western culture. Video games, action movies, and wrestling all tie into this fascination with man against man. It's a macabre and strange fascination that powers an industry, and in a distant cyberpunk future, violence is the name of the game. It's a game where fame is just as important as your tactics.

Showgunners comes from Good Shepard Entertainment, the publisher of excellent strategy games like Phantom Doctrine and Hard West. This time, the setting is not the Cold War or the Wild West but a reality tv show where hardened former inmates and criminals fight for fortune and glory. Featuring a fast-paced combat system, an engaging story, and a bleak future world. Showgunners is a show you don't want to miss.

It's Time To Start Running

A bleak world. A lone fighter. A show where blood is the viewership. This is Homicidal All-Stars. This is a show about fame, glory, and money. The goal: survive. Deadly traps, bloodthirsty murders, sly criminals, stalkers, all converge to stop contestants from surviving and making it to the end. Enter Scarlett, a lone woman who earns her name from her emblazoned red hair and tenacious attitude. While some enter the show for the fame and fortune, she enters it searching for something or someone.

The road before her is daunting. An entire city has been transformed into a desolate and terrifying warzone filled with traps, guns, and deadly criminals. Scarlett will have to use her wits, tactics, and strategy to make it through the devastated city. Her survival makes it unlikely she will survive, but the ratings are going to be great.

Give Them What They Want

Showgunners is a turn-based action game strategy game where players are thrust into a world hellbent on destroying them. Players play as Scarlett, a lone fighter who has entered the show Homicidal All-Stars under mysterious circumstances. She is familiar with the show and those that came before, but as the game progresses, a gripping story unfolds that reveals her motives are anything but money and fortune.

Along the way, Scarlett meets other contestants with their own abilities. Cyborgs, brutes, and other allies join her to fight back, each with their own abilities and weapons. Victory is more than just eliminating enemies and winning battles. Earning fame and sponsorships, as well as exploring, are part of the entertainment.

I Don't Do Requests

Showgunners introduces players to the show via the Season Premier of Homicidal All-Stars. The introductory episode goes over the gameplay expectations. Gameplay is divided into two-phases: Exploration and combat. Exploraiton ahs players navigate the environment, searching for resources and avoiding traps. The entire city is against the player, meaning traps are everywhere, but so are the rewards. Bombs, walls of fire, and hunter drones are just some of the hazards that players face. If they are lucky, players may find reward pods filled with grenades and health stations to heal themselves.

However, the traps impede progress and must be defused. Fortunately, they can be defused by a button prompt and a highlight, but with the game's dark environments, they can be hard to see. Trip wires, in particular, almost look invisible against the backdrops of concrete alleyways and streets. They are easy to miss, and subsequently, can cost a life unexpectedly.

It's a Contact Sport, Okay?

In exploration, players can also come across additional arenas, reward pods, and eager fans. Reward Pods are crucial for survival and completionists. The pods contain oney and useful items such as grenades and healing items. Showgunners does a good job pointing you in the right direction with goal markers, but those eager to explore can discover additional combat arenas. These optional challenges are risky, with their enemy count and environmental hazards. However, the rewards are immense.

Fame is an integral part of Showgunners. While fame can also be accrued in combat, eager fans are waiting at the fences, eager for an autograph. These humorous interactions allow Scarlett to leave signatures on posters and merch, but players decide what to leave. Something honest. Something witty. Something humorous. It's entirely up to the player. Depending on what is chosen affects certain sponsorship opportunities. These sponsorships can be chosen between episodes at the main hub.

Flexing Muscle

Finally, there is the main hub area. This area exists between episodes and allows Scarlett to interact with the world and other contestants. Here, confessionals and audio logs can be accessed for useful information and world-building. When players are done, they head to the rejuvination pod to complete the episode and move on to the next.

The second part of Showgunners is the combat. The combat encounters take place in arenas and ambushes. Combat takes place in a tactical turn-based fashion with tiles. For those who have played XCOM, the rules and foundations are here, but there are special abilities to use depending on the character, along with the flair of being on a live reality TV game show. For example, Scarlett can assault a position, damaging and immobilizing a target. The cyborg Tybalt can use holographic technology to disguise an enemy as himself.

Think Before You Move

Combat is fast-paced, pulpy, and downright fun! The enemy is no pushover, and they will use their numbers and abilities. The enemies are varied from typical SCUM soldiers to Ronin and other, more dangerous enemies. Fortunately for players, they have the brains. Shooting and using melee attacks is brutal and immensely satisfying. Coupled with the announcer calling out every over both sides make, combat is wildly entertaining and a blast to play.

Two key aspects of the combat include fame and environmental hazards. Showgunners isn't about who or what you take down but how you do it. Using environmental hazards or taking down multiple enemies in a turn yields fame. One arena has me dodge trains but saw enemies be helplessly railroaded by oncoming trains. Another attack I used saw several enemies eliminated by a grenade. The arenas also introduce secondary objectives and environmental hazards to increase the hazard. One arena had me furiously move fast to deactivate bombs that would level the arena, while also contending with enemies.

Contested Contest

Showgunners has a vibe that felt like it was plucked straight from the world of Arnold Schwarzenegger's The Running Man and Midway's SMASH TV arcade shooter, mixed with the WWE. The characters are larger-than-life. The world roars with crowds. The environments are filled with neon lights and glowing LCD screens, coupled with gun turrets, mountains of trash, and deadly spikes. It's a lived-in world that looks and feels dangerous. Coupled with good voice acting, a strong story, and fantastic combat, Showgunners is hard to put down.

I have to commend the team for focusing on a more strategic approach to this world as opposed to making it another straight action game. The slower-pacing and use of tactics really bring home the element of survival and looking before leaping, as well as enhancing the overall experience by staying more in the world that Showgunners creates. It definitely leaves a strong impression.

Show off, Showgunners

The only drawback I can make to Showgunners is the console presentation. It's a solid port, but it could have been better. The game could run at 60fps but sticks to 30fps, and some of the cutscenes look and feel murky. The load times are fine, but the environments can get a little too dark. However, the port does its job. I didn't experience crashes, and the controls worked extremely well on a controller. Players who have a PC or Steam Deck may prefer those versions, but I'd stick by the console port as well.

Showgunners is an excellent game with its exciting world and turn-based combat. Its focus on an interesting dystopian world with tight turn-based combat makes this one a blast to play. Those familiar with XCOM will enjoy this take on the genre, while newcomers should certainly check this one out for its straightforward gameplay and presentation. The cameras are on. The prize is grand. There is danger at every turn. Show them your best stuff and what you're made of.

SHOWGUNNERS IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

A review key was provided for the purposes of review.