We Love It's Guide to…
As contestant Scarlett, fight through a televised dystopia in turn-based squad battles, navigating traps and puzzles between arenas.
Released 02 May 2023
Fight on TV Arenas
Outmaneuver Arena Traps
Solve Timed Puzzles
As a contestant on a high stakes reality game show of the future, you must survive a dangerous urban environment packed with traps, confounding puzzles, and heavily armed psychopaths. Turn-based combat in hand crafted levels, built for entertainment.
Developed by Artificer · Published by Good Shepherd Entertainment
In a dystopian future, Scarlett enters a lethal reality show with revenge on her mind. Each episode sends her through urban arenas where contestants fight for survival and the entertainment of a watching audience.
Combat is turn-based and squad-focused: position characters around cover, use their distinct abilities, and adapt to enemies and hazards in hand-crafted encounters. Between battles, explore in real time, avoid traps, and solve puzzles to reach the next arena.
Recruit companions as the campaign progresses, develop their skills, and equip them with weapons and items found or bought. Fame earned through combat and show activities can unlock sponsorship perks, while optional challenges offer additional rewards.
Players often enjoy the accessible, brisk turn-based combat, especially its character abilities and varied, hand-crafted encounters. The violent reality-show setting and its announcer are frequent highlights, alongside the atmosphere and presentation. Some reviews find the progression and tactical options too simple, and opinions differ on the real-time exploration sections. Players also describe the campaign as linear with limited replay value; some find its later battles drag on.
Each stage in Showgunners has been hand-crafted to create a curated, turn-based tactical gameplay experience, heightened with the inclusion of a diabolical show director that can hinder Scarlett or help her opponents depending on your performance. This dynamic level design ensures that no two levels play the same way and keep players thinking tactically. Showgunners has been built to challenge and delight players, whether they’re a turn-based tactical game initiate or a long-time fan of the genre!
Scarlett won’t be fighting alone. As the story progresses, players will recruit new partners that can turn the tide of battle in all kinds of exciting ways. Upgrade your characters by spending talent points in their unique skill trees and outfitting them with weapons bought at a shop or earned during battle. Hidden challenges within each chapter can unlock more allies, legendary weapons, and helpful items, so be sure to keep an eye out!
Players will need to navigate an obstacle course of deadly traps and lethal puzzles in real-time, but be prepared for an ambush at any corner. Psychopathic enemies like the Ogre and the Ronin aren’t the only deadly elements you’ll need to overcome. Combat scenarios are peppered with unique environmental hazards, from ticking time bombs to runaway trains. There is never a dull moment in Showgunners!
Gain fame by avoiding death, surviving rounds, and eliminating your enemies with gruesome panache. The more you succeed, the more fans you earn; your growing fame will yield increasingly beneficial sponsorship deals.
Streamers, rejoice! Use the native Twitch integration to keep audiences engaged by letting them control the direction of each level. They can add more enemies, change the terrain, add or remove obstacles, or send useful items, all from chat.
| Platforms | Windows |
|---|---|
| Achievements | 54 |
| Age ratings |
|
| Controller support | Xbox |
| Controller required | No |
| Demo | View demo on Steam |
| DLC / extras | 4 listed on Steam |
| Metacritic | 75/100 View on Metacritic |
| Website | Official website |
