Showgunners Review for Steam

Reality TV is an interesting pastime for many: from challenge-based survival shows to trivia game shows and even televised biographies of people’s day to day lives, there is something interesting about exploring the good, the bad, and the ugly of people’s reactions to both everyday stresses and extreme circumstances. But have you ever wanted to see what those shows would be like if they upped the ante? Perhaps you’ve wondered what they would be like with more in the balance than just money. Well, have I got a special treat for you, my friend: introducing Homicidal All-Stars, the latest, greatest, and bloodiest reality TV series ever televised. Real guns, real guts, and real glory. And lucky you, you’ve secured yourself a seat in the cast.

Showgunners is a tactical turn-based strategy shooter in the vein of XCom and Divinity: Original Sin. Developed by Artificer Studios and published by Good Shepherd Entertainment, the game is a brutal and bloody mix between the hardcore tactics of war and the over-the-top gore, guns, and explosions of popular entertainment. You play as Scarlett, a newcomer to the show with a mysterious past who has a bone to pick with the current champion. Of course, to get there you’ll need to work together with other contestants, such as the previous champion Marty, to turn waves of “defenders” (AKA Bad Guys) into stains on the studio set. The game features an addicting blend of focus-oriented gameplay and a dash of chaotic mayhem to make every moment of the game a thrill. Exploring each episode’s set is no simple feat, as you’ll be dodging traps, solving puzzles while under heavy fire, and avoiding sentry turrets at each turn. Even when you think an area is clear, one step too close to the spikey walls will prove you wrong. And every time you think you’re out of the woods, you can be ambushed at any point, turning your surroundings into a battlefield in moments. Combat functions similarly to moving around the levels themselves, blending the strategy of positioning correctly, calculating the probability of dodging or dealing damage, and the tense constraint of ammunition with the brutal and satisfying feedback of providing a metaphorically mind-blowing show for your audience and a literal one for your attackers. The locations, hazards, gimmicks, and types of defenders all increase in scope and difficulty over time, meaning you’ll have to train yourself to be constantly vigilant and practical. Of course, throwing caution to the wind and praying for lucky RNG is also a valid strategy, provided you’re willing to take the risk. Technically, only one teammate needs to survive an encounter at minimum, right?

Of course, there’s more to the game than just the lives you take. The choices you make are also just as important. For example, each character has a unique upgrade tree that requires experience points, which can only be obtained by leveling up. You’ll likely want all of them, so the question isn’t what perk or skill you want to grab but when you want to grab them. The more expensive skills are extremely useful, such as shifting the odds in your favor when attacking or stunning an opponent for a turn, but is it worth saving up for now if the stages only get harder? Experience isn’t your only important resource: as per usual, money makes the world go round, and you won’t be finding much of it out on the battlefield. You’ll have to think three steps ahead when deciding what to purchase, especially since things only get better, and more expensive, the further along you get. You can also donate your excess gear to win over public opinion, but keep in mind that you won’t be getting those consumables back. Who really needs that medkit or those grenades more: you? Or “the people”? Speaking of “the people,” choosing how to interact with your audience is just as important as picking your experience route, if not more so. Depending on your reputation with the audience based on various factors such as being funny, kind, snarky, or rude, you’ll be able to grab different sponsorships as you get more and more popular. Certain actions will open the doors to some companies while other actions will shut the doors to other companies. It’s a balancing act, one made more difficult by the fact that you can only select one company per fame level, and once you’ve signed that dotted line there’s no breaking your contract. It’s essential to plan ahead and consider how to respond to both your fans and your detractors: you never know which corporation is listening.

On the subject of listening, the game features an intense and energetic score that I found myself enjoying quite a bit. Every moment on the set, even the off moments, is tense and energetic. This isn’t a place of honor you’re tromping around on, and everyone there knows it. Even if you think you can take a break for a moment, all eyes are on you, and you can never get truly comfortable. Then again, with how hard the music goes in more intense and satisfying moments, that’s fine by me. However, once you get to the rest area after the filming of an episode, the music shifts completely, becoming calming and melancholic. Everyone who signed up as a contestant knows that they might die, and there are different reasons that they were willing to take that risk: some are death-row inmates given a chance to risk their life for a chance at freedom, others are just in it for the money. And, Scarlett? She-… well, you’ll have to play to find out. Alongside the impeccable music design is the beautiful map design. Every part of the layout feels intentional, as though every consideration was made by the TV Producers to show off how deadly and intense the atmosphere is. Spikes litter every wall, cars are overturned, and fire is everywhere. And yet, looking closer, its clear that the game’s developers had even more in mind when building these places. These bullet-ridden buildings used to be houses, even a few months ago while the show was filming. What happened to the people living there? Did they move out? Was there even anywhere they could go? And, below all of that, past the blood-pumping action setpieces and the dystopian layouts and world design, there is still beauty in the world. The park, though overrun with bloodstains and bullets, is still green. The game masterfully mixes the artificiality of gameshow action, the melancholy of a destroyed and over corporatized world, and the beauty hidden just out of sight everywhere you look in reality.

One of the best features of the game that I haven’t mentioned much is the way it handles its characters, even its enemies. The everyday defenders you dispatch are implied to be a mixture of criminals, lunatics, and volunteers all fighting either out of a desire to live another day or a disturbing bloodlust. Average grunts are simply called Scum, and they certainly act the part, being willing to fight dirty and do anything they can to kill the Contestants. However, the more refined, skilled, and well-armed and geared an enemy gets, the more respectful and dangerous of a title they are given, such as the first upgraded enemy unit: the Ronin. But the contestants have a lot going for them as well: Scarlett isn’t just just an open and shut case, she’s a complicated and grieving person whose dialogue strikes a perfect balance between “I wish you weren’t here” and “I wish I wasn’t here.” The way she reacts to the many situations she finds herself in go to show that she’s more than just an angry, bloodthirsty, or greedy person like the other contestants. Almost to counterbalance that, her first partner is Marty, a more cocky Contestant and a previous champion who only returned to the show out of a need for money. While he may have been there for longer and have more skill and experience, he’s not exactly a role model to have, and they both know it. Despite that, there are genuine humanizing moments for them both, giving great insight into the psyche of the people damaged by this upside-down world they live in. You know who isn’t given any humanity to show off? The everpresent announcer, gleefully spectating and commenting on the events to the live studio audience. Every injury you sustain, tactical choice you make, and life you take, he’ll be there cheering you on. Of course, he’s not your friend, and he’ll gladly comment on the successes of your enemies as well. He’s not there to take sides, he’s there to put on a show, and good god does he ever do it well. Even at his most hateable, I love that annoying sonovagun.

There’s much more to the game that I could keep talking about, such as the fluid pace of the gameplay that’s able to match itself to your play style, but I think I should leave some mysteries for you to explore. Showgunners is a phenomenal take on the strategy shooter genre, and it feels like a mashup of Borderlands and Fire Emblem, taking serious characters and bloodthirsty lunatics and throwing them into the Mario Party game from hell. Where does the story go next? What happened to Scarlett to make her join the show? Will Marty end up with his cash prize? All this and more in the next episode of Homicidal All-Stars, now available through Showgunners. Tune in next week for some more pulse-pounding action! For now, I leave you with my rating of 9/10 and my encouragement to go pick up a copy of the game for yourselves. You won’t regret it! Thanks for tuning in, this has been Aaron Grossmann with The Gaming Cypher. Goodnight!

Showgunners is available for PC for $29.99 via Steam.

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Aaron Grossmann

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Gaming is a passion that I, like many other people, hold near and dear to my heart. As an aspiring Game Writer and general Storyteller, I enjoy looking into the vast worlds and deep stories of every game I can. Then again, sometimes bad guys just need a good pummeling, and I am more than happy to provide!