Skulls of the Shogun is a fast paced turn based strategy title from 17-BIT. This indie title offers a unique look at the Shogun afterlife. Now being released onto the PC the new Bone-a-Fide edition which adds a bunch of new content including a brand new episode of content. Will Skulls of the Shogun be worthy of the powerful title or is it a dishonour to the name of the Shogun?
Let’s find out and kick off the HOTs and NOTs.
HOTs
Basic Storyline
In Skulls of the Shogun players arrive in the samurai filled afterlife as the recently deceased General Akamoto. Unfortunately just as the General was about to take power, he met his untimely death by the hands of a dagger to the back. Upon arriving in the afterlife and seeing the queue lasting years to get in, the General decides to fight his way in much to the annoyance of the guards that attempt to put up a fight and this is where battle number one begins. The story isn’t exactly going to win prizes but it means that there is context between battles and results in some great one liners in the midst of the General’s squabbling.
Presentation Style
An instant selling point of the game is the detailed, colourful, cartoony visual experience on offer. A lot of time has been put into the individual units from the galloping of the undead cavalry to the slight sway of the standard samurai infantry units. These little details complete the visual experience with nothing breaking from the slightly over-the-top combat. One feature that truly highlights this over the top nature is as a result of the visuals. The puffs of smoke that are followed by the enemy’s skull bouncing on the floor after defeating them in a comical fashion best depicts the game’s style. This fun and entertaining visual experience is a perfect match for the gameplay.
Gameplay
General Akamoto has three basic unit types at his command infantry, cavalry and archers. While others do come into play like the General himself and healing units the game boils down to the use of the main three unit types. This being said it would be wrong to think that Skulls of the Shogun doesn’t have a deep gameplay that draws players in. The three main types all have unique stats that mean using the right units in a turn could be either beneficial or potentially lose you those troops. Archers do great damage at a decent range but leave them unprotected and with their awful defence will soon crumble to the fast enemy cavalry charges.
There are also other factors that can swing battles. Hiding in bamboo will give the enemy a 20% chance of missing you completely. Eating the fallen enemy’s skulls will give a rise in health points and if the same unit eats three in one section they get two actions a turn. These and other aspects such as haunting give the game real depth and strategy. They mean both new turn based strategy players and veteran ones can enjoy the same game alike.
The action takes place on a gridless battlefield which, whilst having some issues, does enable some flexibility to position units just into range of attacks without being over exposed. It is also helpful for making spirit walls which is a feature that prevent units being knocked back potentially off cliffs.
