A great deal in the Land of the Rising Sun – review of the game “Samurai Shodown”

I admit that at the beginning I approached the game with a certain reserve, because I didn’t quite know what to expect. Having had some experience with some of the larger titles, I was full of uncertainty as to whether Samurai Shodown  could really surprise me with something. Although the roots of the game go back to the 90s, and people experienced in this type of titles are responsible for it, how will Samurai Shodown fare now in such productions as Tekken or Soul Calibur? After all, developers from Bandai Namco and Capcom have got us used to a certain level.

The species itself is also not particularly innovative. A fight is like a brawl, so do not expect an intricate and multi-threaded plot. Although Samurai Shodown  has a parahistorical background that partly interweaves the history of 18th-century Japan with fantasy themes, let’s be honest – it’s about something completely different. So we set aside any intriguing stories, because a good fight is, above all, a solid and spectacular threshing game, which will provide us with many hours of dynamic fun, usually with friends.

Osu!

Samurai Shodown is a Japanese game. SNK studio is responsible for it, which has a large number of fights on its account. In fact, at the very beginning, I should point out that Samurai Shodownit is not a novelty on the market, as it is in fact a reboot of a 1993 classic. This year’s release is powered by the Unreal Engine, which provides it with accessible visuals. However, it must be corrected that not everyone will like it, because it is quite manga style. Of course, fans of this type of aesthetics will be delighted, but if someone cares about a slightly higher degree of realism (if you can put it that way), this is not a title for him. Nevertheless, the game looks fine right from the start. For good morning we get a short but atmospheric intro, which allows us to feel a bit into this exaggerated world, which draws handfuls from the Land of the Rising Sun. It is only more Japanese and there is nothing wrong with it or surprising, after all, it is a game about samurai quite unequivocally. I admit thatSamurai Shodown  visually reminds me of the last parts of Street Fighter .

On Guard!

The producers have put at our disposal both the possibility of local and online gameplay. Before we start, however, it is worth going through the tutorial, because Samurai Shodownis not one of the simplest fights. Then you can boldly choose from the available modes, and it must be emphasized that there is something. A classic story mode has been prepared for a single player, where we defeat subsequent opponents on the way to the final boss, regular versus 1v1, gauntlet, in which we have to defeat each character in turn, survival and time trail, which do not need any explanation. The developers have also prepared the possibility of playing with other players on the network, but a particularly interesting mode on the border of multi- and singleplayer is the Dojo Mode, in which we fight the “ghosts” of other players. What are these “ghosts”? Well, it’s an artificial intelligence that learns our movements and behaviors, and then recreates them during combat. Interesting thing, I admit.

As for the characters themselves, there are sixteen of them. Mostly, as the name of the game suggests, they are swordsmen with larger or smaller blades. Fortunately, the monotony is interrupted by more exotic characters (compared to the others), such as Earthquake, which resembles a cross between Nautilus from the League of Legends  and Bob from Tekken. Each of the warriors also has a story, my favorite, for example, was Yashamaru Kurama, a noble thief who, like Robin Hood, robbed the rich wicked and helped the poor.

However, regardless of the heroes, something was missing in the game itself. Namely the character’s movements, the range of their attacks was kind of numb. Yes, the combos and special attacks were very spectacular, but to the level offered by the competition, it was a bit lacking here. Some figures were hard to feel and sometimes, instead of reaching the opponent with a solid kick, we cut the air right in front of his nose. How it ended, I don’t think I need to tell.

In turn, the levels at which we fight are deserving of praise. They perfectly reflect the spirit of Japan and the samurai era. We won’t experience the environment destruction system here, like in Mortal Kombat , but that’s just fine. It would just be a pity to spoil it.

Draw!

The sound setting was perfectly matched to the entire game. SNK studio opted for a characteristic Japanese dubbing, which emphasizes the Samurai Shodown lineage . The soundtrack and the sounds of the fight are also at a high level, which together gives a really good effect. There is nothing to complain about.

 We would like to thank the publisher – CDP for making a copy of the game available for review (PS4).