If you’ve been following me for any period of time, (thanks very much you’re ace,) you’ve probably noted that I play a hell of a lot of strategy games. This is mostly because I really love using my brain while I’m playing. I have to say that I definitely prefer turn-based to real-time strategy but that’s just a personal choice; I have a massive amount of love for this genre in general. My biggest peeve with the strategy genre and this is a moan you’ll have seen me have a ton of times with a few other genres, is that it’s really easy to be lazy with. There are certain very well-known tropes that are used far too frequently which can leave things feeling a bit copy/paste. We want you to be brave and do something new devs please and thank you! Rambling aside, we’ll be looking at Showgunners today. The premise is interesting, let’s see what it has in store, shall we?
Showgunners is a brand new turn-based strategy coming from the folk at Artificer and is due to premiere on our PC screens come May 2nd. You’ll be able to add this title to your Steam wishlist now ready for launch and if you’re so inclined it’ll be available over on GOG.com too. Speaking of Steam … there’s a demo you can download if you want a bit of an advanced peek at the game. There’s also something really cool about this demo that I’ll come back to shortly.
Set in a dystopian future where society has been torn apart by extreme inequality, climate change, and civil unrest Showgunners sees players head up a squad and enter the arena as they appear on the most popular TV show around. Fame and glory are at your fingertips, all you need to do is survive. Each live-streamed broadcast brings a hellish new obstacle course, with a unique theme, traps, and challenges. As a contestant with your own score to settle, you’ll need to battle other heavily armed combatants, explore for life-saving sponsorship packages, and outwit especially devious surprises from the show’s director if you’re going to become the next champion.
In Showgunners it’s not just about getting out of the arena with your hide; it’s all about the ratings baby! You’ll not only have to go toe to toe with heavily armed, cyber-augmented opponents, but you’ll also have to look good doing it. Defying death through skillful play will grow your fame and make you a star. This will see you signing autographs, recording confessionals for fans, and unlocking sponsorship deals that will earn you the rewards that you might need to win the show.
“This game began as a love letter to the outrageous sci-fi action movies of the 1980s, and we wanted a new title that truly honors its reality show roots while highlighting its fast-paced strategy and gameplay,” said Kacper Szymczak, CEO/Creative Director at Artificer. “So, welcome to Showgunners! We love our new name, we’re incredibly proud of everything we’ve put into the game, and we hope you’re as excited for its upcoming launch as we are.”
Showgunners, (originally called Homocidal Allstars, by the way,) is giving me Running Man and Smash TV vibes and I’m completely here for it. I’m also loving the addition that comes with that demo I mentioned earlier. The demo sports an exciting new feature that lets the crowd directly impact the action. Twitch Mode allows Twitch streamers to invite their viewers to join the carnage, acting as showrunners and voting in real time on events they’d like to see in-game across an array of maps. With each varying in scope, environment, and level of interactivity. Whether your darling fans are going to be the lifesavers that help you or send you to your doom for entertainment like the fickle lot they are is going to be entirely up to them.
So there you go! Showgunners looks like it’s going to be a hell of a lot of fun when it releases in May. If strategic survival purely for the entertainment of others sounds like your bag you know where you can find this interesting-looking strategic offering. You never know; You might see me in the arena too!
