Showgunners Review

thesixthaxis.com:

Showgunners is at heart a love letter to the 90s, taking the XCOM formula and throwing it into a Running Man/Cyberpunk setting that brings some interesting results. More XCOM-likes are coming out of the woodwork these days, but after being enamoured with Midnight Suns last year, I didn’t expect to be so surprised by another game in this turn-based genre quite so soon.

You take on the role of Scarlett Martillo, a mysterious badass who has entered the world of Homicidal All-Stars, a brutal reality game show during the latter part of the 21st Century. With each season, new contenders fight to make it through to the end with the promise of fame, fortune, and of course their lives intact. Everyone thinks Scarlett is just another punk who will get killed in episode one, but they didn’t count for her resourcefulness and thirst for revenge.

There’s a strong focus on telling an old school story here, and it’s done in a way that will not only appeal to fans of 90s nostalgia, but also anyone that just wants a good story in general. Modern day writing tends to be littered with twists and turns, which isn’t a bad thing, but you also come to expect those story beats. Where everyone else is trying to be moody and clever, Showgunners just simply wants to have fun.

Each level is an episode in which Scarlett has to explore the area in real time, solve environmental puzzles, grab loot and take on the turn-based battle arenas. The environments are littered with traps that are not too difficult to bypass, but if you’re not paying attention, you can get hit for a chunk of damage. I initially felt the exploration would be a novelty that would quickly wear off, but the litany of things to do quickly grabbed my attention and had me exploring every