Shogunaria

I had high hopes for SEEP tackling a Zelda-like game, even more so as I realized one of the four playable characters, Kan the Samurai, is none other than the protagonist of [b]Katana Soul[/b] (his intro text makes clear those events already happened), although the completely different art style and atmosphere make him hardly recognizable. It's also full of references to other games of the developers, like the big bad being the Master Ghost from [b]Super BOO Quest[/b]. Even the dev duo themselves are in a hidden room. Unfortunately, it's turned out to have the same problem as others of their less successful titles: no especially glaring issues, playable from start to finish, just very bland and leaving nothing of its passage. I finished it in 3 hours and yet it felt like a slog. That is also due to the choice of having most enemies acting simply as slow-moving homing projectiles towards the player, which forces constant situations of having to strike, retreat, repeat dozens of times. The rotation attack is extremely useful, but the way the enemies work, most times you will also receive some damage because they are hardly staggered by a strike. Oftentimes in dungeons you will have t…

Shogunaria is a retro-inspired action RPG developed and published by SEEP that pays clear homage to classic top-down adventure games of the 8-bit and 16-bit eras. Built around exploration, dungeon crawling, and character-driven progression, it channels the spirit of early console action RPGs while incorporating light Metroidvania elements. From the outset, the game presents itself as a nostalgic journey through pixel-art landscapes filled with monsters, secrets, and steadily escalating challenges. The story centers on a dark force threatening Yuni Country after the villainous Master Ghost unleashes ancient demons by stealing sacred statuettes. While the narrative framework remains relatively straightforward, it provides enough motivation to push players through the overworld and into the game’s major dungeon hubs. Rather than relying on elaborate cinematic storytelling, Shogunaria emphasizes classic environmental storytelling and steady quest progression. Dialogue sequences and character interactions are brief but functional, keeping the focus on gameplay rather than lengthy exposition. One of the most notable features is the ability to choose between four playable characters, ea…

[i] My Experience [/i] Every time I peruse the Steam catalog I look for a few keywords specifically. One of these keywords is "Action RPG." Often, an Action RPG will let me create an interesting "build" while still being rather streamlined (think the [b]Diablo[/b] series, [b]Grim Dawn[/b], etc.). I was drawn to [b]Shogunaria[/b] first of all because I thought it might allow me to create such a build, but also because of its SNES aesthetic and its developer SEEP. I had previously played SEEP's [b]Super BOO Quest[/b] and found it to be a fairly competent and lightweight stealth game. Although [b]Shogunaria[/b] didn't end up providing me with enough options to truly create a build, I ended up enjoying myself enough to come away with a positive impression of the game anyway. I liked the streamlined fast travel and save system, and scouring the game's environments for the golden hammers needed to upgrade my attack. Thorough exploration also rewards the player with little easter eggs, such as guest stars from other SEEP games, the SEEP brothers themselves, and a cave inhabited by aliens. If you're looking for a simple, comfortable, and bug-free action game, [b]Shogunaria[/b] has you c…

A short action/adventure RPG that was over very fast! + The game has a fuzzy homemade feel about it. I can grasp the idea and love behind the project. + Each area had it's own theme and music. + Each character has their own intro/ending and their weapons and skills vary. - The game is very short. - The game quickly becomes repetitive and around the second "dungeon" the pattern becomes so obvious that you just want to run through the maps/"rooms" and hurry to the next room (to get to the boss). - The dungeons are just a maze (go somewhere and hit a switch then backtrack, repeat more and more for each following dungeon) to get to the boss and contains no useful findings or items. - The learnable "skills" are mostly optional/useless. They don't make anything easier or have any smart/useful uses.

This is a fairly simple Zelda esque game with 4 playable characters to choose from. Unfortunately all the playable characters are almost all identical, all that changes is they have different ranges for attacks, and two unique special moves. All of them have access to the same items and upgrades, so it seems like a waste to prolong the game further. It will take you about 8 hours to get 100% achievements. It's not bad, but treat this review like a 6.5/10. You could do better, you could do worse.

Nice simple game, worth it's price. The gameplay is a bit on the simplistic side and there aren't many meaningful choices to make. Best enjoyed if you want something where you can just play and not think too much.