SummaryChess, but all your army has gone over to the white side, leaving you with nothing but your royal shotgun and your wounded pride. Carried by your dark folly, you decide it's time to teach those white pieces to fear the Shotgun King. Every turn, you may either move your king or shoot at enemy pieces, after what you'll need to move again to reload... Read More
Rated E +10for Everyone +10
Developer:PUNKCAKE Delicieux
Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate
Released On:
Aug 24, 2023
Metascore
Generally Favorable
75
User score
Mixed or Average
6.6
My Score
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
75
60% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
40% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Sep 1, 2023
80
The presentation and content of Shotgun King will put a lot of people off. However, if you like chess and rogue-based games it is well worth a bash. I adored its presentation, it reminded me of games form my youth, yes, I am that old. Pairing one of the oldest games on the planet with rogue-lite elements works far better than it has rights too and Shotgun King is truly unlike anything else I have played. We need more games like this, its what drives the industry forward in a sea of cut and paste shooters and RPG's.
Aug 24, 2023
80
It may look basic, but don’t be fooled: Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate is packing one hell of an enjoyable strategy game underneath its old-school aesthetic. If you’re not a chess fan you’re going to struggle – but if you are, the only struggle is going to be tearing yourself away from jumping in for just one more game. Playing chess has never felt so bad-ass.
Aug 24, 2023
80
Even with its goofy premise, Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate is a cleverly strategic roguelike that'll certainly keep you hooked.
Sep 27, 2023
70
The premise seems silly, but thought has gone into this chess-shooter mashup. However, difficulty spikes and lack of replayability mean it struggles to hold attention. [Issue#32, p.81]
Aug 24, 2023
70
It's a very concise game with a laser focus on its core idea. Framing the action with lo-fi presentation and a daft plot about the black army defecting to the white kingdom, it feels like a forgotten 90s PC game. To that point, there's not much to it beyond the main mode, though there are extras for clearing it — Endless mode is self-explanatory while Chase mode is a interesting take on survival. It's a tight-knit package that, while repetitive in the end, succeeds with its less-is-more approach.
User score
Mixed or Average
6.6
45% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
41% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
14% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
May 26, 2026
0
The idea sounds good on paper but quickly deteriorites into a frustrating and unenjoyable experience due to several issues. (1) You have extremely limited ammo. (2) Your ammo is spread out over too wide an arc for it to be useful. (3) Enemies can kill you with normal chess moves but you can only kill them via shotgun. (4) Enemy health keeps increasing each level while your shotgun damage never increases. (5) Each power you choose is quite ordinary for you but majori improvements for enemy (example "you get +1 power and all enemy queens become invincible"). Can you see how ridiculous this choice is?
Platforms:
- PC
- PlayStation 5
- PlayStation 4
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox One
- Nintendo Switch
Initial Release Date:Aug 24, 2023
Publisher:
