Sengoku Jidai: Shadow of the Shogun
Sengoku Jidai: Shadow of the Shogun
Game
Game2015
Pike and Shot : Campaigns
Developer Byzantine Games, The Lordz Games Studio
The ultimate wargame set in the age of Pike and Shot is back. You are now in full charge of your nation’s armies, throughout a long campaign in the struggle for dominance. From the Steam store page
193 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Oct 14, 2026 · last updated Oct 14, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
75
LovedLoved
137 positive · 46 negative
95% range 68–81%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 137 | 46 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 3 | 0 | 7 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
221 of 285 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
75% recommend · 138 yes, 46 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 184 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (304 of 404 positive).
Players praise the game's detailed depiction of early modern warfare and its historical accuracy. [1][2][3] Some reviewers find the game slow, clunky, and with a steep learning curve. [4][5][6] Many recommend buying the game on sale due to its high price and basic presentation. [7][8][5]
Liked
Representative posts
- [20]
Edit at 1000+ hours playing. This game has ruined my life. Don't be fooled by my 1000+ hours in it. These are a product of my clinical depression and self loathing. Seriously. I have medical conditions. I take medication for them. My playing this game for this long is nothing but a testament to my deep seated problems and how I take the flawed, unfair, clunky mechanics of this travesty of a good wargame and use them …
- [1]
If you have any interest in tactical combat of the period 1500-1700, I highly recommend this game. PROS: Detailed, well researched armies all over Europe 1500 - 1700. See the evolution from late medieval hosts of archers and spearmen, to caracoling reiters and Swiss pike squares, to the linear formations of pike and shot. Fight amongst the hedgerows and fields of the English Civil War, or hurl your Polish Winged …
- [8]
Considering that the Total War series seems to have an aversion to this fascinating era in history, It's worth your time getting stuck in to Pike & Shot if you love the Early Modern/Renaissance period. Just wait for its price to drop in sale, as although it's a good game, I don't think it's worth the asking price when you consider the visuals and lack of content (one menu screen, two music tracks, barely any sound …
- [2]
If Protestantism had been successfully crushed, the world would currently be a utopia. You can mourn what could have been in this game. It allows you to crush all manner if disgusting Protestants from Huguenots to Cromwellian peasants to Bohemian upstarts... This game will teach you that there is only one answer to the Protestant question. One of the few games set during the Thirty Years War. Well researched. Strong …
- [3]
Pike and Shot Campaigns is a faithful depiction of a tabletop wargame which seeks to allow players a tactical glimpse into the battlefields of Europe, 1400-1700. During this period, muskets and pikes went hand in hand as different nations developed differing battle group techniques and formations, ranging from the Dutch use of lines to the Spanish Tercio. Pike and Shot is not graphically much to look at but if you …
Summarised from 34 of the 194 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Pike and Shot : Campaigns sits at 75% positive across 183 opinionated reactions from 2 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 193 · most liked firstI had an enjoyable day at colours meeting up with some great people. Very impressed by the amount of Horse fielded on the “Pike and Shot Society” game. #PikeandShot #ECW #28mm #Colours #Colours2026
neutral · AI labelView post →Bank holiday in GER: We used it for a game of #byfireandsword in task force size. A historical accurate match of Osmans vs. Holy Roman Empire. We played the scenario skirmish and I could manage to win 8:5 with HRR. #wargaming #pikeandshot
neutral · AI labelView post →The Pike and Shot game at the FLGS that I missed yesterday 😭
neutral · AI labelView post →Edit at 1000+ hours playing. This game has ruined my life. Don't be fooled by my 1000+ hours in it. These are a product of my clinical depression and self loathing. Seriously. I have medical conditions. I take medication for them. My playing this game for this long is nothing but a testament to my deep seated problems and how I take the flawed, unfair, clunky mechanics of this travesty of a good wargame and use them to punish myself. I hate this game. I play it out of spite. Don't be like…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you have any interest in tactical combat of the period 1500-1700, I highly recommend this game. PROS: Detailed, well researched armies all over Europe 1500 - 1700. See the evolution from late medieval hosts of archers and spearmen, to caracoling reiters and Swiss pike squares, to the linear formations of pike and shot. Fight amongst the hedgerows and fields of the English Civil War, or hurl your Polish Winged Hussars at the Turks. Every phase of each battle is different. The early…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to like this game,but every time i try playing the RNG is mental. An example i recently playing a battle and my unit charges into flank of enemy - odds 92% win for my troops - my troops lost and took 92 casualties (which was odd amount same as odds number) enemy took 5 casualties - If these are glitches then they need sorting, if this is correct then the RNG is Fooked. (polish winged cavalry elite charging into flank of regular pike and musket) So in conclusion cannot recommend…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is my kind of game but this UI is just awful. You have to click on a unit to and try to move to see if they have actions left. No clue if you can even hit a key that would go to the next unit. I'm so tired of always having to hit the check box after each attack. This seems like a cheap $5-10 game. Not $40
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've played quite a bit of Field of Glory 2 and had this game on my wishlist for a while now because the Thirty Years War interests me and now, while it was on sale, I finally bought it. I can imagine that a lot of people are put off by the steep learning curve and pretty high difficulty of this game, especially if you are not used to similar games, but I think that P&S might be even more addictive than FOG2 once you get a couple hours in. You have to get used to a couple game mechanics that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have a few of this style of game, so knew what to expect, when I bought it . I waited for it to go on sale, since at 40.00 is a lot, on my budget . I mainly got the game for the mods that are out for it . such as Zulu wars Custer's little big horn . I seen them on some YT videos . with that said I don't know of any other games with the era's or these battles . I would recommend the game if you enjoy this era in history . or want play the above battles as well bunch other battles from…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If Protestantism had been successfully crushed, the world would currently be a utopia. You can mourn what could have been in this game. It allows you to crush all manner if disgusting Protestants from Huguenots to Cromwellian peasants to Bohemian upstarts... This game will teach you that there is only one answer to the Protestant question. One of the few games set during the Thirty Years War. Well researched. Strong multiplayer.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Name another game that does this period as well. I'll wait.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Considering that the Total War series seems to have an aversion to this fascinating era in history, It's worth your time getting stuck in to Pike & Shot if you love the Early Modern/Renaissance period. Just wait for its price to drop in sale, as although it's a good game, I don't think it's worth the asking price when you consider the visuals and lack of content (one menu screen, two music tracks, barely any sound effects or battle effects for that matter). If you can overlook the spartan UI &…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pike&Shot is a rare case of those games where the developers were not afraid and touched on an important historical period that few people know about: (9.0 out of 10) Pros: ✅Excellent visual - the picture is very pleasing to the eye and quite understandable, the artists did a great job. ✅Change of era and tactics depending on time, the game covers a period of 200 years (from 1494 to 1698) At the beginning of the musket era, you will control large squares of pikemen, up to 3 thousand people in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →*Absurdly powerful enemy units even at low difficulties **this includes forcing the player to play as the loser of historical battles *RNG Luck is rampant **this includes cannons doing 0 damage at point blank range at least 3 times in a row: this is actually quite common **this includes determining if units return to the battlefield or continue to flee **this includes your 'gunpowder barrels' randomly exploding and killing one of your units; yes the location is random, no you have no warning…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Buy this game only on sale, do not pay full price. Game play is so slow and battles do not have any flavor. None of that battles feel grand or even important. Here are some thoughts in list form - 1. Slow battles with no way to speed them up. Ths battles are so slow that, when I realised I messed up and needed to restart a battle, it was faster to control+alt+delete and force the game to close and restart rather then watching the turn end. You will watch 10 units fire at each other and the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Buyer beware, this game isn't for everyone. I'm an old school wargamer (paper maps and counters on a basement tabletop) from when this was considered a nerdish hobby for warmongers. For this group this game gets a thumbs up. I've actually played three of the 30 Years War battles here as tabletop games from the SPI 30 Years War Quad: Lutzen, Breitenfeld and Rocroi. Warfare in the age of pike and shot is very attritional, which is to say tedious. There's lots of just standing there and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Steam reviews have to be "positive" or "negative;" yet again, I wish for a "meh" option, which I would use here if I could. The tactical game is resoundingly okay. It's evocative of the pike and shot era, and it's a lot of fun to achieve a ripple rout of multiple enemy units. But there's a lot of repetitive moves to be made manually in order to get there. The campaign mode, meanwhile, is so barebones that it's generous to call it a "campaign mode." I'd recommend this on deep sale. The $11.99…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have had this game for about three days, and I have managed to sink a full 13 hours into it. This game is absolutely great, it is both simple enough to catch on quickly and complex enough to have tons of content to dig into. This game represents a massively underrated and important time period, the campaign mode is spectacular as well. The mechanics of logistics are just simple enough to not be brutally tedious, but also to make the act of raising armies be rewarding and making you feel…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Tried this and while it is technically well made the game has four issues. First is that it is *slow*. That can't be understated each turn takes what feels like an eternity to resolve and involves a lot of unnecessary clicking. You can cut down on this somewhat by disabling melee combat reports but this information cannot be viewed any other way I'm aware of so this is a big tradeoff for what is still absurdly long turn resolutions and doesn't even eliminate all the clicking. Second, the lack…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like this game a great deal. I play both single player and multiplayer. I hate the total war games for their silly Hollywood style battles and love military history so this is the game for me. This is a tactical battle game based on a table-top war game rule set. Game play is centred squarely on the battles. Forget about building or management; this is a war game. Battles are turn based and require a good amount of thought to win. The AI is pretty good, certainly better than most battle…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The battle graphics are just so lifeless, I just cannot get into it. I really wish they update this game to Field of Glory 2 standards...really needs it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can finally push those pesky English back to London, just the way St. Andrew intended. With a dozen Pike keils and a lot of artillery. Other than that this game also covers an extra 138 years. You can play out every European armed conflict of the early modern era, from Flodden to Zenta. You can also easily download community content in the game itself, ranging from new army lists to civil war battles. The gameplay also changes drastically as the years go on, as it will be a completely…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →you don't actually play the game. you're constantly underinformed by the ui (oh, my unit can't turn because something something action points? would've been nice to have some indication of that before I moved them. oh, this forest is completely traversible to my opponents but not to me? truly, I'm thrilled. doesn't explain why I can melee charge into it but.. not follow up?) plus you get scenarios like "oh, my units pursue fleeing units through a miniscule gap instead of fighting enemy units…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love the Field of Glory 2 games. So after buying those, I took a look at this game. I was put off by the graphics as shown on the steam store page. I thought of them being too subpar compared to FOG2. So I put off buying it for an couple of years. Recently I stumbled across a YouTube video recorded in 1080 resolution of someone playing this game. I was surprised at how good the graphics looked on YouTube compared to how they look on the steam store page. So I immediately bought the game and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pike and Shot Campaigns is a faithful depiction of a tabletop wargame which seeks to allow players a tactical glimpse into the battlefields of Europe, 1400-1700. During this period, muskets and pikes went hand in hand as different nations developed differing battle group techniques and formations, ranging from the Dutch use of lines to the Spanish Tercio. Pike and Shot is not graphically much to look at but if you are here for cinematic battles then you are in the wrong place. This is, and I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If your computer can't play Total War, try Pike and Shot. If it can, it's still there for more casual play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I found this game to be very compelling, but not fun. The pike and shot era is an under explored and fascinating time in military history, and this game's respectful and detailed treatment are huge pluses. Add in the campaign and unit variety and this is a game that you can really lose yourself in. However. It also commits a number of strategy game sins that take me out of the experience. First and foremost, player agency is shockingly low. Army composition is largely determined by the system,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Simple and easy to play, yet difficult to master and sometimes confusing due to its "wargame" nature, burdened with complex rules. There are not many, if at all, games out there featuring the so-called pike and shotte era even though the era spans several centuries and features important historical events. I was ready to accept a mediocre quality game just to play something from the era but fortunately the game turned out to be very well made, doing the era justice.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Would recommend to some. Personally not for me. Pros: -Specific and interesting period in history seldom covered in PC gaming. -Fairly good sound design. -Pleasing graphics reminiscent of Cossacks and other early oughts RTS games (this game is not an RTS). Cons: -Clunky unpolished interface. Never really felt like I was actually controlling anything or hitting any buttons successfully. -Contrived and inconsequential battles that don't seem to involve any real complexity beyond a chess-like…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The mechanics are easy to learn and allow for a variety of tactical decisions, but the scenario design drags the game into muck. Every mission simply burdens the player with a disadvantage—usually your pike and shot are weaker than the enemy pike and shot—and every hour of gameplay turns into a slog. I spent entirely too much time pressing forward, hoping that the next scenario would be as good as the mechanics, and completely wasted my time.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Putting together some Pike and Shot minis to use as crossbowmen and 2hander soldiers in a potential Frostgrave game. I like the freedom of just using whatever makes sense for your warband.
neutral · AI labelView post →Not many games make you wonder who will win in the tutorial. This one does. Also loving the dynamic mechanics.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A wonderful one, it almost resembles a digital platform for the recreation of historical battles (as for Field of glory). Military advances, techinques and innovations through history are nicely simulated on a tactical turn-based gameplay. Furthermore, lots of free scenarios made by the wargaming community will extdend the period covered far beyond the pike and shots era. If you are into military history, you will surely appreciate the experience, despite the basic - but functional - graphics…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Miniatures w/o all the math
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pike and Shot: Campaigns explores battle warfare of an often overlooked time in history. And what it does well is to bring that time period to life. However, the game is not perfect...rather this version of the game is not how I would explore what there is to offer in Pike and Shot. The Good The music/sound effects - let me get this out of the way first. I very much enjoy the soundtrack to this game. It never got old through each battle and mixed with the shouts/gunfire/saber clashing of the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →been trying out Pike and Shot: Campaigns lately. very cool game. love that the developer exclusively makes this game set in different parts of the world/ time periods
positive · AI labelView post →Fun game, good community of active online players
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Somehow more enjoyable than Field of Glory 1 and 2 - which are obviously more polished. Simpler to match my mediocre skills and providing substantial fun without a great intellectual investment.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Horrible game with totally bugged graphics (displays on part of my monitor, partially under the taskbar, impossible to move around or resize or simply put in full screen) with a useless tutorial that doesn't explain much and sets you up for failure even when playing in the easiest possible mode.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It emulates miniatures very well, although I have not mastered movement through fields of fire.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ehhh... way to boring andf dry. Almost the same problems as the Sengoku Jidai game. Just play total war instead.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fiendishly addictive strategy game set in the Pike and Shot era of european warfare. The scenarios are really well designed and difficult, finding it hard to put this one down.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The world needs more pike & shot era video games
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →not a bad game i do feel the pike and shot era is grossly underrepresented in game strategy games so glad i found this game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hardcore turn-based tactical wargame style early-modern warfare. Ever wonder what's really going on when those silly giant musketeers and cavalry clash in Europe Universalis: IV? Well, fire up Pike and Shot: Campaigns and throw any of tens of nations that existed from the early 15th to late 17th century into bloody, glorious musket battle and find out! Watch out though, because it's not as easy as having more numbers or better "military tech" than your enemies - you have to carefully command…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Paid double price for one of their already expensive games and refused a refund, beware using their web store. Wont be shopping from these crooks anymore
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The phrase "diamond in the rough" probably gets used way, waaaaaayyyyy too much in these product reviews, but what can I say, it fits. I stumbled upon this game title while perusing a random Empire Total War forum. I truly wish I had found this much, much earlier. While it lacks a lot of the polish of the Total War titles, and has fewer sandbox campaign mechanics, the battles (while graphically simple) are supremely well done. The AI is an actual challenge. The units make sense and are…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Like Sengoku Jidai, but with pointy sticks and muskets (lots more muskets). Because units move one by one on a grid, the game has certain geometrical feel to it compared to Total War for example. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though, as unit by unit movement gives player ample time to weigh their decisions and formulate their battle plan. However, that battle plan tends to fall apart as soon as your cavalry decides that they rather pursue fleeing enemies than continue fighting as a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wokeness in modern games made me come back to appreciate games like this more. I bought all 4 games but not getting deep into them yet, currently my favs go in this order: 1. Pike and Shot - Best performance, guns 2. Sengoku Jidai - Good performance, interesting period 3. FoG2: Medieval - Good performance, best GUI 4. FoG2 - mid performance, don't notice anything different from medieval
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty good. Definitely deeper than you first expect. Very hard, expect a big learning curve. Does have some limits on army size, really can't manage the full size of armies of the time. Some mechanics will frustrate you, when cavalry pursues a routed foe and opens up your entire line to counterattack, but is consistent with historical accounts of what cav might do.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pros: - Will run on a potato - Cool historical setting - Some nice mechanics Cons: - Can feel very RNG - Poor campaign mode and mechanics - Lack of Grand Campaigns If you can pick this up *very cheap* it may be worth the price of admission, however I just think it's too basic and there are better TBS games out there that do similar things.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just a great game for anyone who likes horse and musket warfare - from skirmish to grand campaign. And none of the distractions that so many AGEoD games have, like research, diplomacy, etc. Just combat, handled pretty well. The AI is ok, but the game would be best against a human PBeM opponent. 10 Polish Lances Out of 10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I too would love this! Sadly there isn't a lot of romance people have for that era, which is crazy! I did play one game that was a pike-and-shot game called er "Pike and Shot" and it was pretty cool but very limited by being an indy game with a small scope.
neutral · AI labelView post →Just random and ultimately boring
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is alot of fun ! Perfect conversion of a tabletop game. Also tons of Mods to download. Wide range of eras to keep you interested.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Charles I did Nothing Wrong. All my homies hate Cromwell.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Looking forward for a Pike and Shot II
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great turn based strategy. Feels like a traditional wargame. Bit dated UI and graphics but don't get in the way of enjoying the game. Best game for the Pike & Shot era of warfare I've came across.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Clunky controls. If you ever have to leave the game mid mission the "quit button" just auto plays where you units are and you have to watch the whole mission carry out unless you want to hard crash the game. Got it on sale for 10$ wouldn't even recommend it at that price never mind full.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Decent effort, directed to a special niche of players, could even be enjoyable IF the Ai didnt cheat so much. Its utterly frustrating to have to deal with constant, blatant cheating on all aspects of the game (shooting, move, rally, melee, morale checks) and see your units crumble for no apparent reason while average or below average AI units behave like the clones of Darth Vader. The Ai decision making is good enough, no need for this ugly cheating. PS for a 5 years old game targeting a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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