SHOCK TROOPERS 2nd Squad
SHOCK TROOPERS 2nd Squad
Game
Game2016
SHOCK TROOPERS
Developer SNK CORPORATION, Dotemu
Shock Troopers is a 1997 run and gun video game developed by Saurus and published by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade platform. Gameplay involves taking command of one or three soldiers in an eight-way shooter. A second game in the series, Shock Troopers: 2nd Squad, followed up in 1998. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
151 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 5, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
73
Fresh
89 positive · 33 negative
95% range 64–80%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 89 | 33 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 10 | 1 | 17 |
| Mastodon * | 1 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
104 of 138 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
74% recommend · 93 yes, 33 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 126 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (241 of 289 positive).
Players praise the game's classic arcade action and top-down run-and-gun gameplay. [1][2][3] Many reviewers note the port by DotEmu has technical issues like frame rate problems and broken controls. [4][5][6] Some players find the game extremely difficult but rewarding. [3][7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
Full disclosure: I love Shock Troopers. I mean, I REALLY love Shock Troopers. It's one of my favorite games ever made. I spent countless hours playing it in the arcades in the late 90's, then playing it through emulators, then playing it on a Neo-Geo MVS cabinet that I bought later. A great level of difficulty balance with a brilliant control scheme, multiple paths through the game for replayibility, and one of the …
- [1]
There are some people who wish videogames dealt with complex themes like war and terrorism with just an ounce of seriousness. I’m not one of them. Games like Shock Troopers epitomize what it means to be a digital soldier to me. You can expect violence at its most glorious, getting points for making others suffer, and then flexing, laughing, and maybe even doing a sexy pose when it’s all over. This Neo Geo game makes …
- [3]
𝕄𝕖𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕊𝕝𝕦𝕘 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕠𝕡-𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥! Shock Troopers is another game from the NeoGeo era, it was one of those Arcade Machines that nobody would come close to and they had that mysterious aura about them... Renown for being extremely difficult, even on Easy Difficulty. That was then, when we'd literally crawl on the side of the pavement looking for coins that we can input into the Arcades and …
- [8]
Shock Troopers always felt like the natural progression from games like Commando, Ikari Warriors and Mercs. My local arcade had the Neo Geo cabinet, and I spent plenty of time (and credits) trying to complete it. It had a stylish look for the time and a variety of playable characters and paths. It’s a tough game, but that difficulty is part of its charm. Playing it today on something like the Steam Deck means you …
- [2]
This review is based mostly on the Humble Store (DRM-free + Steam key) release of Shock Troopers. So my Steam stats only reflect a fraction of my experience with this game. NOTE: The Humble Store release of Shock Troopers is DRM-free and includes Linux and Mac versions. PROS: + Fun and frenzied arcade shooter action. + Different characters each have differing special attacks. + Weapon pick-ups add more variety and …
Summarised from 34 of the 155 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 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked SHOCK TROOPERS talk about fun and frenzied arcade shooter action; those who didn't talk about dotEmu port has technical issues and bugs. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
In Japan, Game Machine listed Shock Troopers as the thirteenth most successful arcade game of December 1998. The game was very well received. Classic Game Room described Shock Troopers for the PlayStation 3 as an "amazing" shooter with "fantastic" gameplay, controls, and the best game of 2011, despite being just a re-release. Nintendo Life's Corbie Dillard scored the Virtual Console release a 7/10 and opined it "succeeds in offering up an intense and explosive run-and-gun experience." Digitally Downloaded reviewer awarded it four-and-half stars out of five, stating: "If you’ve never played a run-n’-gun shooter before, Shock Troopers should be one of your top contenders, regardless of your…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 151 · most liked firstFull disclosure: I love Shock Troopers. I mean, I REALLY love Shock Troopers. It's one of my favorite games ever made. I spent countless hours playing it in the arcades in the late 90's, then playing it through emulators, then playing it on a Neo-Geo MVS cabinet that I bought later. A great level of difficulty balance with a brilliant control scheme, multiple paths through the game for replayibility, and one of the most amazing jungle/drum 'n bass soundtracks I've ever heard in a video game.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are some people who wish videogames dealt with complex themes like war and terrorism with just an ounce of seriousness. I’m not one of them. Games like Shock Troopers epitomize what it means to be a digital soldier to me. You can expect violence at its most glorious, getting points for making others suffer, and then flexing, laughing, and maybe even doing a sexy pose when it’s all over. This Neo Geo game makes war seem pretty dang fantastic. Videogame plots exist to give the most…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game, bad port. This game is almost 20 years old but as others have described runs nowhere near from arcade perfect. SNK needs to drop DotEmu and rely on Code Mystics for all their Steam ports. They have a much better track record in terms of quality, and when they do make errors they work to fix them unlike DotEmu who couldn't care less.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In the Neo Geo game Shock Troopers, one of the playable heroines goes by the name Marie Bee. This is a reference to the manga Suna No Bara aka Desert Rose, where two characters introduce themselves using their codenames 'Marie' the Rose and Killer 'Bee'.
neutral · AI labelView post →Originally released in 1997 for Neo Geo and later for the living room, although you will notice differences between the current version and the original, 'Shock Troopers' firmly retains the charms of the top down shooters from the 80's, Watch a short gameplay of shock troopers here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n48u4JAIJ0I In the game you will have to rescue 'Dr George' and his granddaughter from the hands of the 'Bloody Scorpion' through a series of challenging levels with boss fights.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An older commission for @dreadlockedcipher.bsky.social of Big Mama from the Neo-Geo game Shock Troopers! #BigMama #ShockTroopers
neutral · AI labelView post →Welcome to the Robot Maid Review of... SHOCK TROOPERS. This is an arcade masterpiece from the 90s. A game I played in my childhood and burned more quarters than I care to admit. SHOCK TROOPERS puts you in the shoes of one (or three) of a multinational team of absolute badasses who are fighting some very generic bad guys (called the Blood Scorpions) in three different mission paths. Of course, you won't get an amazing story here, nor will you see much of it as this is formerly an arcade game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This review is based mostly on the Humble Store (DRM-free + Steam key) release of Shock Troopers. So my Steam stats only reflect a fraction of my experience with this game. NOTE: The Humble Store release of Shock Troopers is DRM-free and includes Linux and Mac versions. PROS: + Fun and frenzied arcade shooter action. + Different characters each have differing special attacks. + Weapon pick-ups add more variety and strategy from stage to stage. + Alternate routes from stage to stage. + Fun in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the kind of batshit crazy that I love. This makes absolutely no sense in the most beautiful way. And these new $90 game re-releases will work on my OG NeoGeo AES? C'MON MAN. Shock Troopers? Twinkle Star Sprites? MOTW? You're killing me here!
positive · AI labelView post →Shock Troopers (ショックトルーパーズ) by Saurus and SNK is a 1997 retro arcade and Neo Geo game.
neutral · AI labelView post →I'm thinking about trying to stream every neogeo game at some point down the line b/c I have a big blindspot on non-fighting games, but everything else I HAVE played (Neo Turf Masters, Metal Slug, Shock Troopers) has been awesome lol
positive · AI labelView post →The DotEmu Steam version seems to have issues with modern CPUs, running between 56FPS to 58FPS when core affinity is set to anything more than just CPU0. This can cause the music and visuals to skip. There's currently no way to bring the game to a solid 60FPS (setting core affinity to use only CPU0 brings the game to a max 58FPS)
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Warning. If you're using anything but the versions of Windows recommended by the specs sheet - that is, Vista, Windows 7 or 8 - this game very likely won't run. They specifically warn about XP not working but there's no mention of Windows 10 compatibility either, and if you're a Mac or Linux user hoping to get it going through Proton - even in September 2021 as I write this - you won't be able to. It seems pretty clear the 'developers' Dotemu have abandoned it at this point. The game itself…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Controls are broken. I'd rather sit on my nuts than support DotEmu again. I've never seen a game as unplayable as this. Do us a favor and go bankrupt you cowards.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An excellent arcade shoot-em-up classic I've never played before but I really enjoyed! The soundtrack is awesome - I didn't expect to hear DnB/Jungle tunes ♥
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Angel from the game Shock Troopers: 2nd Squad. One of those games from the Neo Geo console that I never had the chance to play before. Good thing it’s on Switch. #shocktroopers2ndsquad #fanart
neutral · AI labelView post →Points off for the DotEmu port, which you can get looking and playing well, it just takes tinkering and it shouldn't. But to this port's credit there are leaderboards and achievements plus local and online co-op. The game itself is of course is quite good, kind of a Jim Belushi to Metal Slug's John.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →𝕄𝕖𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕊𝕝𝕦𝕘 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕠𝕡-𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥! Shock Troopers is another game from the NeoGeo era, it was one of those Arcade Machines that nobody would come close to and they had that mysterious aura about them... Renown for being extremely difficult, even on Easy Difficulty. That was then, when we'd literally crawl on the side of the pavement looking for coins that we can input into the Arcades and play... Now that we've had the blessing of UNLIMITED CREDITS, the game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →How long have I had this game, and DotEmu hasn't fixed it yet. I recommend trying the PC version on the MS Store from Hamster. DotEmu has been a hit and miss with games. I like this game, and I bought it along time ago, but it's one of many games DotEmu has failed bring a satisfying version to PC. The worst was Irem Arcade Hits. I think Neo Geo games need to all be taken over by Code Mystics. There are too many bugs, the one I hate the most is not being able to save my resolution preference,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another broken Dotemu pile of steaming crap plopped onto Steam. Controls don't work properly. Resolution doesn't save.# Ignored it, spams more bad crap. Now as a reward they get to ruin Streets Of Rage.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →EXTREMELY hard. and fun. I've played this on arcade for 15 years and I still can't pass the 1st level with 1 credit. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game for co-op in remote play, but it gets boring quickly.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game itself seems great! I will be definitely playing the Hamster version of this on Switch or elsewhere. This port however is terrible and has stuttering in the image and sounds.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Shock Troopers is a classic shoot 'em up from the 90s, although one I was unfamiliar with until I grabbed the NEOGEO bundle back in 2019 (Metal Slug, on the other hand, I've known for a long time). Unlike Metal Slug, this one plays in a top-down view through most of the game, though there's a bike section that plays more like an old 2D sidescroller. Anyway, what's Shock Troopers about? Well, you play as a member of some sort of military squad fighting against a terrorist group named "Bloody…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In Shock Troopers, the Bloody Scorpions terrorists have kidnapped a scientist, whose background is not elaborated further, and his granddaughter. The terrorists want to force him to reveal everything he knows about the Alpha-301 drug, which transforms ordinary people into superhuman soldiers. Since plans for world domination are surely the reason the terrorists want to get their hands on the drug, we must stop the enemy. To do so, we take on the role of one of a total of eight different…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →youtu.be/oyIahRTeg38 - tune of the day: I know common consensus is that Shock Troopers 2 is less interesting than the first game, but it absolutely nails the First Stage Effect - the first level song is absolutely the best song in the game.
neutral · AI labelView post →The game itself is great, but the port is bad. I bought the game after falling in love with it while playing it on a Neo-Geo MVS at a museum recently. The Steam release has some good stuff like achievements and the option to enable scan lines, but the achievements are buggy and the game occasionally crashes. I can't recommend a game that crashes.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some Druze Shock Troopers from Infinity (the miniatures game)
neutral · AI labelView post →Cool game and all, but NO SAVE FEATURE, some of us have a full time job, families, school, etc. I don't have all the free time in the world.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As much as I love this game, remind me of my childhood playing games WITH my friends, not by myself like now, I can't recommend it. Can't change direction while shooting is a huge killer for me, maybe I will relive my memories with my NEO-GEO disk.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Super bloody cool!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do you give your systems funny names? I always have. My PC is named Ronald, and my Switch is Reginald. The game I'm downloading is Shock Troopers, btw.
neutral · AI labelView post →I got this game with the Neo Geo bundle and went in with no expectations. I had no idea it even existed. Fantastic game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Having been an avid gamer for over 40 years.I find myself asking how Ive never played this game before. Picked it up in the sale today played it on steam deck. loved it ... arcade fun that made me smile.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →SHOCK TROOPERS is a great game that I'd recommend to any fan of arcade top-down shooters, but sadly I cannot recommend this port. It's plagued by severe stuttering and crashes, making the later stages of the game unplayable. Worse, I've seen features randomly become non-functional on later boot-ups of the game. The Freeplay game option suddenly gave me no credits instead of unlimited credits, the game's sound turned off completely, and most of the video options could not be changed anymore.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →SNK did this in 1997 - still brilliant in 2025.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This port is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ abysmal. The controls don't work, it lags, my character flat out won't move at times, and the menus and UI suck ( I CAN'T TELL WHAT IM SELECTING HALF THE TIME). Emulate this game. Get MAME or some ♥♥♥♥, idk.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After having some more time and being able to find someone to test the multiplayer feature with, it should be mentioned that at the moment it contains some big problems with crashing randomly at times and the sound just totally breaking. Having multiplayer that works properly is a big reason for why you would purchase this game. Until multiplayer is fixed properly I have to change my review from thumbs up to thumbs down. So to summarize, single player original game is solid. Multiplayer is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mine are Ghost pilot Captain Tomaday Shock Troopers That metal slug game That puzzle bobble game Windjammers But really im not too fussed about the Neo geo :) xx
neutral · AI labelView post →Shock Troopers 2 is a good game but I feel like the first one is better!
neutral · AI labelView post →Big Mama will always be the GOAT
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Doesn't work on Steam Deck : Black screen with audio. Please Fix It ! Power > Switch To Desktop Dolphin File Manager > Show Hidden Files Copy D3Dcompiler_46.dll : Home > .steam > steam > steamapps > common > Metal Slug 3 > D3Dcompiler_46.dll Or download it at https://wikidll.com/download/5374/d3dcompiler_46.zip Paste into : Home > .steam > steam > steamapps > common > SHOCK TROOPERS Desktop > Return To Gaming Mode PLAY !!!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I never played the original version of this game, but this is a terrible port. The controls are awful, totally inconsistent. It also alerted my anti-virus; not sure why but I hope it wasn't anything bad. This was probably a good game on the original hardware, but this port is just not good.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Avast informs me of 2 infections from this game, so it will sit on my list uninstalled until they fix it, then i might change to a positive :)
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you're going to play an old school run & gun, Shock Troopers has it all. Beautiful hand drawn graphics, a nice thumping soundtrack with plenty of drum & bass, great effects, good scoring and it always feels very satisfying racking up that score. There are plenty of humorous animations when you shoot enemies off hospital beds, or those guys trying to warm themselves up by the burning oil drums. Details like these remind me of Metal Slug, which is definitely a good thing. Compared to Shock…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When the granddaughter of a scientist who can create a drug that will give the terrorist organization known as the Bloody Scorpion Group control over super-soldiers is kidnapped they call in the Shock Troopers. Eight members head off to take out the BSG either as "Lonely Wolf" operatives (all three lives are one character, like a normal game) or as a three-person team (when you lose one life, one of your other chosen team members steps in, or you can swap them in at will). You'll fight your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's rare to find games satisfying to score attack these days. Shock Troopers is another game I've seen to be similarly technical, risky, but rewarding
positive · AI labelView post →Somehow clunky controlls and very short, I finished the game in less than an hour. Way too expensive for that. If you still want the game, get it when on sale with 85% discount like I did.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Shock Troopers always felt like the natural progression from games like Commando, Ikari Warriors and Mercs. My local arcade had the Neo Geo cabinet, and I spent plenty of time (and credits) trying to complete it. It had a stylish look for the time and a variety of playable characters and paths. It’s a tough game, but that difficulty is part of its charm. Playing it today on something like the Steam Deck means you can easily enjoy playing it on the go, and the gameplay still holds up really…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Had a run through Shock Troopers this morning, one of only two arcade games I've ever managed to 1cc (the other being Sega's Fantasy Zone). More achievable than Metal Slug due to the dodge roll invulnerability, this is a really fun game with loads of replayability due to different path choices.
positive · AI labelView post →29) Shock Troopers 2nd Squad | Steam This is a pretty disappointing follow up. It feels as though nothing about the game was retained from the original aside from the core gameplay; the pre-rendered sprites are worse than the original ones, there are far less characters and the music is forgettable
negative · AI labelView post →28) Shock Troopers | Steam I had a blast with this one. It's essentially top down Metal Slug; and thanks to the great music, intuitive controls, and varied characters the game always kept things fresh, even if it's tough as nails. I also liked the different routes and the super expressive pixel art
positive · AI labelView post →Classic isometric shooting action!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing game but sound cuts off during play, or music even plays the same track twice at the same time on a delay. FPS is low, which is shocking. Shock Troopers is a badass game, so fun to play, but terrible on the pc.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is really insane. Crazy bosses, awesome gameplay, and sick soundtracks. I'm a SNK Playmore/Neo-Geo fan and I had blast playing this and other SNK games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun old NeoGeo arcade game, ported somewhat competently.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another good memory for the childhood.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →great game, awful port
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honorable maybe-non-SNK Neo-Geo mentions: - Matrimelee - Waku Waku 7 - Daraku Tenshi non-fighting games: - Shock Troopers 1 & 2 - Money Idol Exchanger - Magical Drop 1 / 2 / 3 - Twinkle Star Sprites - Windjammers and the greatest fighting game of all time - Neo Turf Masters
neutral · AI labelView post →
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