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Game
Game2023
Showgunners
Developer Artificer
Showgunners is a turn-based tactics video game developed by Artificer and published by Good Shepherd Entertainment. Players control a contestant on a brutal game show where people fight to the death. It was released on Windows in May 2023. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
240 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Oct 30, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
89
LovedLoved
174 positive · 22 negative
95% range 84–92%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 174 | 22 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 15 | 1 | 17 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
1,137 of 1,223 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
89% recommend · 170 yes, 22 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 192 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (1,851 of 1,986 positive).
Players widely compare Showgunners to XCOM and The Running Man, praising its tactical combat. [1][2][3] Many appreciate the hand-crafted levels and puzzle elements that keep gameplay fresh. [4][5][6] Some reviewers note the game is linear and lacks the depth of XCOM. [1][7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [17]
I genuinely love the idea of this game. The sad fact is that it's like any other tactical, turn-based shooter - the bad guys can shoot through walls and hit you from impossible angles and through doors (I was two blocks in from a doorway and was killed by someone 10+ blocks away on the opposite side of the door) - while you are hampered in the exact opposite manner - you can't get "line of sight" when it's obvious …
- [1]
Xcom meets Running Man. That's pretty much all you need to know. If you like that style of turn-based combat, you will probably enjoy this for a while. Don't expect the tactical depth of Xcom here, though. This is a strictly linear game that let's you unlock pretty much everything if you scour the maps and do either all the bonus stages and/or the DLC levels (which are integrated into the story and appear before the …
- [2]
Let the Carnage Begin The Running Man (1987) with Arnold Schwarzenegger, XCOM gameplay and the atmosphere of Cyberpunk 2077. Yeah. Give me two.
- [13]
XCOM but a Gameshow Showgunners combines the turn-based combat of the recent XCOM games with light exploration and RPG elements. In combat, you move around a grid with 2 action points per character. Most turns, you will use 1 point for movement and 1 to shoot your weapon or use a skill. Out of combat, you will explore the environments solving puzzles and navigating your way to the next combat arena. What makes …
- [3]
Running man (the movie) meets XCOM. If you don't know XCOM, well... The areas between fights feels optional and are not challenging at all (and just a little bit of fun). The strengths of this game are some new ideas for skills and how they can turn around a fight. Another strength is the end game experience (including the DLC). I was positively surprised that the end game took more time than anticipated. If you are …
Summarised from 34 of the 240 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 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
89% of the 192 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Showgunners. The complaint that keeps coming up: later levels become grindy with too many enemies. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Showgunners received positive reviews on Metacritic. Though critical of the streamlined combat mechanics, NME called it "fun and entertaining" and recommended it to people who want to play something less complex than the XCOM series. PC Games found Showgunners to be well designed and similarly recommended it to those seeking a less complex take on the XCOM formula. CD-Action recommended the game overall but found it a bit repetitious. Several reviews criticized the game for having little replay value, though Sports Illustrated said players looking for a combat-oriented game will get their money's worth despite this.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 240 · most liked first[Prime/GOG] Prime games that I do not wish to claim for myself. I got Amazon Prime Gaming for free for a month. I claimed a few games I liked but there were many that I didn't want. So, I am giving away some GOG keys. Here's a list of games I haven't claimed: - [Hell Pie](https://www.gog.com/en/game/hell_pie) - [Cursed to Golf](https://www.gog.com/en/game/cursed_to_golf) - ~~[9 Years of Shadows](https://www.gog.com/en/game/9_years_of_shadows)~~ GONE -…
neutral · AI labelView post →22. Showgunners The elevator pitch is basically "What if The Running Man was a turn-based tactics game?" and it's exactly as fun as it sounds, and a visual style that reminded me a little of Judge Dredd, plays great on the Steam Deck, and has a demo! Try it! store.steampowered.com/app/1155330/...
positive · AI labelView post →Weekend PC Game Deals: Bundles for multiplayer mayhem, storytelling discounts, and more. Big Deals - Remnant II – $39.99 on Steam - Elden Ring – $35.39 on Fanatical - EVERSPACE 2 – $34.99 on Steam - No Man's Sky – $29.99 on Steam - Old World – $29.99 on Steam - Xenonauts 2 – $29.99 on Steam - Terra Invicta – $27.99 on Steam - Warhammer 40,000: Darktide – $25.99 on Steam - Sherlock Holmes The Awakened – $23.99 on Steam - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 – $19.99 on Steam - Transport Fever 2 –…
neutral · AI labelView post →Added Showgunners to my Steam curator page, it's very good! store.steampowered.com/app/1155330/...
positive · AI labelView post →Xcom meets Running Man. That's pretty much all you need to know. If you like that style of turn-based combat, you will probably enjoy this for a while. Don't expect the tactical depth of Xcom here, though. This is a strictly linear game that let's you unlock pretty much everything if you scour the maps and do either all the bonus stages and/or the DLC levels (which are integrated into the story and appear before the final fight). Gameplay is divided into 2 different parts: the tactical battles…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Showgunners is a turn-based tactics game set in a dystopian future where people can participate in a deadly game in order to win a big monetary reward. Yes, yes, it's like The Running Man and Squid Game, and perhaps with a dose of Gladiators TV programme - if the challenges in it were deadly and the contestants had to square off against dangerous criminals rather than upstanding athletes. All this is happening in a society where corporations rule the world, and where viewership numbers,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I genuinely love the idea of this game. The sad fact is that it's like any other tactical, turn-based shooter - the bad guys can shoot through walls and hit you from impossible angles and through doors (I was two blocks in from a doorway and was killed by someone 10+ blocks away on the opposite side of the door) - while you are hampered in the exact opposite manner - you can't get "line of sight" when it's obvious from the terrain you could easily shoot them; the enemy seemingly ALWAYS hits and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →📺📺📺📺 🔴LIVE🔴 📺📺📺📺 Trying a new Turn Based game today. Showgunners, a mix of Shadowrun meets reality tv! I think there is even a Twitch Mode where chat gets to pick the levels! Guests: @oozeyoozebourne.bsky.social ▶️ www.twitch.tv/pankraru ◀️ #Vtuber #Pngtuber #Showgunners #TurnBased #Rpg
neutral · AI labelView post →A very interesting tactical game, possibly what "Midnight Suns" aspired to be, similar to the "close quarters" approach of XCOM: Chimera Squad, though less "close," and definitely an evolution of chess. Everything seems very well balanced. And most of the times when it seems like "not the same thing again," it surprises with new enemies, puzzles, and challenges. The story, true to its sci-fi setting, is a bit linear, but it provides a fitting framework that evokes a "Running Man" feeling.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →From Dystopian Police Game to Showgunners: A Design Postmortem #GameDev #Interviews #80lvl
neutral · AI labelView post →It's okay. At the start, it's a well-balanced turn based tactical squad game with some interesting level design. Then as it goes on, it gets lazier and lazier. Enemies just start scaling up health and have glitched out dodge and invulnerability mechanics, while your characters remain static - you hit your power ceiling near 80% after which enemies scale up. Then there's the lazy design; levels will just start throwing more and more enemies at you. There's nothing tactical or interesting…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I came for a dose of "This will tide me over to the X-com 3 announcecment" copium. I stayed for excellent tactical combat with a dash of puzzle solving and a dystopian setting.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unfortunately, Showgunners is a pretty face without much substance. It tries very hard to be an Xcom-lite, but I found the real-time portions unbearably tedious, and the turn-based portion simply not very deep. Controlling 2 soldiers for the vast majority of the campaign (even at the end, ambushes still limit you to two chars) makes the tactical choices so few that every fight feels more or less the same. The play-by-play commentator gets lowkey annoying after a couple matches even when turned…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[Prime/GOG] *Showgunners*, a turn-based strategy indie. > In a dystopian future where corporations rule, a brutal reality show is the hottest entertainment property in town! You play as Scarlett Martillo, a contestant out for revenge. To win, you must navigate dangerous urban arenas packed with lethal traps and face off against hordes of heavily-armed psychopaths. > Each stage in Showgunners has been hand-crafted to create a curated, turn-based tactical gameplay experience, heightened with the…
neutral · AI labelView post →Let the Carnage Begin The Running Man (1987) with Arnold Schwarzenegger, XCOM gameplay and the atmosphere of Cyberpunk 2077. Yeah. Give me two.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →X-com combat, but instead of it being randomly generated it's set levels. The levels are set up somewhat like a puzzle game...but not all the way. Continual introduction of new enemy types and companions keeps the game fresh for its short run time. Some downtime action between combat keeps the pacing well. There is only a small amount of story, but what is there is all good. Game gives you a hook to see it to completion, all you really need for a game like this.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly, having "just" a linear campaign to tackle is perfectly fine. Not everything needs to be a grand campaign in the spirit of XCOM or an open-ended experience like Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. Good stuff in here. Showgunners isn't necessarily out of this world, but in my book it's a respectable title.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is probably the closest we're ever going to get to Dungeon Crawler Carl the game, but a lots here - tactical combat, explosives, sarcastic announcers, annoying fans, weapons painted lurid colours and lots of traps! The combat arenas are small and tight - good for a quick blast. Your not going to be doing turn based across a large map. I would recommend this as its fun so far. Downsides: Occasionally the view can be VERY restrictive...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you loved and are familiar with the combat aspect of games like XCOM 2, ShowGunners has next to no learning curve. It feels like a direct clone, in a great way. This game has a lot of great things going for it: +Colorful, fun art style +Engaging, squad based, tactical, turn-based combat +Varied level and enemy design keeps things exciting. +Play by play show host announcer, reminiscent of games like Unreal Tournament "Double Kill!". +Autosave after every turn allows you exit and pick…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We didn't get to Showgunners, We did play 4 hours of Tactical Breach Wizards, It was a SOLID 10/10 game. I can not wait for to release! #TacticalBreachWizards We raided @squidpunk.bsky.social Thanks to @opossum.gay @mentalmarsupial.bsky.social and @oozeyoozebourne.bsky.social
neutral · AI labelView post →It's a crime that I just now found this game. Huge x-com fan, huge turn based tactics fan in general, love cyberpunk, and somehow this game has slipped through the cracks for years. It's very fun and well made, highly recommend.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wasted potential. On paper, the creators had a recipe for something great but they squandered it on a bland, repetitive and very poorly balanced experience. STORY - predictable from the first cutscene that hints at the protagonist's motivations and it unfolds exactly as you expect it to with zero twists. It's as straightforward as US foreign policy. AUDIO - repetitive and grating music tracks. Voice acting is alright, although for some reason half the time the protagonist sounds like…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Offers you a character exclusive weapon to buy for most of your money. A minute or so later said character dies in a cutscene. The game has other minor hiccups and dry stretches I made myself push through, but this was the moment I decided it's not worth my time.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Running Man if it was XCOM
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have no idea how this has so good review score. Well, it is not a bad game. It has nice visual, easy mechanics and cool redhead as main char. And Borderlands-like style of commentary is pretty nice to be honest. However... mix of real time movement/discovering and turn base combat is pretty awful. Most of games can't mix it well and this one is one of these games. All fights seems same to me - you go somewhere, got ambush, have some enemies. Within few turns there will arrive some more…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really love the game-show theme and the characters, but the game really isn't that good. Skills are basic, characters all play the same way. There's no option to delay your turn so you're always forced to act first, meaning you basically waste the first turn of every battle moving (if you could delay you could bait the enemies towards you and then attack). Exploring the levels is tedious and frustrating as they're full of 1-shot traps like it's Sen's Fortress. There's no skill involved as…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Running man (the movie) meets XCOM. If you don't know XCOM, well... The areas between fights feels optional and are not challenging at all (and just a little bit of fun). The strengths of this game are some new ideas for skills and how they can turn around a fight. Another strength is the end game experience (including the DLC). I was positively surprised that the end game took more time than anticipated. If you are an XCOM expert don't start with 'normal' difficult level - it will be too easy.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I .. really don't get how this game reached 'overwhelmingly positive' rating. It has a certain charm, sure; the styling is good, the storyline, while incredibly clunky, has a certain amount of consistency. But. There are two game loops - walking through a maze in 'real time' between missions, which is just slow and boring and repetitive, and you _have_ to search every corner or suffer a very real disadvantage in the main game, and the turn based arenas which are pretty good. Bad:…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Well just finished this on normal mode and what fun ive had - very rarely play from start to finish, but ive really enjoyed it. Repetitive a little but the extra few puzzles and x-com like battles made it for me Thoroughly recommend
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →XCOM but a Gameshow Showgunners combines the turn-based combat of the recent XCOM games with light exploration and RPG elements. In combat, you move around a grid with 2 action points per character. Most turns, you will use 1 point for movement and 1 to shoot your weapon or use a skill. Out of combat, you will explore the environments solving puzzles and navigating your way to the next combat arena. What makes Showgunners unique is the gameshow elements and the amusing humor. Combat is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can't recommend this game, as despite having no glaring flaw, it has many minor annoyances and nonsensical mechanics that should have been caught in testing. For example, when playing iron man mode, the game clearly shows the player that if you, the main character dies, you lose the game and save file. It also shows that in combat, your teammates can be killed and will brought back at the end of the fight. HOWEVER, in the overworld map, if a teammate dies during a trap sequence, you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Outstanding game. Missions do not feel repetitive, characters have loads of personality, and the voice acting is top notch.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Showgunners is a surprisingly good title that blends a good chunk of what makes the XCOM series special, at least in terms of tactical turn-based combat, with an almost-believable murder-centric television "game show" and a worthwhile and sharply distinguished cast of "hero" characters. I felt like it got off to a slow start at the outset, particularly with said cast starting with few skills and fewer weapons, but it really does come into its own as you progress, level them up, and find/buy new…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☑ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☑ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☑ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☐ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☑ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's pretty good. I didn't have any strong opinions going in but after 28h, I'm pretty satisfied. If you like the new XCOM you'll probably like this game. The later levels get a bit grindy, the game's idea of increasing the difficulty seems to be to just dump a lot more enemies on you, so those last few fights get quite long and a tad boring, tbh, but overall I can't complain. Fights are plenty satisfying, there's a good variety of enemies and abilities, and the character progression is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Odd recommendation, but I just finished Showgunners on Steam. Feels very Xcom-coded, lots of personality, fun puzzles wrapped up in a neat little 15-hour campaign. 100% worth a go if you like turn-based games. store.steampowered.com/app/1155330/...
positive · AI labelView post →Alright, had to put Midnight Girl away for a second because I‘m back on my normal PC and didn‘t activate Cloud Save. Started Showgunners instead and DAMN! I cannot resist a good turn-based tactical shooter 🔫 It‘s brutal and fun and I‘m in love with Scarlett 😍 #indiegames
positive · AI labelView post →Currently playing some No Man's Sky. It runs better than I was expecting. I was playing Showgunners and was really enjoying it but it crashes a lot on the deck. I'm hoping an update fixes it.
neutral · AI labelView post →Tons of fun. The combat is engaging and never tedious. The puzzles are intuitive and fun. It runs flawlessly on the steam deck. Hard recommend for TRPG lovers.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excellent xcom style game show chaos. I love this stuff. Please make more games like this. I will buy all of them :-)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Poorly optimized. Too many loading screens. Commentary is frustrating.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Showgunners is a tactical strategy game that operates similarly to XCom but set within a series of gameshows that feel heavily inspired by The Running Man mixed with The Hunger Games but with a cyberpunk aesthetic. It balances the tactical combat with periodic puzzle solving sessions. Visually the game is adequate, it won't amaze you but looks reasonably nice. Voice acting (fully voice acted even for minor characters), music and sound effects are similarly good, but nothing especially…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun game. Good music, good atmosphere. If you like XCOM, you'll enjoy this. It's a little demanding for the steam deck. You'll need lossless scaling and drop the gfx details a bit to get it running smooth.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →With so many games out there, I very very very rarely finish a game to completion. Showgunners is the rare exception for me and I loved every minute of it. This was such an incredibly fun experience and I didn’t want it to end. I highly recommend and it was fantastic on the Steam Deck.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Who know the Running Man and XCom went together like PB&J?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you enjoy games like XCOM, you are sure to enjoy Showgunners. There is less variety in combat than XCOM 2, but the characters have motive and have been given personality, so that somewhat compensates. The setting of the game and the plot premise is quite intriguing and the mechanics work well too - I just wish there was a bit more variety in enemy types. The game doesn't overstay its welcome for the most part, but the DLC being shoehorned in at the very end before the final fight does…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do you like Xcom Enemy Within or Xcom 2? Welp, if you do Showgunners will be perfect for you! It's significantly more on the lighter side though. No customization, and you always play as the same people as you unlock them. Weapons, utility items and character abilities are your only sources of customization. But you'll pretty much unlock those as well as you play the game. If you want a nice break from Xcom, it'll give you around 15+ hours of gameplay which includes some free DLC too.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Loved it! Exactly what I was looking for. Was thinking of playing a new X-com run and having to figure out a bunch of new mods, then I read about this game. The combat is tight. I appreciate their game play philosophy of hand-crafted levels which were actually really fun and I did replay a few levels several times to try out different weapon/character combinations. The story is fine and not too long. The world-building and aesthetic are great. The characters are interesting and definitely…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If this game intended to be annoying then it's a masterpiece. Tedious , repetitive, boring.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What a great find this game is! I've been playing it non-stop for two days now. The best way I can describe it is comfort food XCOM with a Running Man twist. The story is light but well-paced and the action is fun and accessible. I'm going to be playing more from this developer!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Showgunners – A Brutal, Blood-Soaked Blast of Tactical Fun ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5) I just wrapped up Showgunners, and I’ve got to say—it was an absolute ride from start to finish. If you're a fan of turn-based tactics with personality, grit, and a lot of explosions, this game delivers in spades. The setting is pure dystopian spectacle: imagine XCOM meets Running Man, wrapped in neon and corporate bloodlust. You play as Scarlett, a tough-as-nails contestant fighting through deadly televised arenas…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[Game Bundle] Neon Lights. $5: | Game Name | Steam Link | |----------------------|------------| | Black Future '88 | https://store.steampowered.com/app/751820/Black_Future_88 | | The Red Strings Club | https://store.steampowered.com/app/589780/The_Red_Strings_Club | | Neon Abyss | https://store.steampowered.com/app/788100/Neon_Abyss | $10: All above, plus: | Game Name | Steam Link | |----------------|------------| | Ghostrunner |…
neutral · AI labelView post →for my afternoon stream this week, I'm in the mood for some strategy, and I'm going to be playing Showgunners and Kingsvein youtu.be/DfXkPMr2WXc
neutral · AI labelView post →I LOVE how powerful Showgunners allows me to feel! When a game gives you all the right toys and abilities so you can just lay into your enemies, I‘m all for it 💪 And it still manages to stay challenging! Such a good gaaaaame
positive · AI labelView post →Most fun I ever had with an xcom-like after xcom itself
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Showgunners delivers a stylish, brutal tactical strategy experience that wears its Running Man inspiration proudly. The game drops you into a dystopian reality-TV death match where contestants fight their way through deadly arenas for the entertainment of a bloodthirsty audience. The setting is easily one of the game's biggest strengths, with its flashy presentation, over-the-top violence, and constant sense of spectacle making every mission feel like part of a twisted televised event. Combat…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you want more XCOM style gameplay, but with a different twist, i can recommend [Showgunners](https://www.gog.com/en/game/showgunners) . Same Tactical gameplay, but you contend in a deadly gameshow. I love XCOM2, and this was a nice change of pace!
positive · AI labelView post →A fun SRPG that only shines late-game. The setting is very fun, and the combat encounters really begin to shine once you enter the late game and have access to all the tools and characters. The developer need to be given a bigger budget to make a longer game and it'd definitely be pure kino.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really well crafted. Good theme, progression and gameplay all round!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really enjoying this little hidden gem a lot. It's a turn base combat (XCOM) game with a Running Man game show style. Gives me 40k Kill Team vibes, and would love this dev to make a Kill Team game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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