Skulls of the Shogun

The iOS version received "universal acclaim", and the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 4 versions received "favorable" reviews, while the PC and Switch versions received "mixed or average reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Alex De Vore of Gamezebo gave the iOS version a perfect 100, saying, "This is not only one of the more charming games in recent memory; it's one of the most impressive examples of gaming period, regardless of genre." Anthony John Agnello of Digital Trends gave the Xbox 360 version 9.5 out of 10, saying, "There is nothing about 17-Bit's game that's going to change the world. There's no revelation waiting inside its strategy, no piece of design that will transform the way we think about strategy games. It's a simple idea executed just right, which is an impressive enough feat on its own. Skulls isn't chess, but it doesn't have to be." Tate Steinlage of GameZone gave it nine out of ten, saying, "If you're looking for a title that can offer exceptional gameplay that'll last you hours upon hours (oh, and that's not $60), look no further than to 17-Bit's long-awaited Skulls of the Shogun." Adam Beck of Hardcore Gamer gave it four out of five, calling it "a massive game filled with a lengthy single player campaign and a long-lasting multiplayer component that can be played day-by-day or minute-by-minute. Patience is a virtue as Skulls of the Shogun was worth waiting for." Harry Slater of Pocket Gamer gave the Windows Phone 8 version four stars out of five, saying, "Tight, fast, and remarkably fun, Skulls of the Shogun shakes the cobwebs off the turn-based strategy genre with some style." However, Edge gave the Xbox 360 version a score of seven out of ten while the game was still in development, calling it "Wickedly irreverent and cartoonishly outrageous." Chris Holzworth of EGMNow gave it six out of ten, saying, "Objectivity is an illusion. Perceptions and subjectivity prevail, powerfully influenced by expectations both personal and cultural. Culturally, we want the Great Gaming Renaissance, and we look to indie games to bring it to us. I want to love Skulls of the Shogun for all that I see it can be, but I have to like Skulls for all that it is. Part of that includes being boring." PJ O'Reilly of Nintendo Life gave the Switch version six stars out of ten, saying, "If you haven't played Skulls of the Shogun in any form over the past six years, we still can still heartily recommend the single-player campaign as a generous and devilishly fun slice of turn-based strategy action that perfectly suits the Switch, particularly in handheld mode. However, the fact its online multiplayer seems to be a complete bust here certainly knocks a fair amount of the wind out its sails and it's something we've sadly got to penalise the game for." Scott Nichols of Digital Spy gave the iOS version all five stars, saying, "Even without the platform versatility of its other versions Skulls of the Shogun is still among the best strategy games to grace iOS, and one that armchair generals shouldn't pass up." Earlier, Nichols gave the Xbox 360 version four stars out of five, saying, "The enemy AI is deviously smart, and will not hesitate to take advantage of every trick you can think of and more. That also only means it is all the more satisfying when you finally learn to outsmart it, making Skulls of the Shogun a must for all hardcore armchair generals." Rob Kershaw of The Digital Fix gave the same Xbox 360 version eight out of ten, praising its accessible but challenging gameplay, whilst also noting that it was occasionally difficult to distinguish between the different units on the battlefield. Marshall Honorof of The Escapist gave it a similar score of four stars out of five, calling it "an enjoyable game with style to spare. The sharp difficulty curve and reliance on aggressive tactics bring it down somewhat, but only because it's easy to see how a few small differences in design could have earned the game a place in eternity, rather than a pleasant distraction on the long road to get there." Roger Hargreaves of Metro gave the Xbox 360, PC, and Switch versions seven out of ten, saying, "Its attempted revolution of turn-based tactics isn't quite as practical as it first seems but this is still an impressively fun, and funny, strategy game."