Forced Showdown Reviews
I really wanted to like Forced Showdown. Maybe there’s something about it that just didn’t *click* with me. Too many half-baked ideas does not a casserole make, my mother always said. If they had taken the time to expand on what makes each of the genres compelling, this could have been a whole different review. Instead, it’s a hot mess on your keyboard.
Forced Showdown is a game that left very little impact on me. I played it, it was a game, and I understood every part of it. The parts come together nicely, but aren't mechanically deep at all. Combat is simple, even with the card system at play, the structure is extremely repetitive, and everything else just falls in line around that. It has been getting very frequent updates, which is great, but unfortunately the base game needs more than just patches to really stand out.
…once you finally piece together all of the concepts and strategies the game borrows from other genres you’ll quickly become a crowd favorite on the Galactic Game Show.
FORCED SHOWDOWN combines TCG mechanics and roguelite action gameplay into an enjoyable arcade mix that will appeal to a wide audience.
Nothing about it feels genuine, nor is any of it engaging enough to sustain more than a few hours of interest.
Let's just say that you'll be putting in a ridiculous amount of time into Forced Showdown.
Nevertheless I have to give BetaDwarf props for trying something different here by mixing up an original blend of genres and for creating something innovative. And although I’m afraid I’m going to have to recommend the original Forced over Showdown any day, I really hope that this team keeps striving to create new and interesting concepts because that is sadly something pretty hard to come by nowadays.
Forced: Showdown is a nice experiment that worked: the trading cards and hack 'n slash mechanics blend in really well. While not a perfect game, it's worth a shot by the fans of both genres.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Forced Showdown combines overhead twin-stick combat, with a deck building RPG element that works very well and is pretty novel. Its major flaw is the unforgiving and random difficulty, and the ever present threat that even perfect runs can come to a sudden end that leaves the player feeling that it is unfair and the hill to climb simply too steep despite the what good elements there are here.
Forced Showdown shows the world that rogue-lite games don't always have to beat you down. With champions that have unique abilities and a deck building system that offers further customization, Forced Showdown's programs felt like a walk in the park at certain points. Definitely some of the best fun experienced in a long while with a rogue-lite game!