Samurai Shodown Reviews

Samurai Shodown is ranked in the 75th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Mar 18, 2021

SamSho just got smoother.

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Dave Aubrey
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Jun 17, 2020

Samurai Shodown is a great fighter that looks beautiful, and deserves a much bigger audience than it has - but as of right now, there aren't enough players online to satisfy fighting game fans, and there isn't enough singleplayer content for more casual fans. The new characters that have been added since launch are great, but Samurai Shodown still feels like a game that needs an overhaul. I still have my fingers crossed that the future of Samurai Shodown and SNK will be bright, but I still have my doubts.

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Screen Rant
Top Critic
Mar 5, 2020

The first installment in 11 years shows why the series remains to this day, but also why it is eclipsed by greater fighting franchises.

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Ken McKown
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Jul 10, 2019

It is simple, yet deep in a different sense. It doesn’t require memorization, just good timing and understanding. It felt more user friendly than long string combos and the visceral attacks feel incredible.

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80 / 100
Jun 25, 2019

. If you have a community of fighting game aficionados or some pals who love over the top Wu-Tang movies, there’s a lot to be found in Samurai Shodown.

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8 / 10.0
Jun 24, 2019

Samurai Shodown is true to the series' soul, like a modern version of Amakusa Kourin which lacks something to achieve perfection.

Review in Italian | Read full review

8 / 10
Jun 24, 2019

Samurai Shodown is back and it's arguably better than ever. SNK has delivered a truly gripping fighting game where the tides can turn in an instant, and it's this constant sense of tension that creates a uniquely electric experience. Against a backdrop of faster paced, combo-heavy fighters, Samurai Shodown stands out as a deliberate and excellently judged duelling simulator. Against a worthy opponent, there's simply nothing quite like it on PS4.

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8.5 / 10.0
Jun 24, 2019

Samurai Shodown returns, and it's just as great as it's ever been. Casual fighting game fans will have a hard time adjusting to the mechanics of Shodown. Those who stick with it will find a deep and rewarding fighter that makes every strike and every move as important as the finishing blow.

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7.4 / 10.0
Jun 24, 2019

Hardcore fans of the series and the pro players will likely love Samurai Shodown. This game is gonna be great to watch and I suspect it will thrive in the FGC tournament scene. Unfortunately that while the fighting game part of it is great, the rest is a really barebones package that most likely won't hold the attention of others for an extended period of time.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 25, 2020

Samurai Shodown is a fighter made for the old crowd, but it offers a unique experience to modern gamers. SNK has done an incredible job adapting the series to the Nintendo Switch. It's not perfect, but it does what it does incredibly well. If you think you would enjoy a fighting game that rewards patience, strategy, and timing, give this one a chance. You'll be rewarded with one of the most well-designed fighting games there is.

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3.5 / 5.0
Jun 30, 2019

If you fancy samurai mythology with a Japanese ink brush aesthetic and/or you’ve just been looking for a 2.5D style, weapon-based fighting game, I think Samurai Shodown is a very solid choice.

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7.8 / 10.0
Jun 25, 2019

Samurai Shodown is yet another fighting game that is fun to play but suffers in its core feature set. The hardcore fighting game fanatic will love it, but the mainstream consumer will find it offers much less than other titles on the market.

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Everyeye.it
Filippo Facchetti
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Jun 24, 2019

The return of the Samurai Showdown was handled by SNK with great respect towards the fans of the saga. The company has recovered the spirit of the old games without renouncing the contextualization of the product in the current historical moment and the final result is an intriguing hybrid, enjoyable both at amateur and professional levels.

Review in Italian | Read full review

9 / 10.0
Jun 24, 2019

What is this strange familiar feeling that I’m experiencing, I wonder? Oh, that’s right, sore thumbs! As someone who counts the first two games as my favorite in the series, the new Samurai Shodown is a much welcome blast from the past. Don’t worry about the jump to 3D, either. This new iteration plays just like a SamSho game and looks great to boot. Folks who prefer later games in the series or more modern fighting games might not like the back-to-basics approach. If you pine for the golden age of fighting games when SNK and Capcom titles ruled the arcade scene, however, the new Samurai Shodown is bloody fun, pure and simple.

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7 / 10
Jun 24, 2019

Samurai Shodown is a good fighting with a nervous gameplay, but with poor graphics.

Review in French | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Jun 24, 2019

Dynamic and dangerous, there's no other fighting game like Samurai Shodown on the market. After a decade away, this latest chapter proves that idea once again with the sharpest swordsmanship combat around that manages to unleash a barrage of modern cuts while still retaining the magic of the original game.

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70 / 100
Jun 17, 2020

Samurai Shodown is a breath of fresh air to the series, because of its choice to make the battles more of a duel and not a button mashing frenzy – and I respect that. With each character feeling different enough to make your mind race with possibilities of offensive and defensive strategies, it almost fails because of the timing system.

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PC Invasion
Top Critic
7 / 10
Jun 15, 2020

An excellent fighting game fine-tuned for tense, thrilling bouts. While the fighting is always fun, its feature set is slim, with only a handful of modes that don't stray far from the core gameplay. If you're looking for a fight, you've found a good one, but don't expect a big story mode or much side content.

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85 / 100
Jun 24, 2019

Featuring an eclectic cast of characters and some over-the-top gore, Samurai Shodown is a wonderful reimagining of the classic fighting series. The strategic gameplay and wonderful balance of risk and reward make this game a fine addition to the current generation of fighting games.

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The Escapist
Top Critic
Jun 24, 2019

SNK's Samurai Shodown is both an act of worship and discipline. The canonized developer and publishing house behind The King of Fighters and the classic Samurai Shodown brawlers is now decades out from its '90s heyday, when it defined the genre as much as Street Fighter creator Capcom. Playing this new Samurai Shodown, you can...

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