As strange as this sounds, the gore is more, subtle. As an example, Samurai Showdown is quite violent and bloody, you can even dismember your opponent, yet it doesn’t go all the way in the same way Mortal Kombat does. What do I mean by that? Allow me to explain. Having played so many fighting games between 1993 and now, I couldn’t help but feel like SamSho – while unique, has all these various elements from different fighters. While most fighters these days have a focus on fluid, combo heavy combat, SamSho eschews that trend by slowing right down and forcing a more tactical battle of wits between yourself and your opponent. I had to re-learn a lot of the game and really force myself to stop trying to play the game like I do SF and KI. I have to admit up front, I haven’t played a Samurai Showdown game since the original back in 1993 in the arcades (and on the god tier Neo Geo), so this was an adjustment for me coming from Street Fighter V and Killer Instinct. In sticking vehemently to it’s roots, SamSho manages to still differentiate itself from other fighters on the market by being a far more methodical, strategic and defensively minded fighting game. But how does it fair in 2021 in a genre that is equally as crowded if not more so? Surprisingly well I must say. Samurai Showdown as I alluded to earlier was always unique in it’s genre – particularly back in 1993 when it released, even amongst it’s cousins within the SNK stable of fighters, mostly due to it’s weapon based combat. Digitally you can only buy the standard base game, which then received a Series X|S Smart Delivery update. It should be worth mentioning, the Special Edition of Samurai Showdown is a physical release only which includes the Season 1 Pass. But in March this year, the 2019 release got a Series X|S update with somewhat of a “re-brand” if you will, named Samurai Showdown Special Edition. But in 2019 SNK brought the franchise back with a…prequel reboot(?) of sorts with the aptly named Samurai Showdown. While SoulCalibur has since stolen much of the weapon based combat limelight, Samurai Showdown remained fairly consistent in it’s convictions before taking a hiatus after the less than stellar 2008 release…Samurai Showdown Sen. While it may not have the name and brand power of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat or King of Fighters, it has always been a revered series which differentiated itself due to taking the weapon based combat route. Many people outside the fighting game community won’t know this, but Samurai Showdown (aka Samurai Spirits in Japan, aka SamSho) is almost just as old as other classic fighting game franchises. Played on Xbox Series X A Classic Returns

Samsho 5 special