Skulls of the Shogun

Highly recommended if you're looking for a casual turn based game with a good sense of humor and a fun little story.

I really appreciate the free movement system they have implemented instead of the classic grid based movement. You can move, take an action and use any movement left afterwards.

The AI is a bit braindead, but the game throws some pretty crazy challenges your way if you're trying to get all skulls for each level(by beating the level a certain way). So this balances things out... Kinda?

Multiplayer is dead but that's to be expected.

Great turnbased game. Very unique gameplay and clean asthetics.

I picked it up expecting something shallow and cartoonish, but the turn-based combat has real depth once you start managing skull eating, spirit walls, and monk shrines all at once. The dialogue is genuinely funny in a way I wasn't expecting from a strategy game, and it kept me entertained through all 20 levels of the campaign. My one gripe is that selecting units with a mouse gets fiddly when things get crowded on the battlefield, which is a clear sign this was designed for touchscreens first. Still, if you enjoy games like Advance Wars and don't mind a slightly clunky UI, this is absolutely worth grabbing on sale.

Played this game both on PS4 and PC and I still love it but sucks this game is underrated though.

Skulls of the Shogun is one of those games that your friend breaks out at a sleepover and then becomes a staple for every sleepover thereafter. At least that's what this game was for me. In my quest to 100% a majority of my steam library, I had a mostly positive time with Skulls which I will reflect on below. Bare in mind also that Skulls is a party game and my rating will reflect that fact.
Story: 4/5
The story of the campaign was as lighthearted and funny as a parody of the Japanese afterlife can be. It's a quest for simple revenge between two separate narratives that act as a framing stage for tutorials. Which is essentially what the campaign is. Its a long and extended tutorial of how to play the multiplayer component of this game. Because of that, It is hampered with constant prompts and interruptions that can be annoying for trophy hunters but overall, its fine for what it is.
Gameplay: 10/10
This is the absolute strongest part of the game. Turn-based strategy is not my strong suit so the fact that I fell in love with this is a testament to just how approachable and fun this game is to play. It also scales with you. It is an easy game to pick up, not too hard to get good at, but a challenge to master. It's agame that I can easyily play with my wife, my parents, and my best firend who each have different gaming backgrounds and have a blast.
Achievements: 3/5
The achievements for skulls of the shogun are great in that they ask you to display gameplay mastery and endurance. Beating all the campaign levels while attempting to meet challenge requirements, beating them in a timed manner, and beating them while retaining a certain amount of troops provides an honest challenge. It does require multiple play throughs of the same few levels which does feel like a grind. The worst part of the achievements is the achievement that requires you to get a gold emblem by playing the game relentlessly and praying that RNG gives you what you need to craft the emblem. I wasted 3 hours playing the same few rend rounds of a sequence to grind this out and it seemed like it really existed to bump up my playtime artificially rather than provide a challenge. That is disappointing considering how fair and skill-based the rest of the achievements for this game are.
Art Design: 5/5
The art design of skulls of the shogun is inspired and decidedly retro. For an older game, the sound design is cartoonish fun, the character style is somewhere between anime and American, and the landscapes are picturesque. I can't think of how it could have been done better.
Story: 4/5
Gameplay:10/10
Achievements: 3/5
Art Design: 5/5
Final: 88% B+
I would recommend skulls for anyone who wants a great couch co-op game for a party or for achievement hunters who don't mind moderate RNG grind.

Fun, unique turn-based tactical with a sense of humor.

Skulls of the Shogun is a bold and characterful turn-based strategy game developed and published by 17-BIT that manages to feel both approachable and tactically rewarding without ever taking itself too seriously. Set in a surreal afterlife inspired by feudal Japan, the game immediately distinguishes itself through its irreverent tone, expressive art style, and mechanics that favor momentum and clever positioning over overwhelming complexity. It is a strategy title that understands restraint, focusing on streamlined systems that emphasize decision-making and adaptability rather than encyclopedic rulesets.
The narrative frames the entire experience with a playful but purposeful hook. You follow General Akamoto, a warlord who is assassinated at the very moment of achieving ultimate victory. Instead of accepting his fate, he awakens in the afterlife only to discover that his glory has been stolen by a rival who now claims the title of Shogun. What follows is a campaign driven by revenge, pride, and dark humor, as Akamoto raises an undead army to reclaim his honor. The story unfolds through concise cutscenes and dialogue that lean into comedy without undermining the stakes, giving the campaign a clear motivation and a strong sense of personality.
On the battlefield, Skulls of the Shogun presents a tactical system that is easy to grasp but surprisingly nuanced. Battles are turn-based, with a limited number of orders per turn that force players to carefully prioritize actions. Units fall into familiar archetypes such as infantry, cavalry, and archers, each with distinct strengths, weaknesses, and movement characteristics. Unlike rigid grid-based systems, movement and attack ranges feel fluid, encouraging players to think spatially rather than mechanically. Terrain, positioning, and timing play crucial roles, and even a single misstep can shift the balance of a match.
One of the game’s most distinctive mechanics revolves around the skulls left behind by defeated units. Instead of vanishing, these skulls persist on the battlefield and can be consumed by friendly units to permanently increase their stats. This introduces a compelling layer of risk and reward: investing skulls into a single unit can create a devastating powerhouse, but doing so also concentrates your strength into a vulnerable target. The system encourages constant reassessment of priorities and creates emergent stories as individual units grow into legendary forces or fall before realizing their potential. Units that consume enough skulls can even transform into demons, dramatically altering combat dynamics and adding a satisfying sense of escalation.
The campaign is structured as a series of increasingly complex encounters that gradually introduce new unit types, mechanics, and strategic considerations. Missions are tightly designed, rarely overstaying their welcome, and often present unique twists that force players to adapt their usual tactics. This steady progression keeps the experience engaging while maintaining accessibility for newcomers to the genre. Difficulty ramps up thoughtfully, rewarding players who learn to exploit positioning, order efficiency, and skull management rather than relying on brute force.
Beyond the single-player campaign, Skulls of the Shogun offers a robust multiplayer component that significantly extends its lifespan. Both local and online multiplayer modes are supported, including asynchronous play that allows players to take turns at their own pace. Matches can involve multiple players on compact maps designed to foster conflict and shifting power dynamics. The limited-order system shines particularly well in multiplayer, as every move carries psychological weight and reading opponents becomes just as important as mastering mechanics.
Visually, the game adopts a vibrant, cartoon-like aesthetic that blends traditional Japanese motifs with exaggerated character designs and expressive animations. This art style not only reinforces the game’s humor but also enhances readability during combat, making unit roles and battlefield states immediately clear. The audio design complements this approach with energetic music and punchy sound effects that keep battles lively without becoming distracting. Together, the presentation reinforces the game’s identity as a strategy experience that values charm and clarity over grim realism.
Ultimately, Skulls of the Shogun succeeds because it understands exactly what kind of game it wants to be. It strips turn-based strategy down to its most engaging elements—positioning, trade-offs, and momentum—then layers them with personality and clever twists that keep each encounter interesting. While it may not offer the depth or scale of larger strategy epics, its focused design, memorable mechanics, and strong multiplayer support make it a standout title in the genre. For players looking for a tactical game that balances accessibility with meaningful decision-making and a healthy dose of humor, Skulls of the Shogun remains a highly rewarding experience on Steam.
Rating: 8/10