FX’s historic drama Shogun has simply been the most important new TV present of 2024 to date. Primarily based on James Clavell’s 1975 novel of the identical identify, it blends political intrigue and character drama with sweeping set items and graphic violence, and has been successful with audiences. For those who’ve wrapped up the present and end up craving for extra prefer it, take a look at our listing of the ten finest video games like Shogun.
Greatest Video games Like Shogun
James Clavell’s Shogun
This primary entry on our listing might be the best selection out of all of them. Almost ten years after the primary tv adaptation of the Shogun novel launched, an adaption of the e-book got here out as a online game from Infocom for Amiga, Apple II, DOS, and Macintosh.
Somewhat than something action-packed, James Clavell’s Shogun is a closely text-based journey sport, adhering fairly carefully to the novel’s plot. You play as John Blackthorne as you crash-land in Japan and are available to grips with the complicated political panorama, however don’t really get to have any of the enjoyable your self.
It was a muted launch that was extensively panned, and as such it’s inconceivable to play on any fashionable techniques. That is perhaps for the very best, as a result of Clavell himself wasn’t particularly excited about it – refusing to contribute creatively and merely signing off on the venture.
Ghost of Tsushima
Subsequent on our listing is arguably the closest factor there may be to Shogun in online game type. Whether or not you’re taking part in the bottom PS4 model or the PS5’s Director’s Reduce, Ghost of Tsushima is a bombastic triple-A blockbuster with boundary-pushing graphics, sharp fight, and a deep story.
You play as Jin Sakai, a samurai in Twelfth-century Japan. Your own home island of Tsushima is below siege by imperial Mongol forces, and it’s as much as you and your allies to carry them off and repel the invasion by all means.
For those who beloved the motion within the Shogun sequence – even when it was few and much between – Ghost of Tsushima will greater than ship on that promise. It’s set a number of centuries earlier than Shogun, however the themes of vying for energy and holding off opposition strain resonate via each.
Rise of the Ronin
The most recent sport on our listing, Rise of the Ronin is about within the nineteenth century, some 300 years after Shogun. It sticks carefully to actual Japanese historical past, going down on the finish of the Edo interval the place opposing forces are battling to both keep or dissolve the shogunate authorities construction.
Developed by Staff Ninja of Ninja Gaiden fame (extra of which we’ll talk about later), swordplay is the main target in Rise of the Ronin. You may decide from varied combating kinds, starting from polearms to twin swords, every with distinctive abilities, parries, and assaults.
For individuals who just like the fight in Ghost of Tsushima however need one thing extra detailed and rewarding, Rise of the Ronin will do the job. Simply bear in mind it’s a PS5 unique!
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Taking fight a step additional, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is FromSoftware’s most up-to-date foray into real-life settings, even when its model of the Japanese Sengoku interval is fictionalized. As a ninja known as Wolf, you struggle via hordes of enemy samurai who kidnapped your former grasp.
If Rise of the Ronin toes the road of risk-and-reward fight, Sekiro pushes it into all-out punishing. It’s a FromSoft sport, in any case, so anyone anticipating a story-driven narrative journey will quickly get an enormous shock. The fight is notoriously tough, rating among the many developer’s hardest video games with its extremely exact parrying time and really low HP barrier for Wolf. It’s not for everybody, however soulslike followers who additionally loved Shogun will certainly need to give it a strive.
Ninja Gaiden: Grasp Assortment
Somewhat than choosing one particular sport within the Ninja Gaiden sequence, we’ve opted to go for 2021’s Grasp Assortment. This collated the primary three HD video games within the sequence onto fashionable consoles, and is even out there on Sport Move for subscribers.
The precursor sequence to Rise of the Ronin, Ninja Gaiden was a serious pioneer of sword-based hack-and-slash gameplay. It’s all about touchdown the very best combo you may, juggling enemies within the air, and pulling off brutal decapitation strikes. The Ninja Gaiden sequence is rather more arcadey than different entries on this listing, making it an ideal start line for newcomers to the hack-and-slash style.
Whereas Shogun is actually extra targeted on story and characters over fight, Ninja Gaiden is a perfect treatment when you end the sequence and desire a extra action-focused narrative.
Like a Dragon: Ishin!
This remake of the 2014 Japan-only Yakuza sport is about totally in 18th-century Japan. You play as Sakamoto Ryoma, a former ronin now deserted by his clan and compelled to exit on a brutal quest to avenge his father. As a Like a Dragon sport, although, it’s not particularly self-serious.
That includes an unlimited open world, the facet actions are what make Like a Dragon: Ishin! stand out from different video games on this listing. To point out how large the vary is, you may sing karaoke, cook dinner noodles, take dance classes, race chickens, and play poker. There’s loads to do in the primary quest, however shedding your self in these facet distractions is all a part of the enjoyable.
For those who preferred Shogun however discovered it a bit too critical and darkish, Like a Dragon: Ishin! is the right antidote. Positive, there’s a quest for revenge right here, however there’s loads of silliness as properly.
Aragami
One of the stylized video games on this listing, in Aragami you play because the spirit of an murderer despatched again to Earth to take out targets. Your skills assist you to harness the facility of shadows, casting illusions to govern enemies, transporting via shadows, and summoning weapons out of skinny air.
Like a stealthier, extra fashionable model of Murderer’s Creed, Aragami enables you to select from varied strategies of coping with enemies. The range of your shadow powers means you don’t all the time have to chop enemies down along with your sword – you too can sneak previous or harness shadows to engulf enemies.
It’s not too just like Shogun in a stylistic sense, however as a substitute a extra cartoonish however equally grisly tackle Japanese historical past.
Complete Struggle: Shogun 2
For the technique followers on the market, Complete Struggle: Shogun 2 is an ideal accompaniment to the top of Shogun. With out delving into spoilers, let’s simply say that it makes an terrible lot of sense for the huge-scale conflicts of this sport to fill the void left by the top of the sequence.
Developed as all the time by long-term developer Artistic Meeting, Complete Struggle: Shogun 2 is the definitive historic Japanese RTS. You get to choose from varied clans – these pro-shogunate and their detractors – to formulate your personal forces and head into battle.
For those who haven’t loved navy technique video games previously, Complete Struggle: Shogun 2 in all probability received’t change your thoughts. Nevertheless, anybody conversant in the style who beloved Shogun will discover it the right companion piece.
Mafia 3
Mafia 3 is by far essentially the most shocking sport on our listing, however hear us out. Not like the primary two Mafia video games, the place you begin off as a lowly grunt and work your method up the ladder, Mafia 3 provides you a bit extra of an influence journey.
In truth, when you get far sufficient into the story you may resolve which of your rival gangs to facet with, and which to do battle in opposition to. The crux of Shogun’s narrative is completely different factions vying for authority in an influence vacuum, and Mafia 3 handles that idea very well. Sure, they’re completely completely different in most methods, however thematically share a massively frequent thread.
Murderer’s Creed Crimson
The final entry on our listing is a little bit of a cheat, as a result of Murderer’s Creed Crimson isn’t even out but. In truth, it doesn’t also have a correct title – Crimson is simply the working codename, in any case. That stated, one of many few tidbits of data we have now is that it’ll happen in Feudal Japan.
Whereas that’s all we have now to go off, we’ve already seen how the Murderer’s Creed sequence faithfully adapts the time durations it tackles, from Victorian London in Syndicate to renaissance Italy within the Ezio trilogy. We’ve seen how Shogun made feudal Japan a dwelling, respiration world on tv. With Murderer’s Creed Crimson, it must be the very same factor for gaming.
These are our picks of the very best video games like Shogun! For extra lists like this, take a look at the very best Xbox sofa co-op video games and the very best video games like Manor Lords.