


That brutality is played to by violence that's comically over-played - there are dismemberments and gushing geysers of blood, smearing your character in flecks of crimson as they deal out damage - and offset by a sense of serene beauty. That's true as ever this time out, and it can feel absolutely brutal. It feels much more coherent and stylish than The King of Fighters 14 - although, of course, there's a lot less of it. Samurai Shodown is SNK's first joint on UE4. Whiff, and over half your health meter can be wiped out by a single blow. Over a quarter of a century and multiple entries, Samurai Shodown has always been a series that's experimented with its systems, but the backbone has remained largely the same here's fighting that's more measured, higher impact and with big consequences for those who make mistakes.


It helps that it stays faithful to the core tenets of the original, and indeed to many of the games that followed. And I'm delighted to say this new entry is absolutely brilliant. Samurai Shodown is a reboot of the series that helped forge the SNK brand, in all its steely cool, back in 1993. The King of Fighters 14 was a fine way to mark the occasion, an intricate and expansive spin on the series, and now we have something a mite more ambitious. So it's also no wonder that when, after years of tumultuous corporate wrangling, the SNK name properly returned back in 2016, there was a frisson of excitement. Availability: Out June 25th on Xbox One and PS4, coming to Switch and PC later this year.It's no wonder the likes of Garou: Mark of the Wolves and The Last Blade are still spoken about with a hushed reverence. Was there any cooler presence in the arcades of the 90s than SNK? There's always been something about the games from the Osaka outfit, matching impeccable style with deep tech and a serious amount of swagger. SNK's iconic series makes its return in this reboot that's short on features but rich in systems.
