It's a shame... it's an absolute crying shame. Today I get to review my second "lost game" ever... and it had the potential to be a masterpiece. It's a shame because it was an episodic title that not only didn't get to show what it had past episode 1, but has been discontinued to the point that you simply can not buy even that anymore. I was lucky it was in my backlog so I could at least see a glimpse of what might have been... and it could have been amazing.
Story: A kid's puppet show has hit the airwaves and is a smash hit: Showdown Bandit! In this show, the hero Bandit saves the western town from various threats every week while a live audience cheered their hero on! There is no wonder why people feel nostalgic these simple and innocent times.
But that is not where we are today. It's been years since the show was on the air or performed... but that doesn't mean it doesn't still live. The puppets still stir in their sets, as if living their own lives portrayed on the show of yesteryear... and this is where you were found... Bandit literally unboxed because "it must mean he wanted it." Welcome back to the stage!
Sadly there isn't a lot of plot beyond this point as this is a cancelled game that never got any content beyond the first episode, and you will spend your time exploring the sets to try to figure out just what it is "he" wants of you with no real answers.
Still you do not inhabit this world alone. In fact there are a handful of characters who wander the world with you, most of which exist for a game mechanic (like saving your game or healing you) but breath life into this supposedly dead world. What is here is actually really good. It's just a shame it never got the chance to really spread it's wings and paint it's full story.
6/10
Graphics: Simply put this game is absolutely gorgeous. You will see the world from a bird's eye view looking down on the "stage" of the show. Bandit will generally be the star here as the spotlight focuses on him, letting a natural light (and other lesser spotlights) show you the world. As you move between rooms, you will watch everything quickly be pulled away and replaced as an expert puppet crew might change scenes for a live show. It is all expertly detailed and an absolute joy to see.
But don't expect a new environment... after all this show hasn't been on the air or performed for years, and while for the time the props and sets have been amazingly preserved, it is only for the time they've been out of use. These things look old and worn, including Bandit himself and the detail work of the world is simply fantastic.
However, it really doesn't do a lot for the horror aspect the game is going for, so be ready to enjoy the art, but there just isn't a lot here to be disturbing or even really nightmare fuel. Again, this might be because there was stuff coming up that we will unfortunately never get to see (and in fact the last scene of the game suggests what could have been) but... that doesn't mean you won't enjoy everything you see.
8/10
Sound: The first thing that is going to strike you before even the graphics impress you is the sound work. The main title menu has properly moody music, but if you leave it alone long enough (as I did waiting to see if anyone was joining me in the stream), you will get the absolutely creepy effect of the TV in the background turning on to a kid's show (the one you are part of in fact). I actually had to stop and wonder what just happened, and this set the tone for the sound-design of the rest of the game.
Music is there when useful, but for the most part expect the ambiance of the world with some western sounding tones to chime in for key moments (like when you get into a shooting puzzle for example). But that ambiance is absolutely amazing, bringing almost all the creepy-factor this game will offer. From your echoing steps in the empty hallways of the abandoned stage to the skittering of things in the shadows, this game oozes it's personality through your ears.... and that's besides the absolutely great voice acting.
Sadly there isn't a lot of it, as there are really only three characters who speak (Bandit himself is a mute protagonist) but everyone is on point for their rolls. It is also interesting to note the voices seem designed to sound like they come from a loud speaker, as if you might be listening from the audience instead of as Bandit, but without more content. I don't know if there is much we can read from that.
Still the audio work here is simply masterful.
9/10
Gameplay: Despite how it looks, Showdown Bandit is in essence a horror point and click game. You will control the entire game with the mouse, clicking where you want to go and interacting with objects and characters by getting close to them and clicking the icon that appears over them. The icon itself will make it pretty obvious what it will do: talk to them, look/read the note, pick up/use the object, or go to gun-mode. It is a simple and intuitive control scheme which will let you focus on exploration and positioning Bandit in the room, which will prove important with the enemies you face.
They are not everywhere and despite having a popgun, most of the time you will be trying to avoid, instead of fighting them. The rooms themselves are designed with this in mind most of the time. The few times they are not, you will likely have bear traps you can use to assist you. But if you cant avoid them, you will still have a few hits to cover for mistakes represented by the strings holding you up. You have 5 (one for each limb and one for your head) and enemies will snip them until you fall down lifeless. However there is little time lost in dying. Rather the screen will play an animation for the monster that killed you and you will be taken back to the last bank you saved at. Nor will losing strings be as scary as you might think at first since talking to the Doctor will allow you to repair Bandit and get back into form.
When not dodging enemies you will be doing a few fetch quests for keys or puzzles to open up doors. If you have the key to a door, you do not even need to use them as the lock just dissappears accordingly. As for the puzzles, they are not tough as they are almost always in the form of finding a switch and potentially finding the gun icon it activated. Use these and the game swaps to an over the shoulder view and now your mouse moves the camera as you aim for your targets and fire away! When used as a puzzle, it works well enough, breaking the game up somewhat, but there is one part of the game where you get to do this as an on-rails shooter, changing the pace of the game entirely an with an insanely fun sequence.
Overall this game had serious potential to be something special. I know I keep repeating myself, but the cancellation of it was just a shame since what is here is pretty damn good. I just wish here was more.
7/10
Bugs: Outside of some occasional screen tearing (and no v-sync to correct it), this game ran absolutely perfectly.
Score: A great game tragically cut short, Showdown Bandit is a game I wish I could recommend to a lot more people. It was a great little game while it lasted, but it was discontinued and taken down before it could really show what it was made of. Still this first impression from the single first episode was a great one and I can only hope Kindly Beast (or whatever they are calling themselves now) revisit the idea and continue to paint this picture.
7/10
System Requirements:
- Intel Corei3 2nd generation (3.0 Ghz)
- 8 GB RAM
- NVidia Gforce 650
- 4 GB hard drive space
- Windows 10
System Specs:
- Ryzen 7 (2700) 3.2 Ghz
- 16 GB RAM
- Nvidia Geforce 1660 (6GB VRAM)
- Windows 10 (64 Bit)
Source: Steam Unfortunately, this game has been taken down so there is no legitimate way to get it anymore.
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