Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate

Given my obsession with shotguns in shooters, I simply can’t pass up on a game called Shotgun King—even though it’s yet another roguelike that’s not my strong suit. This time, we’re not shooting zombies in the head: instead, we’re firing shells at pawns, rooks, and ultimately, kings!

The idea of combining chess with a roguelike game loop felt very novel to me but according to a quick Itch.io search, it’s not (and the 2025 Passant proves it’s possible to do what Balatro did with poker). But what if you throw shotguns into the equation? PUNKCAKE is a tiny French-based indie studio focusing on original games. They claim they’re constantly exploring different game genres and new ideas. I think it’s safe to say that Shotgun King fits that bill perfectly. Now how about some shooting?

The premise is simple: you’re the black king starting on the lower edge of the board. Your purpose? Kill the white king. To do that, don’t get killed yourself, as the white opponent does have access to an army of the usual chess pieces while you’re all by yourself. Once you make a move, depending on the speed of the other pieces, these will move as well. That means navigation is a big component in this game: your starting shotgun has limited range.

In-between each chess “session”, you can choose between a few cards to receive a free upgrade (hey Balatro) but so will your opponent. You want more range? Your opponent will have an extra queen by turn three. Or would you rather opt for extra shells? Fine, but then your opponent’s pawns will be able to traverse in any direction. These choices will persist until you die and restart another session true to the roguelike spirit. The more progress you make, the more powerful you’ll become (extra shells, longer range, a melee weapon that can insta-kill nearby pawns, the ability to move like a horse, …) but the more trouble you’ll face (reinforcements, more bishops, faster opponent movement, more pairs of horses, …). These power-ups are visible on the screenshots: the left side represent your cards and the right side represents the opponent’s.

A shoulder button trigger will send some bullets flying all over the board, but the question is: (1) will it hit your mark? and (2) how much damage will it do? True to the shotgun nature, the closer to the mark, the more lethal the shot will be. After a few sessions you’ll have a better feeling of risking a shot: that means you won’t move, but your opponent might, putting you at a clear disadvantage, especially in dangerous spots on the side of the board where you can’t easily escape from.

There are a few shotgun types to unlock by finishing a run with a focus on certain power-ups (e.g. “have at least x range”). The problem is that even though I want to play with these other guns badly, I’m simply not good enough at the game to finish it! In the beginning you can play aggressively but after a level or three, you’ll have to start paying close attention. That means the TV becomes a distraction: one wrong more and you can kiss your run with cool goodies goodbye.

For that reason, I’m not a big roguelike fan, and Shotgun King is no exception here. It’s a fun little game that can technically be “finished” in two hours considering you’ve got the wits of a proper king but I don’t.

What makes it less alluring to restart runs is the vagueness of the accuracy system. In the screenshot above, you can see the red arc depicting your range (spread & distance). However, in practice, I never was able to correctly judge the outcome. I can’t count the number of times I died because I took a shot at the king but didn’t notice I was just a smidge short of fatally wounding him. Perhaps that’s just me though.

I like the idea of Shotgun King. I’ve had a few hours of fun but have zero interest in picking it up any time soon. Even though technically these games rank high in replayability, there’s not much depth here beyond discovering a few new power-ups. I’d rather restart a Balatro or even a Shogun Showdown run.

If you do decide to pick it up, don’t buy the macOS GOG.com version—that one consistently crashed after the intro scene. Remember: shoot to kill. No prior chess knowledge required!