5 greatest video games like Shogun to maintain the historic Japan vibes going

Shōgun, the restricted TV collection based mostly on the historical-fiction novel by James Clavell, shortly asserted itself as one in every of this yr’s greatest new collection, because of a charming solid of characters and a stirring efficiency by lead Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Toranaga.

Should you’re nonetheless devastated by this week’s collection finale and are on the lookout for a recreation to sate your need for extra nice storytelling set in historic Japan, we’ve acquired you coated. We’ve hand-selected a few of our favourite video games to assist ease the transition right into a post-Shōgun world. Let’s dive in!

Shadow Ways: Blades of the Shogun

Picture: Mimimi Productions/Daedalic Leisure

The place to play: PlayStation 4, Home windows PC, Xbox One

Typically, a veiled knife at nighttime is value greater than 100 swords on the battlefield. Working example: The tip of Shōgun’s second episode, when a shinobi disguised as a longtime home servant tears by means of guards and bystanders alike, leaving blood in his wake, earlier than being lower down by Lord Toranaga. So, in the event you’re on the lookout for a stealthy motion recreation the place technique and persistence are king, Mimimi Productions’ 2016 real-time techniques recreation is a must-play.

Set in feudal Japan shortly after the reigning shogun has unified the nation, Shadow Ways: Blades of the Shogun follows a gaggle of unlikely allies who band collectively of their widespread quest to take down a mysterious warlord that threatens the shogunate. It’s a superb and totally underrated stealth recreation that places emphasis on benefiting from every ability your get together of playable characters brings to each problem. —Toussaint Egan

Complete Struggle: Shogun 2

Picture: Artistic Meeting/Sega

The place to play: Home windows PC

Shōgun takes place throughout the finish of the Sengoku interval, a time wherein incessant civil warfare has divided the nation into numerous domains overseen by warlords trying to increase their territories. The collection’ finale ends on the cusp of warfare, with Toranaga reflecting on what shall be generally known as the Battle of Sekigahara. Should you had been disillusioned by the shortage of an enormous battle on the finish of Shōgun, this basic RTS is the proper solution to expertise that.

Artistic Meeting’s path to strategy-gaming dominance started in 2000 with the unique Shogun: Complete Struggle. After a decade-long romp by means of historic Rome and Europe, the developer returned to Japan in 2011 for Complete Struggle: Shogun 2. The end result was a BAFTA award for greatest technique recreation, and the crystallization of a high-concept multimodal format that may go on to turn out to be the beloved trilogy Complete Struggle: Warhammer.

In Complete Struggle: Shogun 2, you’ll ship hundreds of troopers, archers, and cavalry into pitched real-time tactical battles. Out of your hen’s-eye view over the battlefield, you’ll be able to get them organized to flank, hearth at, and cost the enemy. Then, within the turn-based overworld map, you’ll maneuver your forces to make the most of the terrain, utilizing it to unseat your AI-controlled opponents to dominate all of Japan. The timeline is an ideal match for the TV present, with items pulled from historic accounts of the sixteenth century.

To get essentially the most bang on your buck, choose up the Complete Struggle: Shogun 2 collection on Steam, which incorporates the bottom recreation and its most important expansions. —Charlie Corridor

Rise of the Ronin

Picture: Group Ninja/Sony Interactive Leisure

The place to play: PlayStation 5

Should you’re on the lookout for a recreation the place you’ll be able to discover the gorgeous plains and rolling hills of Nineteenth-century Japan that Shogun solely briefly teased all through the collection, Group Ninja’s first open-world motion journey is simply the sport to satiate your wanderlust. As a former anti-shogunate murderer turned ronin, gamers should traverse the countryside of Nineteenth-century Japan after their village is destroyed and their lifelong associate goes lacking. You’ll battle in opposition to ruthless bandits, surly American troopers, and even ravenous canine as you try and carve out a brand new life for your self. Not solely that, however gamers are given the selection to forge bonds with vital characters and ally with clashing factions to resolve the destiny of Japan. If that doesn’t resonate with the themes of Shōgun, I don’t know what does. —TE

Nioh

Picture: Group Ninja/Koei Tecmo

The place to play: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Home windows PC

Whereas loosely based mostly on true occasions, Shōgun is technically a piece of historic fiction, with John Blackthorne and Lord Yoshii Toranaga as fictional analogs for the real-life English sailor turned samurai William Adams and daimyo turned shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Should you’re on the lookout for one other, albeit extra violently exaggerated, tackle the occasions coated within the present, you must undoubtedly give Group Ninja’s 2017 Soulslike Nioh a shot.

Set in a darkish fantasy model of 1600s Japan, gamers assume the position of an Irish sailor named William who arrives in Japan on a quest of vengeance in opposition to Edward Kelley, an occult alchemist who seeks to perpetuate battle utilizing a military of oni. William shortly allies himself with Ieyasu and his ninja servant Hanzo Hattori, who agree to assist him in his mission to take down Kelley in their very own quest to deliver peace to Japan. It’s a wild and ridiculous motion RPG full of intense swordplay and scary bosses. It’s not precisely the equal of a slow-paced, emotionally wealthy status TV collection, however it’s a blast to play. —TE

Like a Dragon: Ishin!

Picture: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega

The place to play: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Home windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Sequence X

The Like a Dragon (previously generally known as Yakuza) collection has all the time had a popularity for outlandish situations involving gold-hearted gangsters and over-the-top minigames. In 2014, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio took one of the crucial radical steps within the franchise so far, recasting the collection’ mechanics and concepts for an action-adventure spinoff set in Nineteenth-century Japan. Like a Dragon: Ishin! places gamers within the position of the legendary samurai Sakamoto Ryōma (modeled after common collection protagonist Kazuma Kiryu) as he fights to clear his identify after his adoptive father is murdered by an murderer.

Should you had been captivated by Shōgun’s meticulous rendition of Osaka Citadel, you’ll love exploring the sport’s huge and exquisite model of the fortress city of Tosa and Kyo, Japan’s capital metropolis throughout the Bakumatsu period. It’s a improbable recreation with compelling characters and nice fight, and with the current remake that permits gamers to get it on PC and current-gen consoles, there’s by no means been a greater time to attempt it out. —TE