While there are plenty of shows out there to watch, few of them balance the tension and historical drama that FX’s Shogun does so easily. While you’re watching the plight of John Blackthorne, you may feel the urge to hop into the world of Shogun.
Well, you’re in luck, there are a handful of games out there that capture some of the facets that Shogun holds so dear. Whether you want to pilot a ship like Blackthorne, become a feudal lord in Japan, or go off on a samurai adventure; these are games that are most like Shogun.
9Assassin’s Creed Black Flag
A Seafaring Adventure
Assassin’s Creed Black Flagisn’t a game that has the most connections to the setting of Shogun, but it does have an interesting connection to John Blackthorne, one of the show’s protagonists. Seeing his adventures in the first few episodes as a sailor (and pirate from time to time) may make you hungry for the seas.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag is the perfect game to satiate that hunger. While there are more recent pirate games, none capture the thrill of riding the waves on the Jackdaw while hunting for forts or enemy ships to raid.
When people talk about grand strategy games, one of the first series to come up is that of Sid Meier’s. It has been groundbreaking when it comes to gameplay, letting you create a nation of your own choosing.
When you see all the political scheming and factions subtly trying to win power from one another in Shogun, you might be tempted to try your hand at running a nation yourself. With all the world events, customization, and dynamic maps thatCivilization 6offers, it should be a top contender for just that.
7Samurai Warriors 5
The Sengoku period was a formative time for Japan, as you can readily see throughout Shogun. With that comes many myths and even some dramatic and fantastical interpretations of the era too, just like inSamurai Warriors 5.
Here you play as one of a long list of commanders and take on huge waves of enemies across Japan. There is a surprising amount of plot and character development for a musou.
6Shadow Tactics
Stealth Meets Strategy
When it comes to feudal Japan, many titles go for the grand strategy approach, but only a few try out the squad-based approach. However, Shadow Tactics gives it a shot, and to great effect.
Take control of one of five different warriors, each with their own approach to stealth combat. It doesn’t matter if you want the headstrong approach of a dual-wielding samurai or the more stealthy approach of a shinobi, it’s all there for you among the city streets and castles of Japan.
5Stronghold: Warlords
Create And Destroy
Stronghold: Warlords is a great game to choose if you fell in love with Shogun’s look at Osaka and wanted to try to rule your own castle city. In it, you may choose one of the various campaigns based on historical armies like the Mongols, Imperial Chinese, or even the Shogunate itself.
The game is part base building and part siege warfare as you develop new tools to wreck enemy strongholds while making sure your army will last the skirmish. It balances gameplay and story pretty well, considering how many different options there are for playthroughs.
If you saw Shogun and wanted some more fantastical elements in a game that follows the same vein, thenNioh 2or any of the Nioh series may be a good fit for you. The series takes place in the Sengoku period, just like Shogun does, but with a bit of a twist.
You play as a samurai whose task it is to hunt down and destroy yokai, demonic spirits that wish the world harm. But, you aren’t without your own spiritual powers to help level the playing field. It’s a fun hack-and-slash game that sends you to a historic era in Japan.
3Total War: Shogun 2
Become A Warlord
The Total War titles have had a tight grip on the tactical simulator genre for years. In the long-standing series, they even haveTotal War: Shogun 2, for those who’ve seen the Shogun show and wanted to lead their own feudal Japanese army.
From samurai to horse archers, you get to lead an army of your choosing across various battlefields. It mixes both turn-based and real-time strategy components in a pretty seamless way, and by the end, you’ll feel like a proper daimyo.
A game that many first consider when they think about games with samurai in them,Ghost Of Tsushimacame out to critical acclaim, and people haven’t stopped on their revenge-fueled rampage since.
Defend Japan and learn the techniques of samurai, ronin, and ninja in your journey to take vengeance on the army that threatens your way of life. There are plenty of shared themes in this game and Shogun, not to mentionplenty of actionthat should keep you busy for some time.
An interesting spinoff to the Yakuza series,Like A Dragon: Ishintakes you back to 1800s Japan in the Edo period. Which is an interesting comparison to Shogun’s look at the 1600s Sengoku period, but one that still shares some of the main themes.
As samurai Sakamoto Ryoma, you move through feudal Japan with the goal of becoming a legendary swordsman. Fight amazing battles, talk to a wide array of interesting characters, and even summon a tiger; there are plenty of things to make Ishin on your radar.
