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Awards and Nominations
- Destructoid – Best of Xbox 360 Nominee, E3 2012
- Destructoid - Best of Indies Nominee, E3 2012
- Video Game Writers – Best Strategy Game, PAX East 2012
- IndieCade – Finalist, IndieCade 2011
- Fantastic Fest – Showcase Game, Fantastic Arcade 2011
- Destructoid – Top 10 Best of Show, PAX Prime 2011
- Game Critics Awards – Best Strategy Game Nominee, E3 2011
- GamePro – Best Strategy Game, E3 2011
- 1UP – Best Strategy Game, E3 2011
- Destructoid – Best of E3, E3 2011
- Electric Playground – Best of E3, E3 2011
- Machinima.com - Best Strategy Game Nominee, E3 2011
- Game Rant – Best Indie Game Nominee, E3 2011
- Eurogamer Expo – Honourable Mention for Best of Show, EG Expo Indie Games Arcade 2010
- Machinima.com – Best Indie Game Nominee, PAX 2010
- Machinima.com – Best New IP Nominee, PAX 2010
- Machinima.com – Best Surprise Nominee, PAX 2010
- 1UP – Best Strategy Game Nominee, E3 2010
Previews and Interviews
Preview – “… with the quick, fun, arcade-like tactics we experienced during our hands-on time with the game, you’re certainly not going to hear us complaining. Bring on the new era of multiplayer! …”
- Francesca Reyes, Official Xbox Magazine – October, 2012
Preview – “… it was one of my biggest surprises and most memorable experiences …”
- Josh McKinney, OTLGaming.com – September 4, 2012
Preview – “… I got up from the demo and immediately wanted more …”
- Luke Pensiero, PsychoButtons.com – September 1, 2012
Interview with Jake – “… the team has worked hard to streamline Skulls’ gameplay into something far more intuitive and efficient than contemporary strategy titles …”
- Paul Acevedo, WPCentral.com – July 28, 2012
Interview with Borut – “… Skulls of the Shogun was one of the most striking titles on the show floor at last month’s Rezzed …”
- Simon Parkin, HookShotInc.com – July 25, 2012
Preview – “… gameplay is what is important in the end, and Skulls of the Shogun really shines …”
- David Ng, GamerSpot.com – July 24, 2012
Preview – “… This forthcoming strategy game is a good example of the shape Microsoft would like gaming to take in the future …”
- Winda Benedetti, MSNBC.com – July 21, 2012
Preview – “… the game favours immediacy, intuitiveness and accessibility. This isn’t stuffy and stat-based, it’s a breath of fresh air …”
- Lee Bradley, Xbox360Achievements.org – July 19, 2012
Interview with Borut – “… It’s turn-based strategy infused with the spirit of an action or arcade game. It’s fast, no grid, with multiplayer …”
- Mark Seymour, XBLAFans.com – July 19, 2012
Preview – “… There’s a lot to look forward to in Skulls of the Shogun, from its approachable and light controls that are riddled with depth to impressive cross-platform interconnectivity that should help foster a dedicated community of players on release …”
- Matthew Reynolds, DigitalSpy.com – July 18, 2012
Preview – “… A surprisingly deep title that doesn’t patronise newbies, it’s shaping up to be a fun game …”
- Ben Taylor, Business2Community.com – July 17, 2012
Preview – “… Skulls wants to offer deep, turn-based action, but with a real arcade pace and immediacy to it. Who doesn’t want some of that? …”
- Christian Donlan, Eurogamer.net – July 17, 2012
Preview – “… 17-Bit does a wonderful job of teaching you how to play – avoiding overwhelming you while still making it interesting and challenging …”
- Mitch Dyer, IGN.com – July 3, 2012
Interview video with Jake – “… a strategy game starring Japanese feudal lords who are very angry and very dead …”
- Chris Kohler, Wired.com – July 3, 2012
Preview – “… the game is inviting to anyone from a strategy novice to a hardened Fire Emblem vet …”
- Marty Sliva, 1Up.com – July 2, 2012
Preview – “… Jake Kazdal and Borut Pfeifer went rogue to make the weird, personal, and esoteric kind of games they wanted to play …”
- Gus Mastrapa, Gameological.com – June 8, 2012
Preview – “… Normally turn based strategy games bore, but this one keeps you yearning to play …”
- Nick Lattner, Juxtapoz.com – June 8, 2012
Preview and interview with Borut and Ben – “… One of the biggest highlights of E3 2012 for us has been playing Skulls of the Shogun on Windows Phone and Xbox Live Arcade …”
- Paul Acevedo, WPCentral.com – June 8, 2012
Preview – “… another indie title that looks fantastic …”
- Josh Hamel, Hypable.com – June 7, 2012
“… Strategic battles and innovative but accessible mechanics put Skulls of the Shogun at the top of my list of anticipated downloadable projects …”
- Matt Miller, Game Informer Magazine – June, 2012
Interview with Borut and Ben – “… when I saw that Skulls of the Shogun, a turn based strategy game, was coming out exclusively to windows phone I was very excited …”
- Matthew van de Crommert, WMPowerUser.com – May 22, 2012
Preview and interview with Jake – “… Skulls of the Shogun boasts a playful art style and theme that sticks in your mind long after you drop the controller …”
- Erich Sherman, PMSClan.com – May 4, 2012
Preview and interview with Jake – “… Strategy games aren’t exactly the most popular form of entertainment these days, but that doesn’t stop them from being preposterously fun. Haunted Temple Studios’ Skulls of the Shogun is one of these titles …”
- Andrew Whipple III, GamersGuideToLife.com – April 27, 2012
Preview – “… For me, it was one of the most unique games at the show, looked like incredible fun, and I’d go as far to call it a real hidden gem …”
- Christina Gonzalez, RTSGuru.com – April 19, 2012
Intereview with Jake – “… They care about [strategy games] so much they’re going to evolve the genre …”
- Tim Torres, 2D-X.com – April 15, 2012
Preview – “… The beautiful graphics and silly story make Skulls of the Shogun stand out, but the gameplay also seems to do all the right things …”
- Sasu Kemppainen, WinMobileFans.com – April 14, 2012
Preview and intereview with Jake – “… Within a few minutes of playing, it was obvious that the developer had backed the visuals up with incredibly fun turn-based combat …”
- Nick Santangelo, XBLAFans.com – April 12, 2012
Video interview and game play – “… It’s streamlined and complex at the same time …”
- Stephen Totilo, Kotaku.com – April 9, 2012
Preview – “… The presentation is stunning …”
- Dave Voyles, ArmlessOctopus.com – April 8, 2012
Preview – “… This is seriously a fun game to pick up and play …”
- Joshua Derocher, Destructoid.com – April 8, 2012
PAX East 2012 video interview with Jake – “… It’s a pleasure to watch the character animations …”
- Chris Kohler, Wired.com – April 8, 2012
GDC Talk with Borut – “… It’s about tactics, and less about rock, paper, scissors …”
- Kevin Kelly, G4TV.com – March 6, 2012
GDC Talk with Borut – “… Most flaws in game AI typically stem from the architecture not dealing with errors …”
- Brandon Justice, EGMNow.com – March 5, 2012
Report – “… According to Microsoft, Kazdal’s renowned industry experience – he worked on Rez, Space Channel 5 and EA’s canned Spielberg project LMNO – made the game an easy sign …”
- Andy Robinson, ComputerAndVideoGames.com – March 5, 2012
Interview with Jake – “… I’d love to see General Akamoto’s skeletal moustache in vinyl …”
- Kris, SiliconEra.com – March 4, 2012
Flood! – “… remarkably few casualties but it was way too close! …”
- Todd Pantier, XBLAFans.com – Mar 4, 2012
Interview with Jake – “… One of the things I liked about Skulls is it sort of seems like a love-letter to 32-bit gaming …”
- Kris, SiliconEra.com – March 2, 2012
Flood! – “… Suddenly someone was knocking on our door and all I could hear was a bunch of loud excited voices downstairs and then everything went to hell …”
- Stephen Totilo, Kotaku.com – Mar 2, 2012
Interview with Jake – “…The game has been called a turn-based version of a real-time strategy game, which is a funny concept but it holds pretty true …”
- Matthew Emirzian, TBSTactics.com – February 12, 2012
Preview – “… Skulls of the Shogun brings much needed innovation to a stale genre that has done very little to break away from a familiar format …”
- Alex Rubens, G4tv.com – November 23, 2011
Preview – “… in Skulls of the Shogun, a battle isn’t really lost until it’s completely over …”
- Mike Schramm, Joystiq.com – November 22, 2011
Preview and interview video with Ben – “… they wanted each match to feel more like a sporting event than like a game of chess. For my money, they’ve succeeded …”
- Jeff Mattas, ShackNews.com – October 12, 2011
Preview – “… c’è da dire che Skulls of the Shogun pare accontentare sia i giocatori occasionali, che quelli più smaliziati e pieni di pretese …”
- Teresa “86Sakura86″ Tripi, VGNetwork.it – October 11, 2011
Preview – “I was defeated, but the surprise of my Shogun’s death brought a smile to my face.”
- Kris, SiliconEra.com - September 19, 2011
PAX Prime 2011 Coverage – “The whole thing unfolds like a gorgeous bit of puppetry with a ton of humorous charm and a soundtrack that could’ve been lifted from a classic Wu-Tang album.”
- Evan Narcisse, Time’s Techland - September 2, 2011
PAX Prime 2011 Coverage – “…Skulls has a highly simplified interface and a resource-gathering-free design that Kazdal describes as having been inspired by ’90s-era Capcom brawlers. It’s an unexpected matchup, but it definitely works.”
- Jeremy Parish, 1Up.com – August 28, 2011
PAX Prime 2011 Coverage – “The whole point of this article is to make sure that no one misses Skulls of the Shogun. It’s too good to miss.”
- Dale North, Destructoid.com – August 27, 2011
Interview video with Jake – “Some people have called Skulls of the Shogun the best strategy game of E3. I’ve called it a Wu-Tang Advance Wars.”
- Stephen Totilo, Kotaku.com – July 22, 2011
Interview audio with Borut – “Haunted Temple Studio’s Skulls of the Shogun has been turning heads at video game conferences and shows all year long.”
- Noah J Nelson, TurnstyleNews.com – July 13, 2011
Preview – “commitment to greatness shows most in the game’s immediate accessibility”
- Kyle Mann, DeltaGamer.com.com – July 11, 2011
Preview – “The learning curve paces smoothly and can turn any gamer into a newfound-strategist without feeling overwhelmed.”
- Peter Eykemans, IGN.com – June 22, 2011
Preview – “Skulls Of The Shogun presents a dark world filled with skeletal Shogun warriors with a level of charm that makes it difficult not to love.”
- Ryan Blanchard, GameRant.com – June 13, 2011
Preview – “Skulls of the Shogun was one of the best titles on the floor of E3 this year, and I can’t wait to dive in to the game along with other players who want to enjoy turn-based strategy without all the … y’know … math.”
- Mike Schramm, Joystiq.com – June 13, 2011
E3 2011 Coverage – “The breakout star of the booth, though, was a strategy-based video game called Skulls of the Shogun…”
- Liz Ohanesian, LA Weekly - June 11, 2011
E3 2011 Coverage – “…this year’s major breakout hit if there is any justice in the universe.”
- Keith Stuart, The Guardian – June 10, 2011
E3 2011 Coverage – “Skulls of the Shogun provides that perfect mixture of accessibility and depth that made games like Plants vs. Zombies and Advance Wars so damn addictive. This charmingly and bobble-headedly cartoonish strategy game has all the trappings of turn-based gaming with none of the stuffiness.”
- 1Up – June 11, 2011
“Think Advance Wars, but funnier, deader, and even more Japanese…”
- Tom Price, GamePro Magazine – June, 2011
Interview with Jake – “…Jake Kazdal, the indie game creator with the greatest secret track record in gaming…”
- Ryan Winterhalter, GamesTM.co.uk – April 12, 2011
Interview video – “…The game looks great. I can’t wait to have it actually come out…”
- Adam Kovic, Machinima.com – April 8, 2011
Preview – “…We don’t just have a contender for a strong new strategy game; we’ve got one of 2011′s best soundtracks in the making…”
- Stephen Totilo, Kotaku.com – April 5, 2011
Interview – “…It was so quick that it felt less like Advance Wars and more like Starcraft…”
- Andrew Vanden Bossche, Gamasutra.com – March 31, 2011
Preview – “…It’s one of those little games that are easy to get into, but make you forget the time until you hear birds chirping outside…”
- Maurice Tan, Destructoid.com – March 30, 2011
Preview – “…being able to sit down and enjoy a chunk of the game’s campaign really cemented my love for the title…”
- Jason Wersits, MashThoseButtons.com – March 26, 2011
Preview – “…those who are always up for a little more thinking in their gameplay will find Skulls of the Shogun a great little downloadable title…”
- Shanghai Six, FrontTowardsGamer.com – March 24, 2011
Preview – “…Skulls of the Shogun meets on even ground for fans of both turn-based and the fast paced…”
- Jessica Weimar, MashThoseButtons.com – March 21, 2011
Preview – “…what makes Shogun unique is it’s sense of style, and speed of game play. Everything was designed so intuitively that a turn based novice could learn to play in minutes…”
- Ash, NerdAppropriate.com – March 19, 2011
Preview video with Jake – “…The indie developers seek to make a fun arcade experience and refresh the rts genre…”
- G4TV.com – March 17, 2011
Preview – “…Skulls of the Shogun takes a little strategy know-how from Tactics Ogre and Fire Emblem, and distills it to a pure, more accessible experience…”
- Dalibor Dimovski, SideQuesting.com – March 16, 2011
Preview and trailer – “…the charming art style and Skulls of the Shogun looks like a strategy game anybody could enjoy…”
- Garrett Martin, G4TV.com – March 15 , 2011
Trailer – “…The potential for fun in there looks like it could cross all genre-bias boundaries…”
- John Walker, RockPaperShotgun.com – March 14, 2011
Interview video with Borut – “…Skulls of the Shogun is coming along beautifully…”
- Ricardo, Gamespot.com – March 13, 2011
“…the design of SOTS incorporates both Japanese and Western influences in one surreal but lovable package…”
- GamesTM Magazine- No.105
“…Jake Kazdal is endeavoring to put a unique spin on the turn-based-strategy genre … and so far he and his team are off to a promising start…”
- Alejandro Quan-Madrid, Electronic Gaming Monthly Magazine – March 2011
Interview and trailer – “it’s a tactical pleasure…”
Jim Rossignol, RockPaperShotgun.com – February 9, 2011
Twitter post – “Skulls of the Shogun is really damned good.”
Jim Rossignol (@jimrossignol), RockPaperShotgun.com – January 28, 2011
Preview – “…Skulls of the Shogun is unusual, no doubt – not only set apart by its comedy undead samurai theme, but by the fact that it brings vigorous new life to its genre…”
- Martin Davies, PCGamer.com – January 19, 2011
“…action and strategy collide in Haunted Temple’s stunning debut…”
- Matt Miller, Game Informer Magazine – December, 2010
Interview and preview – “I personally know I cannot wait to get some hands on with this game…”
- John Laster, XBLAFans.com – October 29, 2010
Preview – “It’s a charmingly free-form affair, not limited by some boring grid beneath the battlefield, yet there’s a deep vein of tactical thought that runs beneath its easy-access veneer.”
- Will Porter, Eurogamer.net – October 25, 2010
Preview and trailer – “I got the chance to play it at the Indie Games Arcade recently, and oh wow… now I must talk about it more. I really must…”
- Michael Rose, IndieGames.com – October 15, 2010
“Skulls of the Shogun takes apart the Advance Wars formula and reassembles it in a format fit for the arcade…”
- Edge Magazine – October 2010
“…we’re looking forward to taking these squad leaders out on the battlefield…”
- Andrew Hayward, Official Xbox Magazine – October 2010
Preview – “It’s worth noting the very, very pretty art style of Skulls of the Shogun…”
- Barry, BrutalGamer.com – October 6, 2010
Eurogamer Expo Indie Games Arcade Honourable Mention
- Alec Meer, RockPaperShotgun.com – October 5, 2010
Preview at Eurogamer Expo 2010 – “My overall impression of SotS was of a smart, attractive, engaging strategy game that I absolutely want to play more of…”
- Quintin Smith, RockPaperShotgun.com – October 5, 2010
Podcast interview at Eurogamer Expo 2010
- Mike Rose, IndieGames.com – October 4, 2010
Preview – “In my half hour with the game, I went from complete novice to someone who knows what he’s doing and is dying for a rematch…”
- Jeffrey Matulef, Joystiq.com – October 4, 2010
Video interview at PAX Prime 2010 – “…a physics system in a turn-based strategy game!…”
- Jeff Gerstmann, GiantBomb.com – September 28, 2010
Preview – “…this strategy game is a very different beast…”
- Michael McWhertor, Kotaku.com – September 21, 2010
Twitter post – “Two of the games from TGS ’10 that I’m most excited about: Skulls of the Shogun http://bit.ly/96I6Gx and NeverDead http://bit.ly/dpGMku”
- Michael McWhertor (@kotakumike), Kotaku.com – September 20, 2010
Interview – “It wouldn’t be possible for three people to create a game of such high quality without spending decades in the trenches first…”
- Chris Kohler, Wired.com – August 24, 2010
Interview – “There’s a very specific vibe going on with the whole concept for this game…”
- Chris Remo, Gamasutra.com – July 15, 2010
Preview – “Moving the unit physically yourself adds a level of involvement that made us feel more “on the battlefield” instead of just looking down on it…”
- Mathew Keat, GamesRadar.com – July 14, 2010
Video interview and demo – “It’s got SOULS!”
- Ricardo Torres, Gamespot.com – July 2, 2010
Preview – “Skulls of the Shogun is looking like it could invigorate genre fans with some new ideas…”
- Chris Kohler, Wired.com – July 1, 2010
Video interview and demo – “I wouldn’t want to swing at that helmet!”
- Tina Sanchez, Sam Kennedy, 1Up.com – June 30, 2010
Preview – “…looks like Haunted Temple may be succeeding at making a more accessible turn-based strategy game…”
- Daemon Hatfield, IGN.com – June 29, 2010
Video interview and demo – “Hit Y to eat skull!”
- Drew Scanlon, GiantBomb.com – June 29, 2010
Interview and preview – “It’s like Advance Wars, with zombie Samurai, and with none of the waiting around.”
- John Davison, Gamepro.com – June 29, 2010
Interview with Ben “Hobo” Vance – “Ben Vance has a particularly unique development environment: the road…”
- Chris Remo, Gamasutra.com – June 21, 2010
Interview at E3 2010 – “Will this game be as cool as its name suggests it will be?…”
- John Callaham, BigDownload.com – June 16, 2010
Interview – “…one can’t help but think they might be onto something…”
- Sam Kennedy, 1Up.com – June 4, 2010
Announcement
- Chris Remo, Gamasutra.com – June 4, 2010