Buckshot Roulette is simple, and simply unsettling. Sat across the table from a mysterious opponent clad in a deeply unnerving toothy mask, you pick up a shotgun loaded with shells. Then, you decide whether to point the gun at your opponent or yourself, and pull the trigger. Some of the shells are live, and others are blanks. Guess correctly, and you get to go again.
It’s a brilliant execution of a dead simple premise, combining the stressful calculation (and pure luck) of Russian roulette with the horribly effective atmosphere of your surrounding arena and the Inscryption-like Dealer sat opposite. And lo, it’s only a couple of quid if you’re curious.
Having found a bit of a wave over on Itch.io at the start of the year, developer Mike Klubnika’s high-stakes guessing game has now made its way onto Steam.
Alongside the Steam launch, Buckshot Roulette has been updated with some extra items – which can be used to improve your chances of, uh, keeping your head by peeking inside the chamber, dealing extra damage, healing and so on – and improved AI for the Dealer. The Steam Deck is also supported with beta compatibility, if you feel like flinching every time you pull the trigger while you’re sat on the bus.
Most excitingly, Klubnika has teased an incoming multiplayer mode, saying “we hear you, and are working hard on making this dream a reality” in the game’s latest blog post. Online leaderboards have already been added, if you feel like seeing how you stack up against the rest of the world, but a teaser image shows a second human player able to take the place of The Dealer in your game. Honestly, I’d love to be able to pick your own horrible mask, too – or, even better, to blindfold myself so I don’t have to look at that awful grin anymore.