Buckshot Roulette Review

Buckshot Roulette is a roguelike version of Russian Roulette with a shotgun, developed by Mike Klubnika and published by CRITICAL REFLEX. You’ve probably already seen some YouTubers play it, but that was the itch.io version, and this is the Steam release. So, let’s kick down the door and see what’s on the other side.

The game’s presentation is very creepy and off-putting, reminding me of Inscryption. The room in the nightclub is dark and dreary, and the low-res graphics make things all the more eerie. The dealer, your one and only opponent (who may be God… or killed him), is particularly nightmare-inducing, especially after they take a shot to the face (which they will). They aren’t pretty in the slightest, and I did take the time to delete the shortcut off my desktop. Too creepy.

The rules are simple: at the start of every round, a number of shells are loaded into a shotgun; some blank, some live (you better keep count). Then you have a choice: shoot the dealer or shoot yourself. Shooting a live round takes away a life, but blanks let you take another turn if you decide to shoot yourself. Make your choice, but think carefully, as the dealer is playing by the same rules. Once the shotgun is empty, new shells are loaded, and you go again. You keep going until either you die or you manage to survive all three levels and walk away with a nice pile of cash. So, feeling lucky?

Dealing with the Devil.

The game, in a somewhat dark way, teaches you about the importance of probability and mathematics, as knowing your chances and fractions can be the difference between knowing if the shotgun is loaded with a blank or a live round. However, things get more complicated in the second round, where items are introduced. You’re given a couple at the start of every new round, and they will help you in a variety of ways. Take a smoke and gain a life, use handcuffs to skip your opponent’s turn, down a beer to rack the slide and skip the shell, saw off the barrel to deal double damage, or smash a magnifying glass to take a look in the chamber. They all help you win the level, but the dealer also gets their own items, so one wrong move and you might find yourself with a couple of new holes. It honestly feels tense as you take a chance, aiming the barrel directly at your face despite knowing there’s a more than 50% chance of getting a blank.

The dealer is decently smart, but it seems that they can’t count shells because there have been a few times where I knew there was a guaranteed live round and they decided to shoot themselves. They will know what to do if they use items like the magnifying glass, but outside of that? They’re running on pure chance alone. Since you always go first at the start of a new round, the dealer is actually at a disadvantage here, which is weird for a game about gambling.

Pull the trigger and hope luck and math are on your side.

Actually, here’s a tip: If you can’t definitively know what’s loaded, always shoot the dealer. Your turn ends either way, so it’s better not to risk one of your lives, and hey, you might even get a lucky shot. If you know what you’re doing, or you know enough math to know when not to shoot yourself, you can easily beat the dealer at their own game… in 15 minutes.

However, if you decide 70k isn’t enough cash, you can always down some pills and do Double or Nothing. It’s essentially an endless mode where every time you complete a run, you can choose to walk away with what you have, or risk it all for double the cash. Everything to lose but everything to gain. Is it worth it?

Was it worth it?

Buckshot Roulette is short if you know what you’re doing, but like any good gambling addiction, you can’t help but come back for more. While luck does play a part, it’s mostly strategy that will make you a millionaire at the end of the day. It’s a nice time, I recommend it.