Door Kickers vs Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Door Kickers is a puzzle simulation game from KillHouse Games (2014) while Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is a puzzle strategy game from Mimimi Games (2016).
What each one is
Steam files Door Kickers under Puzzle and Simulation. In contrast, it files Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun under Puzzle and Strategy.
Door Kickers is an innovative realtime strategy game that puts you in charge of a SWAT team and lets you command them during a tactical intervention.
Shadow Tactics is a hardcore tactical stealth game set in Japan around the Edo period. A new Shogun seizes power over Japan and enforces nationwide peace. In his battle against conspiracy and rebellion, he recruits five specialists with extraordinary skills for assassination, sabotage and espionage.
At a glance
| Door Kickers | Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.9/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (94%, 10,057) | Overwhelmingly Positive (96%, 38,415) |
| Critic aggregate | 83/100 | 85/100 |
| Price | $19.99 | $3.99 |
| Install size | 2 GB | 13 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | verified |
| Released | 2014 | 2016 |
| Developer | KillHouse Games | Mimimi Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Door Kickers vs Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Door KickersPuzzle simulation gameShadow Tactics: Blades of the ShogunPuzzle strategy gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Door KickersTactical, Strategy, Top-DownShadow Tactics: Blades of the ShogunStealth, Strategy, TacticalThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Door KickersScore 7.9 · 94% on Steam · 83 criticShadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun ✓Score 8.3 · 96% on Steam · 85 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Door Kickers10,057 reviews · 1 add-on · 2 GBShadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun38,415 reviews · 2 add-ons · 13 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Door Kickers$19.99Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun ✓$3.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Door KickersPlayableShadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun ✓VerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun takes 3 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueDoor Kickers and Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (GamingPickz Score 8.3)
- The cheaper right now: Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun ($3.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (verified)
- Lighter on storage: Door Kickers (2 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (38,415 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
TacticalStrategyActionIndieSingleplayerReal Time TacticsRTSPuzzle
Where they differ
Top-DownSimulationReal-Time with Pause2DReplay ValueCo-op
StealthNinjaIsometricAssassinHistoricalViolent
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Door Kickers is demanding, for players who want a challenge. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is demanding, for players who want a challenge.
System requirements, side by side
| Door Kickers | Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | Nvidia GT640 |
| Minimum CPU | — | Intel i3 2nd-Generation 2.5GHz, AMD Quad-Core 2.5GHz |
| Minimum RAM | — | 4 GB |
| Install size | 2 GB | 13 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Door Kickers · Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Door Kickers and 1 for Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Door Kickers and Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun in scope?
Door Kickers has drawn 10,057 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 2 GB. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun has drawn 38,415 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 13 GB.
Is Door Kickers or Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun rates higher (8.3 to 7.9). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Door Kickers or Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun?
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is cheaper right now at $3.99, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.