User:Gjlewis/Sandbox2
Showdown Bandit is a top-down action horror game developed and published by Joey Drew Studios Inc, previously under the name "Kindly Beast". Intended to be an episodic game with an unknown total of chapters, only the game's first chapter was released. The game was initially released on September 17, 2019 then later removed a month later due to controversies surrounding Kindly Beast at that time, but was finally re-released on 2024(?) for archival purpose.
The game contains its own characters and theme different to the Bendy series, as it was intended to be the team's first non-Bendy project. Despite this, it does contain few hidden Bendy-related Easter eggs, while the game's setting is privately revealed to co-exist in the same universe as Bendy,[a] but because of the game's status, its story does not canonically tie with the main Bendy series' lore.
Synopsis
Characters
- Main article: List of characters (Showdown Bandit)
- Showdown Bandit (voiced by Lani Minella) - The show's titular anti-hero character and the game's main protagonist.
- Miss Undertaker (voiced by Melissa Moran) - A secondary character.
- Banker (voiced by Grant George) - One of the supporting characters.
- Doc Carver (voiced by Mark Dodson) - One of the supporting characters.
- Penny Hemsworth (voiced by Lauren Synger) - A recurring minor character.
Story
- For the walkthrough guide, see Showdown Bandit: Chapter 1 - Trail of Shadows
"Look pal, if you think I'm doing my job AND yours, I'm outta here!" - Wally Franks
Gameplay
"Look pal, if you think I'm doing my job AND yours, I'm outta here!" - Wally Franks
Development
The game was officially announced on February 10, 2019 to coincide with the Bendy series' second anniversary as the team's first non-Bendy game. The team was divided into two sides: One working on Showdown Bandit and the other for Bendy and the Dark Revival. With teaser videos and details, the game is revealed to focus on the abandoned auditorium based around the Western puppet television show.
The game was expected to release on August 29, 2019, but on August 27th, it was later announced to be delayed until September 17th. After the game's initial launch, the first update patch was released on September 18, 2019 to fix bugs, added subtitles, and the addition of possible secrets. A free DLC-like update for new major content, called Wild in the West, was announced on September 29, 2019 and supposed to come out very soon.
However, on October 11, 2019, it was reported that Mike Mood laid off over 50 employees, reducing to more than 10 members of the team. The ex-members of the team, after the lay-off, reveal that it was Mike D who delayed the game not because of fixing bugs but actually re-doing the other programmers' coding to scrap a lot of gameplay mechanics and features from the game. The game's character designer Pascal Cleroux reveal that Showdown Bandit was put to hiatus while the remaining members focus their work on Bendy and the Dark Revival.
Some times later after the controversy, Showdown Bandit was de-listed from Steam, and its social media accounts, excluding Twitter, were deactivated. Kindly Beast's website and its social media accounts were shut down on June 2020, with Joey Drew Studios Inc taking their place as the standalone team, leading the fate of Showdown Bandit as unknown.
A year later on December 27, 2020, the game's Twitter account quietly released a teaser image of Showdown Bandit's arm rising from the basket, hinting the game's possible revival.
On March 2021, Pascal Cleroux announced his retirement from the team and later revealed that the game was ultimately cancelled in response to the game's leaked Showdown Bandit concept arts.
On June 15, 2024, Mike D finally spoke about Showdown Bandit after remaining silent about the game's whereabouts for almost 5 years. He suggested the community if they would like to see the game getting transferred to Joey Drew Studios Inc and re-release it on Steam with some minor clean-up changes. He opened up a voting poll regarding the game's potential comeback, with the agreement ends up winning the most votes.[1]
Reception
The game received strong mixed reviews upon release.
Gallery
"Look pal, if you think I'm doing my job AND yours, I'm outta here!" - Wally Franks
Videos
"Look pal, if you think I'm doing my job AND yours, I'm outta here!" - Wally Franks
Notes
- ↑ The source confirming Showdown Bandit's connection with the Bendy universe was originally found on the fan Bendy Reddit's Discord server, from the comment post by the ex-Kindly Beast member's friend somewhere on November-December 2019 after the layoff. The channel, where the post was made, was since permanently deleted and thus it is impossible to recover the source.
References
- ↑ Mike D. (June 15, 2024). "How would you all feel if we transferred Showdown Bandit to Joey Drew Studios, leave the game as it is, with some minor clean up on it, and re-released it on Steam. No this wouldn’t be a sequel or reboot or all kinds of new content. It would be the game as it is with some minor clean up. Now I am NOT saying I would do it or not. I want to gauge my following’s interest before I put any energy into it, as I’m already busy as it is. 😉 ✌️" X/Twitter.
