BUCKSHOT ROULETTE: TWO SHELLS, ONE DEALER, AND THE CHEAPEST TERROR ON STEAM
8.0 of 10 bananas. A tiny horror game about loading a shotgun with live and blank shells and taking turns with a grinning Dealer. Brilliant, tense, and almost free, with a four player table for friends. Short by design.
By the Alpha. Steam listing. Updated Oct 28 2026.
Honest note: This is not a fresh hands-on playtest. I built this verdict from launch reviews, critic consensus, update history, and what is known about the game today. If I put real hours in on stream, I will update the score and say so.
Platforms: PC on Steam (developed by Mike Klubnika, published by CRITICAL REFLEX, released on Steam April 4 2024), plus Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One since July 8 2026, where it is also on Game Pass. PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch versions were announced on October 20 2026 with no date yet. The button is the Steam page, 2.99 dollars before any sale at my Oct 28 2026 check. There is no Amazon listing for it.
Get Buckshot Roulette on SteamSit with me a moment. Old apes love a simple game with a big heart. Cards. Dice. One question and a nervous laugh. Buckshot Roulette is the darkest version of that I have seen: one table, one shotgun, and a dealer who counts the shells with you and smiles.
What It Wants To Be
Buckshot Roulette is a turn based horror game in an underground club. The Dealer shows you a mix of live and blank shells, loads them in a hidden order, and you take turns choosing to shoot him or yourself. Shooting yourself with a blank keeps your turn. Items on the table change the odds: a magnifying glass to see the next shell, beer to rack one out, cigarettes to heal, handcuffs to skip his turn. Three rounds win the money. A multiplayer table for up to four players and a Double or Nothing mode were added after launch.
What Works
Critics gave it a mid 80s Metacritic score, and the publisher says it sold over four million copies. The core idea is perfect: every turn is a small math problem with your life on it. The art is grimy and the Dealer is a great villain without saying much. Multiplayer turns it into a party game of bluffing and betrayal, and the price is almost nothing.
What Breaks
Listen well. A full run is short, about 15 to 20 minutes per the store page, and the solo game can be learned in an evening. Luck still decides some rounds no matter how well you count. Multiplayer depends on having friends online. And it is violent, with blood and gunplay against yourself, so it is not for young apes.
Who Should Play
Play it if you love tense little games, card nights, or horror that fits in a coffee break, or if you want a cheap party game for four friends. Skip it if you want a long horror campaign or the theme of self harm by gunshot bothers you.
STRENGTHS
- Brilliant shell counting tension
- The Dealer is a great villain
- Four player bluffing table
- Almost free on Steam
HONEST COSTS
- Short by design
- Luck still decides some rounds
- Multiplayer needs friends online
- Violent theme, adults only
Store note: the troop still needs an Amazon referral for this one. Buckshot Roulette is a digital only game on Steam and Xbox, and no Amazon listing exists. Steam is the only button until a fair listing is real. This is not an affiliate link.