
Shouhon is a roguelike Metroidvania game. You play as a ghost who falls into an underground tomb and possesses the body of an abandoned jiangshi doll. Your goal is to escape the tomb by harnessing the powers of various talismans and relics.

Shouhon is a 2D roguelike metroidvania action game. You play as a ghost that has taken over a jiangshi puppet abandoned deep in an underground tomb, using the powers of talismans and relics to fight your way out.

Every time you die, you earn ink. Ink is spent at the Talisman Workshop to unlock talisman abilities, and anything you unlock stays with you permanently. Talismans don't just raise numbers — they change how the game controls. Swapping your dodge for a parry, for example, turns an evasive playstyle into a defensive, counter-focused one. There's no randomness involved: you pick and buy exactly the abilities you want.

Defeating enemies earns spirits, a currency that only lasts for the current run. Spend them at relic chests and shops scattered randomly around the map to pick up relics. Relics give a significant power boost for that run, so the more of the map you explore, the stronger you end up.

You fight using four attacks: a ground attack, an aerial forward attack, an aerial downward attack, and a special attack. The talismans you have equipped change which moves you have access to and how they chain together.

Stages are generated randomly, so the layout is different every time you play. Along the way you'll face regular monsters with distinct attack patterns, as well as a boss.

The story unfolds gradually across repeated runs, and your choices lead to multiple different endings.