Review: Shadows of the Damned

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The creators behind Shadows of the Damned are some of the biggest in the industry, and the game makes sure to tell you up front. Creators on board are Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil 4), Goichi Suda (Killer 7), and Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill). In theory this should be one of the greatest video game packages every created, with such top tier talent. Unfortunately a few things hold Shadows of the Damned back, but still with this much talent, it can’t all be bad. Almost directly ripping off gameplay elements from Resident Evil 4, Shadows of the Damned still provides a very fun experience, although short.

Enter Garcia Hotspur a demon slayer with his sidekick Johnson who acts as his guide and weapon. Shadows of the Damned has style, with unique presentation and colorful dialog. Starting off with Hotspur’s girlfriend being kidnapped by the Lord of the Underworld, Flemeth, Garcia and Johnson give chase to the demon infested Underworld. The premise of the story is pretty basic, girl is kidnapped, boy wants to rescue girl, and the game never really twists or throws any shocks at you, until very late in the game. The outstanding presentation keeps you interested in the game, from the comical banter between Garcia and Johnson, to the unique posters and story books you find, yet a few of these jokes feel forced, such has the weapon names “boner” “hot boner” in fact the writers use very colorful dialog in Shadows of the Damned. Still Garcia and his partner are discovering hell together, and this provides a great motivation, as you always want to see what comes next.

The game heavily is influenced by Resident Evil 4; the gameplay is your standard camera over the shoulder third person shooter, and never truly deviates from this mold. This is both good and bad, as the gameplay feels very fun, interesting, with players collecting gems to buy “healing” alcoholic drinks and red power up gems, that increase your weapons damage, ammo, and reload speed. Johnson starts as your basic handgun and shotgun, but as you progress in the game, he will be able to turn into two more weapon types, as well as upgraded forms of all the weapons, giving each a unique ability. The upgraded machine gun however I feel is not an upgrade, because it forces the player to lock on before firing, this takes time when you are being rushed by multiple enemies, making it a frustrating weapon to use.

Players will quickly learn that the “hordes” of demons in the Underworld all resemble few enemy types, with the only real change being a mask or helmet. The game quickly enters into a repeating pattern, throwing the occasional curve ball few and far in between. Enemies are quickly dispatched with headshots or body shots if they have a mask, eventually some monsters will have giant glowing orbs, which pretty much say “shoot here”.  Boss battles are fun, some being truly unique, but otherwise very easy with the usual red glowing orbs. Ammo is in constant supply, and found just about everywhere, enemies, crates, and all the shop points. Hotspur is here to kill all demons, and the game certainly encourages and enforces that.

The graphics in Shadows of the Damned are your standard Unreal Engine 3 graphics. You will experience the “pop in” textures, but overall they are still great to look at and full of detail. As you explore the demons world, while gore filled, never truly feels like a demonic world. When first entering, you would think it’s just a rundown town, and later on forest in the fall, but with a green or gray filter turned on. The design of the areas are very straight forward, never really giving the player freedom to explore, you are constantly moving from room to room, entering into the same repeating pattern. Puzzles while existing, are so basic, they might as well have not been in the game. The game has more or less three types: simply shooting a light to make the darkness go away (The game also gives a lore reason for shooting lights to make darkness go away), shooting a giant glowing orb while in darkness, or simply just giving a crying baby face an item. Only one area is the exception to this rule, and it’s found near the end of the game, but it’s short and sweet.

The sound and music in Shadows of the Damned is nothing short of excellent. The opening theme is especially amazing. The music as your exploring the underworld is convincing, and likeable.  Sound effects are gruesome, and weapons feel very powerful. The voice acting for Garcia and Johnson are very well done, however I felt Flemeth was very canned feeling, with Paula just being OK.

Shadows of the Damned despite some of its flaws provide an enjoyable, fun experience. Though it may have borrowed so many elements from Resident Evil 4, this is not a bad thing, as the gameplay is still very solid – it just doesn’t do anything new. The story, fun banter, witty dialog keeps the player interested and wanting to push forward, discovering what’s next.

Shadows of the Damned 8/10