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SHADOWS: AWAKENING (PS4)
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Publisher: Kalypso Media.
Developer: Games Farm. Released: August 2018. Genre: RPG. Other versions: XONE; PC. Posted 27th November 2023. By Shane Battams © 2023 |
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Shadows: Awakening followed the mantra that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. You can spot its inspirations from a mile away, right down to some of the locales and interface similarities, but providing you can separate it from Diablo, there’s definitely fun to be had. While certainly not innovative and suffering some noticeable technical issues in the late game, those who can weather these issues will uncover some positives underneath. With a few unique quirks, lots of content to explore and some narrative strengths, there’s perhaps more to this game than meets the eye.
Players take the role of a Devourer, a demonic spirit who can absorb the souls of dead heroes and transform between their spirit world and the physical realm. Revived to fight a similarly demonic cult known as the Penta Nera, you travel across this world of diverse lands and cultures, looking to stop the world-ending plan the group of devourers have in store. It’s a rather dense narrative, with each location opening with an exposition dump from, of all people, Tom Baker. While it feels a touch dense at points, there are some interesting twists along the way that keep you gripped, while some outlandish characters add charm to the plot. It’s not the most memorable setup, but it gets the job done. You also have flexibility in how you act around individuals, and depending on whether you help others or serve yourself, you can earn one of three endings, encouraging multiple runs.
It has its issues, but if you like Diablo, Shadows: Awakening should prove an entertaining experience
Shadows: Awakening is a top-down action RPG, following in the same mould as Diablo. Players begin by choosing one of three classes – barbarian, hunter or mage – and trek through dozens of destinations while hacking everything along the way. Combat features one primary attack, along with three special actions which can be unlocked and upgraded using skill points. Levelling up also allows you to increase core stats, and at certain milestones apply permanent buffs to characters. And of course, the main appeal is finding loot to add to your warriors to strengthen them further. Questing follows a few key templates, including hunting down items through monster-infested dungeons, finding and killing a boss and performing favours for several NPCs you meet. There’s a huge density of locations to explore, ranging from sandy marketplaces to a night-tinted Oasis, and they are filled with a lot of side content. You can expect to spend a few dozen hours ticking missions off your checklist, and even the main quest alone is quite meaty. Several difficulties are available which add quite a dose of challenge, and Old School mode removes quest markers for a more explorative experience.
But Shadows separates itself from the pack through its classes and how the Devourer ties them together. While picking an initial class, you’ll eventually gain other Puppets to control, including a troll-esque archer, a monstrously sized zombie and a werewolf tank. Up to two extra classes can be added on, allowing you to instantly switch between them with a touch of a button, which can also let you combine skill effects to devastate enemies in combat. This is already quite interesting, but the Devourer’s presence is even more intriguing. It can be best compared to something like Soul Reaver, where switching to the Devourer also transports you to the plane of shadows. This not only tints the world in a dark hue but adds unique enemy spirits to combat and changes the environment. This is a key part of puzzle solving, as important switches are often tucked behind walls only the Devourer can pass through, or over gaps that become filled in the shadow world. The swap is instantaneous, and it adds another unique wrinkle to the proceedings that is quite compelling.
But Shadows separates itself from the pack through its classes and how the Devourer ties them together. While picking an initial class, you’ll eventually gain other Puppets to control, including a troll-esque archer, a monstrously sized zombie and a werewolf tank. Up to two extra classes can be added on, allowing you to instantly switch between them with a touch of a button, which can also let you combine skill effects to devastate enemies in combat. This is already quite interesting, but the Devourer’s presence is even more intriguing. It can be best compared to something like Soul Reaver, where switching to the Devourer also transports you to the plane of shadows. This not only tints the world in a dark hue but adds unique enemy spirits to combat and changes the environment. This is a key part of puzzle solving, as important switches are often tucked behind walls only the Devourer can pass through, or over gaps that become filled in the shadow world. The swap is instantaneous, and it adds another unique wrinkle to the proceedings that is quite compelling.
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Unfortunately, once Shadows: Awakening begins to gather steam, technical issues weigh the game down. Once you reach a certain point in the game, simple actions such as swapping out party members can take dozens of seconds to load, changing between classes can cause the game to freeze temporarily and even a simple action such as entering the equipment menu can outright crash the game. It’s a real shame, because the autosaves aren’t quite generous enough to avoid a loss of progress when these issues occur, though you can manually save your game too. Throw in other bugs, such as the mini-map resetting on an explored area and performance problems, and it all puts a damper on the game, which is a shame considering how much of it there is.
Shadows: Awakening certainly wouldn’t have the budget of a Diablo game, but it looks decent, all things considered. Environments are well-lit and varied, and transform nicely when entering the shadow realm, feeling familiar yet unsettlingly altered. Characters – even main classes – look pretty basic though, and while combat looks flashy in spots, the performance chugs are a bit unsightly. The sound is good, with a plethora of decent voice acting and lots of well-written dialogue. The music is fairly nondescript but gets the job done when necessary, and the effects are not too bad, though the repetitive jingle when tracking a quest or entering a new locale gets old fast.
Shadows: Awakening certainly wouldn’t have the budget of a Diablo game, but it looks decent, all things considered. Environments are well-lit and varied, and transform nicely when entering the shadow realm, feeling familiar yet unsettlingly altered. Characters – even main classes – look pretty basic though, and while combat looks flashy in spots, the performance chugs are a bit unsightly. The sound is good, with a plethora of decent voice acting and lots of well-written dialogue. The music is fairly nondescript but gets the job done when necessary, and the effects are not too bad, though the repetitive jingle when tracking a quest or entering a new locale gets old fast.
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Shadows: Awakening is a decent effort, one which you couldn’t call original but you can say is fun. It offers a plethora of hacking and slashing, a barrel’s worth of quests and some interesting mechanics that are sadly undercut by increasingly noticeable bugs as you progress through the game. But those wanting a Diablo alternative and are willing to bear these flaws and a less impressive presentation can find a lengthy, well-told quest to trek through. Once it gets its demonic tendrils into you, it proves hard to put down, like the best of its class.
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VERDICT
"Shadows: Awakening is a decent effort, something you wouldn’t call original but will find fun. Sadly, it is undercut but increasingly noticeable technical woes." OVERALL: 6/10 |
OTHER OVERHEAD ROLE-PLAYING GAMES REVIEWED
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (2012, PC)
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Diablo III (2013, Xbox 360)
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