Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered is a time machine, right here to take us again to a time that the trendy gaming viewers may discover wholly unrecognizable from what we’ve grown acquainted with now. When this romp by means of Hell first launched again in 2011, as a linear shooter all in regards to the motion and gleefully crass humour, it match proper at house in a market the place there was no scarcity of comparable experiences. In 2024, it feels very very like a recreation from a bygone period, which may work in its favour as often as it might probably work towards it.
In Shadows of the Damned, you play as Garcia Hotspur, a demon hunter who should jaunt by means of hell in firm with former demon and speaking ability Johnson, with a purpose to rescue Paula, the love of his life, who has been kidnapped by the demon lord Fleming. The story right here is clearly not the main focus, with the premise as an alternative meant to function the platform for the sport’s vibes and style- two areas the place it positively isn’t missing. Irreverent, in-your-face, and as delicate as a sledgehammer in the best way solely a recreation that launched on the peak of the Xbox 360 era may have been, Shadows of the Damned ensures that its setting feels suitably atmospheric, attaining a formidable sense of place regardless of the sport’s normal lack of narrative focus.
“Shadows of the Damned feels very very like a recreation from a bygone period, which may work in its favour as often as it might probably work towards it.”
That’s to not say there’s no points to talk of within the storytelling division. The truth is, a few of Shadows of the Damned’s most distinguished points lie on this space. The sport’s crude, edgy, and juvenile humour and writing very a lot a part of its allure again when it first launched, however although they could have appeared par for the course practically a decade and a half again, they haven’t essentially aged properly. Gaming has matured as a medium, and audiences have matured as an entire as properly, so whereas there are definitely occasions when a few of Shadows of the Damned’s jokes and humour do land, as a rule, that’s not the case- which is a little bit of a disgrace, as a result of the precise recreation itself is quite a lot of enjoyable.
And it’s enjoyable in a means that we hardly ever see in video games in as we speak’s day and age. No, I’m not being a boomer right here and telling you that video games should not enjoyable anymore (that’s merely not true). What’s plain, nevertheless, that recreation builders normally appear to be averse to simplicity these days- video games must be a number of dozen hours lengthy, they must be both open world or semi open world, they must have layered development mechanics, and all of that jazz. This, nevertheless, is a recreation that got here out at a time the place that fixed feature-creep and scope-creep hadn’t swallowed video games complete, and it exhibits.
Shadows of the Damned is generally linear, with ranges taking you thru easy arenas the place your major purpose is to mow down hordes of demons, with some mild exploration additionally thrown in on occasion. Development, in the meantime, is equally no-nonsense, with a restricted vary of improve choices prioritizing effectiveness over the phantasm of complexity. And, after all, the runtime is blessedly brief. At 10-12 hours lengthy, Shadows of the Damned feels completely paced and by no means overstays its welcome within the slightest. Above all else, the main focus is at all times on fight, and little else, which suggests there’s little to no bloat to fret about. That’s a refreshing change of tempo for anybody immersed in gaming lately.
“At 10-12 hours lengthy, Shadows of the Damned feels completely paced and by no means overstays its welcome within the slightest.”
Which is an efficient factor, as a result of the fight right here guidelines. Gradual and deliberate motion mix with weighty and impactful motion in an infinite satisfying fight system. Shadows of the Damned advantages massively from its core moment-to-moment mechanics being as enjoyable as they’re as a lot because it does from strengths in different areas, comparable to enemy selection and the tight and claustrophobic design of its fight arenas. The sport continuously encourages you to maintain shifting in regards to the setting and make good use of your arsenal of hellish weapons whereas maintaining a tally of your ammo reserves, and that by no means fairly loses its allure, particularly as fight encounters begin ramping up in issue and pressure the deeper you progress into the sport.
The sport does generally endure from a number of mechanical points, chief amongst them being the sometimes tough motion. Generally, Shadows of the Damned’s gradual and tankier motion works nice with the deliberate pacing of its fight, however at occasions, its digital camera can really feel a bit too sluggish, which is exacerbated by how a lot it zooms into the participant’s again. That may be significantly irritating throughout the extra hectic fight encounters, just like the bosses, and occurs typically sufficient for it to be a official problem with the fight.
Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered additionally leaves a lot to be desired so far as its remastering efforts are involved. The sport now runs at 4K and 60 FPS, which suggests it appears to be like sharper and runs smoother than ever earlier than, which is definitely an enormous increase. Nevertheless, exterior of that and the addition of some bonus cosmetics and a New Recreation Plus mode, Hella Remastered is a reasonably conservative improve. Whether or not its technical enhancements you’re searching for, quality-of-life upgrades, or gameplay tweaks, Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered doesn’t tinker with its supply materials an excessive amount of. Often with remasters, you a minimum of see additions comparable to new issue modes, galleries to view idea artwork in, or what have you ever, however Hella Remastered does subsequent to nothing on that entrance exterior of its aforementioned New Recreation Plus mode, making it really feel extra like a barely enhanced port than the rest. Fortunately, the core expertise remains to be a hell of quite a lot of enjoyable, so there’s that.
“Shadows of the Damned could be very a lot a blast from the previous, because of its bombastic motion and its lean and imply design, even when its aged writing and humour, unambitious technical upgrades, and infrequently tough motion can throw a wrench into the works on occasion.”
In the end, Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered is price a search for each, those that loved the unique and are searching for an excuse to dive into its choices once more, and people who by no means acquired the prospect to play it when it first launched and now need to see what the fuss is about. Near a decade and a half on from its launch, Shadows of the Damned could be very a lot a blast from the previous, because of its bombastic motion and its lean and imply design, even when its aged writing and humour, unambitious technical upgrades, and infrequently tough motion can throw a wrench into the works on occasion. Whether or not it can discover the viewers with its remaster that it by no means may with its unique launch stays to be seen, however for our half, we’re glad to have one other probability to experience by means of hell with Garcia and Johnson once more.
This recreation was reviewed on the Xbox Collection X.
