‘Shadows of the Damned’ is the survival horror game that follows the Mexican demon hunter, Gracia Hotspur, on his quest to defeat the Lord of the Underworld and save his girl.
With the darkness mechanic, a former demon as a side-kick and a vintage horror meets punk rock theme, ‘Shadows of the Damned’ sets itself apart with original ideas, raising the bar for games to come.
Story
Turns out Mexican demon hunter Gracia Hotspur has gone a bit OTT with killing demons, and Fleming, the Lord of the Underworld is pissed. It’s not long before our hero Gracia soon finds himself face-to-face with Fleming who takes his revenge by kidnapping Gracia's girlfriend, Paula, and dragging her to hell with him.
Refusing to let Paula go, Gracia dives into the portal to hell after them, taking his signature purple jacket and trusty sidekick Johnson with him. Saving the love-interest is an overused plot, but for ‘Shadows of the Damned’ it works and in the end, makes a hell of a road trip.
Presentation/Design
Hell looks like a dark version of the real world - with the exception of severed limbs, demons and 'the darkness' which is toxic to any mortal. ‘Shadows’ also incorporates a few capricious jokes such as posters telling demons to discard 'Light' safely in the way humans are instructed to with toxic waste. It’s a unique combination of a vintage horror mixed with a watered down punk-rock flavour, and it doesn’t go light on the swearing or d*ck jokes either. While these gags come close to being overused, it'll still have you grinning.
Gameplay
As Gracia makes his way through the Underworld, he's assisted by a former demon called Johnson. This demonic skull has the ability to transform into themed tools including a torch, revolver, machine gun and even a shotgun. These are all available to be upgraded and enhanced using gems found throughout Gracia's quest. ‘Shadows’ has a few puzzles; doors that are picky about what they want to eat and a fantastic use of the darkness mechanic. For the most part the mechanics are great fun to use. However, aiming can get a bit dodgy, especially when you've been backed up against a wall and on top of that, Gracia's movements are very stiff.
But overall, it is exciting game play. Aside from the standard third person shooting aspect, there are also a few levels in 2D as well as the odd occasion when Gracia's girlfriend goes psycho, forcing him to run for his life!
Verdict
There's never a dull moment in ‘Shadows of the Damned’. The gags are amusing, the darkness mechanic is clever and the development of shape-shifting demon Johnson makes for a fun and memorable game. It's safe to say that ‘Shadows of the Damned’ is completely insane and a hell of a lot of fun, even with Gracia's stiff movements and the dodgy aiming view, earning itself a 9 out of 10 sleepless nights on the Insomnia meter!!
Overall Rating
9/10
What did you think of Shadows Of The Damned? Let us know by commenting below! Meanwhile check out the vid for more info the game...
With the darkness mechanic, a former demon as a side-kick and a vintage horror meets punk rock theme, ‘Shadows of the Damned’ sets itself apart with original ideas, raising the bar for games to come.
Story
Turns out Mexican demon hunter Gracia Hotspur has gone a bit OTT with killing demons, and Fleming, the Lord of the Underworld is pissed. It’s not long before our hero Gracia soon finds himself face-to-face with Fleming who takes his revenge by kidnapping Gracia's girlfriend, Paula, and dragging her to hell with him.
Refusing to let Paula go, Gracia dives into the portal to hell after them, taking his signature purple jacket and trusty sidekick Johnson with him. Saving the love-interest is an overused plot, but for ‘Shadows of the Damned’ it works and in the end, makes a hell of a road trip.
Presentation/Design
Hell looks like a dark version of the real world - with the exception of severed limbs, demons and 'the darkness' which is toxic to any mortal. ‘Shadows’ also incorporates a few capricious jokes such as posters telling demons to discard 'Light' safely in the way humans are instructed to with toxic waste. It’s a unique combination of a vintage horror mixed with a watered down punk-rock flavour, and it doesn’t go light on the swearing or d*ck jokes either. While these gags come close to being overused, it'll still have you grinning.
Gameplay
As Gracia makes his way through the Underworld, he's assisted by a former demon called Johnson. This demonic skull has the ability to transform into themed tools including a torch, revolver, machine gun and even a shotgun. These are all available to be upgraded and enhanced using gems found throughout Gracia's quest. ‘Shadows’ has a few puzzles; doors that are picky about what they want to eat and a fantastic use of the darkness mechanic. For the most part the mechanics are great fun to use. However, aiming can get a bit dodgy, especially when you've been backed up against a wall and on top of that, Gracia's movements are very stiff.
But overall, it is exciting game play. Aside from the standard third person shooting aspect, there are also a few levels in 2D as well as the odd occasion when Gracia's girlfriend goes psycho, forcing him to run for his life!
Verdict
There's never a dull moment in ‘Shadows of the Damned’. The gags are amusing, the darkness mechanic is clever and the development of shape-shifting demon Johnson makes for a fun and memorable game. It's safe to say that ‘Shadows of the Damned’ is completely insane and a hell of a lot of fun, even with Gracia's stiff movements and the dodgy aiming view, earning itself a 9 out of 10 sleepless nights on the Insomnia meter!!
Overall Rating
9/10
What did you think of Shadows Of The Damned? Let us know by commenting below! Meanwhile check out the vid for more info the game...
Copyright : MTV Australia
