This looks crazy.
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Previews:
Eurogamer
Shacknews
Joystiq
From the creative genius of Suda 51 (No More Heroes) and Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil) comes an all-new psychologically twisted vision of hell unlike anything seen before. Shadows of the Damned combines visceral action with dark, grotesque horror to create a mind-shattering adventure that has to been seen to be believed.
When evil demonic creatures kidnap Garcia’s girlfriend, it’s up to him to travel to the City of the Damned to get her back. Aided by a former demon with the ability to transform into an array of vicious weapons, Garcia will once again take on the mantel of “demon hunter” and rip apart the horrifying forces of the underworld to protect what he loves most.
Players must harness the power of the light to fight the army of the dark in unique light versus darkness gameplay that will forever change the way gamers perceive puzzles, combat, and terror.
Combining the punk rock style of Suda 51 with the legendary horror design of Shinji Mikami, Shadows of the Damned will take gamers on an in-your-face thrill ride through demon-torn towns, shadow infested forests, grimy sewers and more. Featuring the most twisted boss battles ever seen, warped visuals and intense visceral combat, Shadows of the Damned will challenge gamers to break through the ultimate head-trip to help Garcia rescue his tortured girlfriend from the clutches of a mysterious enemy.
Brace yourself for one hell of a trip to the city of the damned.
When evil demonic creatures kidnap Garcia’s girlfriend, it’s up to him to travel to the City of the Damned to get her back. Aided by a former demon with the ability to transform into an array of vicious weapons, Garcia will once again take on the mantel of “demon hunter” and rip apart the horrifying forces of the underworld to protect what he loves most.
Players must harness the power of the light to fight the army of the dark in unique light versus darkness gameplay that will forever change the way gamers perceive puzzles, combat, and terror.
Combining the punk rock style of Suda 51 with the legendary horror design of Shinji Mikami, Shadows of the Damned will take gamers on an in-your-face thrill ride through demon-torn towns, shadow infested forests, grimy sewers and more. Featuring the most twisted boss battles ever seen, warped visuals and intense visceral combat, Shadows of the Damned will challenge gamers to break through the ultimate head-trip to help Garcia rescue his tortured girlfriend from the clutches of a mysterious enemy.
Brace yourself for one hell of a trip to the city of the damned.
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Previews:
Eurogamer
Rather like Alan Wake, Shadows of the Damned is a game built around the manipulation of light and darkness. Rather unlike Alan Wake, darkness spreads as a slow-moving purple veil that emboldens enemies and changes the status of doorways. By wading into it and striking at Darkness Hands (literally hands that spew the darkness) you can turn it off.
The pace and style of combat is close to Resident Evil 4 or 5 rather than a typical Western cover-based shooter. The same goes for the enemy design – the larger demon you end up fighting in the courtyard, for example, needs to be spun round to expose the bloody weak spot on his back.
Shadows of the Damned is great fun – familiar yet enterprising and characterful.
We should get to play it again at least once more between now and the planned 7th June release, and for fans of interesting games masquerading as silly ones, that's a date that can't come soon enough.
We should get to play it again at least once more between now and the planned 7th June release, and for fans of interesting games masquerading as silly ones, that's a date that can't come soon enough.
It's becoming increasingly more common that ultra-violent titles are taking the tongue-and-cheek approach to telling its story. The latest example of this is Shadows of the Damned, from developer Grasshopper Manufacture.
Shadows of the Damned seemed way too weird as I watched others play it and probably sounds too weird for some as they read this preview. But my short time with it was entertaining from start to finish and I wanted to play it all again when the demo ended. Though the entire thing sounds strange, one of the wackiest things to me was that--like the over-the-top Bulletstorm--the game was being delivered from EA via its Partners program.
Shadows of the Damned has multiple hooks: the puzzle feel of its light vs. dark mechanic and its eccentric cast of characters, for example. But the biggest hook for me was that the entire thing is an obvious uncompromising vision. It doesn't try to make players feel comfortable by delivering the expected or, in some cases, the understandable.
It's still early but Grasshopper Manufacture's newest has my attention and I can't wait to see what else they have in store for Garcia Hotspur and Co.
Shadows of the Damned has multiple hooks: the puzzle feel of its light vs. dark mechanic and its eccentric cast of characters, for example. But the biggest hook for me was that the entire thing is an obvious uncompromising vision. It doesn't try to make players feel comfortable by delivering the expected or, in some cases, the understandable.
It's still early but Grasshopper Manufacture's newest has my attention and I can't wait to see what else they have in store for Garcia Hotspur and Co.
The "darkness" gameplay hook is a strong one, and adds a puzzle element not usually seen in Grasshopper action games. Also unusual for Suda action games: this level of polish. There didn't seem to be any rough edges in the gameplay -- which, even Suda superfans will admit are usually present. This time, the quirks are all intentional.
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