RETRO – Suda 51, Shinji Mikami, Massimo Guarini, and Akira Yamaoka! All big names in the Japanese video game development since the good old days and they have joined forces with Electronic Arts to create the ultimate mashup video game. A combination horror, action, thriller, and a lot of swearing against demons?

 

This game is one of the weirdest product of the Xbox 360/ PlayStation 3 era, as the above creators joined forces. The result is a Mexican called Garcia Hotspur using his big Johnson to shoot the demons in the dick! As you traverse through hell, you must face countless demons, bosses, and save your girlfriend, Paula from the clutches of the Demon Lord…..

FLEMING!

Ah well at least they do not call him Satan, but instead call him the most generic name that they could think of, although maybe Bob would have been better. The game is full of innuendos, swearing, nudity, and lots of gore. It feels like Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth, and Lucas got into a meeting room and decided to make the most edgiest movie of all time. That is what Shadows Of The Damned feels like in terms of storytelling; it is trying to be super fun just as Devil May Cry 3 was back in the day, however instead at times it comes off cringe as hell – (hah!). The characters are paper thin, but the action makes up for it.
Should you try out Shadows of the Damned, or is it just better if you save your soul from this mash-up of weirdness? Find out here
Muchas Gracias!

As mentioned above the story and characters are paper thin. You are Garcia Hotspur a demon hunter, whose girlfriend Paula has been taken by Fleming Lord of The Demons. In order to get her back, you must travel through the Underworld and fight Fleming. On this task, you are accompanied by your Johnson, a big handy gun, who was once a demon, but left Hell and joined up Garcia to hunt his brutal demon kind. There are not that many secondary characters; we only have The Colonel, a commando who hunts demons due to them killing his girlfriend, and Christopher a half human half demon merchant (ala Resident Evil 4) that provides us with Ammo, health, and Red Diamonds.

The levels themselves are very linear, claustrophobic at times, and are full of enemies, gore, and blood spewing from everywhere. While it is not a black and white gray environment like most modern FPS or TPS games, it does end up being generic at times, since it ends up being red and brownish in the end. It is not the worst designed ever, but the linearity, and over the top gore does end up limiting the Suda51, and Shinji Mikami’s creativity. The enemy design is okay, they are fast moving zombies dubbed as demons, and there are multiple versions of these zombies, some are armored, some are gigantic, and while others can even become invisible.

Most of these enemies can be easily dispatched (except the Giants), and the game while has many enemies on the levels, Shadows of the Damned emphasizes smart tactical play, mixed with puzzle elements. In fact, puzzle elements and combat mechanics are combined in a rather splendid way, complementing each other all the way.

MY BIG COHONES!

Speaking of puzzles, and combat, while the generic enemies are sort of average, the boss fights are loads of fun. It harkens back to the days when boss battles would have multiple phases, huge weak points, and epic loot at the end of a grand clash. In Shadows of The Damned, boss fights are the highlight of the game, and one of the most fun encounters I have had for a long time. There are also enemy types that are sort of in between the generic and boss type, and those also require a bit of tactic to handle them in the game.

The upgrade system is rather straightforward, as you kill bosses you gain blue gems, which will allow your Johnson to take on new forms, such a shotgun, an SMG, and a magnum. We also have red gems that allow us to upgrade our weapons’ damage, our characters health, and our torch’s abilities. The blue gems are easy to get since after a boss fight they get dropped, but red gems, even in such a linear game require some exploration. Oh, and buying them from Christopher, since buying ammo and health is pointless from him.

In fact, on normal the game is a bit too easy at times, even with some of the boss fights proving to be a walk in the park. Still, it is a great TPS and is a more twisted version of Resident Evil 4. The influence of Shinji Mikami is evident in Shadows of The Damned in its gameplay; it’s too bad that the story takes quite a hit. This is quite a shame as Suda 51’s wacky style mixed with grimness usual translates to something of an epic on the video game industry. Here it seems to falter and comes off as a copycat of Devil May Cry in certain ways.

My Name is Garcia “Fucking” Hotspur

In the end Shadows of The Damned is a great one off game, from the Era when a bunch of weird games like Killer is Dead, Splatterhouse, and Lolipop Chainsaw came out. It is a fun game, and since it is out on Xbox One’s backward compatible shop, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to try a gorey, but the weird shooter. Just do not expect a great story out of the game.

-Dante-

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Publisher: Grasshopper Manufacture

Developer: Crystal Dynamics

Genre: Action-Adventure

Release date: June 21, 2011