Review: Shadows of the Damned

When we first learned that both Suda51 (Killer 7) and Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil) were joining forces to develop Shadows of the Damned, we knew that we would be in for a treat. A twisted treat, sure, but a treat nonetheless. Little did I expect this to not only be a treat, but a grand feast of twisted visuals and solid gun-play, all wrapped in a tale dripping with self parody and wonderfully constructed homages. Shadows of the Damned is, without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences I've had all year. Want to know more? Read on.

Shadows of the Damned (Xbox 360)
Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release date: June 21, 2011 (North America)

To say that you haven't seen this before would be rather disingenuous. In fact, you have seen much of this game before. Its very creation seems to have been a labor of love by the developers who endeavored to create a grand homage to all things which have inspired them throughout the years. There are inklings of B-Horror movies such as Evil Dead and Nightmare On Elm Street, the writings of LoveCraft, and a taste of Quentin Tarantino attitude, all told in Grindhouse fashion. The pieces, however, are woven together so beautifully that they never come off as mere adaptations or, worse, thievery. Instead they are imbued with a sense of self awareness and farcical humor that makes them seem as fresh as the first time you saw them.

This, at a fundamental level, is the beauty of Shadows of the Damned. It is a game that doesn't take itself too seriously, never forgets that it's really a game, and, in doing so, remains fun through some decidedly dark and precarious circumstances.

You're the heavily tattooed and wise cracking Garcia Hotspur, or as he calls himself, Garcia “Fucking” Hotspur, and you've just thrown yourself down into hell to save the love of your life. She's been kidnapped by Fleming, a father of demons and the only thing you can do is grab your leather jacket and give chase. Yes, you first grab your leather jacket. I love that this happens.

You are joined by your sidekick 'Johnson', a floating skull-headed demon who not only gives you random advice as you travel through the bowels of hell, but who can also turn into the variety of weapons you'll be using throughout the game. And this, my friends, is where the 'dick' jokes start. The very first gun you get is called “The Boner” because, of course, it shoots bones. Yes, 'Johnson' turns into 'The Boner', which later in the game will be upgraded to the 'Hot Boner.' And the dick jokes only go from there. In fact, Shadows of the Damned spends a lot of time making fun of men, and making sex jokes in general, in ways that are fantastically funny by their ability to be crass yet not mean spirited. By making fun of mans ability to be ultra sexual about themselves and toward women, without being demeaning toward either, Shadows of the Damned succeeds where recent games have failed so very miserably. It makes fun of common human sexuality in way that everyone can appreciate.

As you traverse the levels of hell in search of your love you'll find gameplay as diverse as it's influences, and some visages of hell which can easily stand their own next to any of the silent hill games. For a game that doesn't take itself very seriously, they've constructed some fairly horrific levels for Garcia to fight in early on. These give way to the extremely outlandish as you'll find yourself fighting in Red Light districts (which require you to go over bridges made of huge women in lingerie), underground caves, and finally to Fleming's castle itself. Within these levels you'll find yourself fighting off a variety of demons using any of Johnson's three gun forms (pistol, machine gun, and shotgun) which will all be upgraded as you go, giving them secondary fire modes. The game does a great job at making these secondary fire modes not just additions, but actually useful within the game. Boss fights especially make use of these, in some of the most fun and challenging boss fights I've seen in a long time.

The shooting in general just feels good. It's responsive, and the secondary modes of the guns go a long way to always giving you the edge you need to get out of tight situations. This is especially true when the 'darkness' mechanic comes into play. At many points throughout the game the level will be imbued with Darkness which takes health away from Garcia as long as he is in it. Shooting a Goats Head candelabra (yes that's right) with your gun's light mode will dispel the darkness but Garcia only has a limited time to do this before he dies. It ads an extra layer of gameplay that, honestly, I originally didn't care for. Each time I found myself in the Darkness I would panic, watching my life drain away and frantically trying to shoot the Goats Head or killing the demon that was causing the darkness to happen. Eventually, however, I learned to love this mechanic simply because panic and fear is what I was supposed to be feeling at this time. It was the game giving me an emotional and visceral reaction that I, at first, detested. It's not often a game can make you feel that way just with a simple fighting mechanic. Shadows of the Damned did.

The darkness mechanic comes back many times throughout the game and is even used to add extra complexity to some already difficult boss fights. One boss, for example, can only be damaged in darkness, so you need to constantly gauge how much life you have with how many more shots you can get off on the boss before trying to return to the light. Having said that, I should mention that Shadows of the Damned is not an easy game. Even on normal I found it to be very challenging and Hard Mode has been described as 'enraging' at times. There is no aim assist and even though you can shoot while moving, you'll find yourself slowed down quite a bit and enemies willing and ready to take advantage of that. Still, though, the game gives you the tools you need to succeeded and the difficulty has an almost “Demon's Souls” feel to it.

If you think you'll just be shooting demons in level after level you're dreadfully mistaken. There are areas where the level will turn into a paper-craft side scrolling shooter, you'll have to go bowling with your shotgun bombs, play tower defense with your 'big boner', or play a game reminiscent of the game Plinko on The Price is Right to move forward. And even though these games can seem a bit unbalanced –I found the side-scrolling shooter to be the weakest of all of them– their addition goes a long way to breaking up the gameplay and incorporating a sense of absurdity just when the game might have been getting a bit too heavy.

There are even large storybooks to be found in the game which will have either Garcia or Johnson reading intertwined tales, in a sort of dark storytime session, which are extremely well written and wonderfully enjoyable. This lighthearted feel threads its way through the entire game. Though you'll be blowing the heads off of demons, you'll also be collecting giant gems in classical Mario style, and finding hidden fruit to open doors. Shadows of the Damned is a game that never, for one moment, forgets that its first and foremost duty is to be a game, and be fun. Even when you have to smash little brains into baby's faces to open a gate. Seriously.

There are some small issues with the game however. Levels are especially linear, and though they are well paced I would have liked to have seen areas which offered little more exploration. Also, the aforementioned side-scrolling level is not especially fun. It goes on way too long and even incorporates one of the more important boss fights, which was surely a disappointment.

That notwithstanding, Shadows of the Damned is brilliant game who's sense of self-awareness, and ability to pay reverent homage to its roots, results in a game which revels in both pure campiness and unapologetic fun. It brings the player on a exciting joyride through its various dimensions in ways that only the combined talent of Suda51 and Shinji Mikami could construct. By intermixing grandiosely eccentric situations with solid gun-play, they have created an experience like no other. A game that is a joy to play and a necessity to own.

Score 95%
(90-95%: Phenomenal; transcends all issues)

(A grand feast of twisted visuals and solid gun-play, all wrapped in a tale dripping with self parody and wonderfully constructed homages.)