Review: Shadows of the Damned

Grasshopper Manufacture's Craziness Meets Resident Evil's Gameplay

        I don't think I have ever played anything like Shadows of the Damned. At first glance, this may seem like a cheap attempt at a survival/horror game or a knock-off of The Darkness, but trust me, this is a truly original game from two of the greatest minds in the video game industry. The result is a welcomed game of horror, hilarity, and insanity.

        

       Shadows of the Damned is the brain-child of Suda 51, creator of No More Heroes and Killer 7, and the creator of the Resident Evil series and the survival/horror genre in general, Shinji Mikami. The game stars Garcia Hotspur, whose girlfriend has been kidnapped and taken to Hell by the lord of the demons. Garcia and his trusty, shape-shifting, floating skull sidekick, Johnson decide to pursue his girlfriend's kidnapper into the depths of Hell in order to save her. The premise of the game is to combine the two creators' specialties into a unique experience. Suda 51's trademark style and bizarre vibe is mixed with Shinji Mikami's well known, over-the-shoulder, third-person shooter gameplay. 

        The setting, and tone of this game allow for some of the most ridiculous and over-the-top moments to take place. Everywhere you go there is some kind of suggestive figure or dirty innuendo to be said, and instead of apologizing for some kind of groan-inducing joke, the game embraces it and piles on more and more. It's a game that's not afraid to push its limits in excessiveness and ridiculousness which is important to me, because the way I see, it is all or nothing. There can be no middle ground. Realism is completely thrown out the window when it comes to the guns which range from a ten barrel machine gun that shoots homing teeth to the largest sniper rifle ever imagined that shoots tank shell-sized bones. 

Your floating skull buddy, Johnson, can transform into anything, including a motorcycle, and all the guns you use.

        As far as the way the game plays. It's pretty much like the recent Resident Evil games accept its possible to move and shoot at the same time. In battle, the game offers a considerable amount of variety when it comes to taking down your opponents. You can pick them off one by one with well executed headshots, or blow them all to smithereens with exploding skulls. Garcia's pistol will eventually be upgraded to be able to shoot sticky mines that explode when shot, and allow for help in environmental puzzles. Speaking of puzzles, the game uses a interesting approach to them by having Garcia move through light and darkness in order to get rid of the life-draining shadows. One thing I noticed when reading about Grasshopper Manufacture's games is that the style of the game often takes over and leaves the gameplay lacking and frustrating. In this game, Shinji Mikami's excellent approach to gameplay seems to help balance things out.

        The only complaints I have are minor, but rear their ugly heads far too often. Although the game uses the fantastic Unreal engine and has detailed and colorful graphics, it seems to suffer from stiff character animations. Glitches seem to occur in a few areas during boss battles, and I seem to have been killed a couple of times because I was stuck in the environments. A shooting gallery section also proved to be frustrating enough to keep me from laughing at the hilarious death scene that occurs in that part.  

        Shadows of the Damned isn't for everyone, and its made clear in the ESRB rating. Those who fancy crazy games, are looking for something different, or fans of Suda 51 and Mikami should really consider checking this game out. I believe you won't be disappointed.   

Final Verdict: 9/10