I can fondly remember playing Shadow Complex back in 2009 and how much of an impact it made on me. It was one of the games that pushed me into learning how to make them. I admired the vast complexity of the game world, engaging scope of secrets, and the intense action which kept me hooked and coming back for more. Then I moved onto other games and when I sold my Xbox 360, I hoped it would return. Now my wish has come true and Chair and Epic Games have brought out a Remaster of this classic title. I’m never usually a big fan of Remasters, but I was definitely interested in checking this out. I was also cautious at the same time, as you know nostalgia can be a dangerous thing. So does my beloved 2.5D shooter still live up to those good memories or should have I left this in the past to admire?
Shadow Complex is a 2.5D cover based shooter which infuses various other elements into the design and experience. You’ll have a massive open world to explore, loot to discover which plays a vital importance to your perks and attributes and different play styles from full on action to stealth. It’s very similar to games such as Castlevania: Symphony or the Night and the Strider reboot. There are some tweaks that make Shadow Complex stand out among many.
The story takes players into the role of Jason as young buff guy who’s voiced by the talented Nolan North. He and a young lady called Claire venture out into the woods to go hiking. Hiking, as you might know, includes many risks such as snake bites, swarms of bees, discovering a network of terrorists who plan to overrule the U.S and also demented beavers (hehehe). So Claire is kidnapped and it’s up to brave Jason to save the day. He must traverse deeper into the complex and battle elite soldiers with silly names such as Mr Sweet and the Commander (not Cobra). In a way it does reminds me of Cobra and how unbelievable the plot was or even how someone could make a base this huge and not be noticed. The plot was more funny than interesting, and I’d advise you to just ignore it through a generic plot process.
But it’s not the plot that’s the highlight or the reason to check out this game, but more so less everything else.
The mechanics are solid ranging from its cover based shooting to its vast and complex exploration. Jason will obtain weapons and special items over the course of the game, starting with a hand gun and a back pack of grenades but by the end Jason will become a one man army. It’s the items you collect that will help Jason progress as certain obstacles may be destroyed by using certain items. Your standard fire arm will take over vent covers and weak structures but to open a vault door? You’re gonna need a booming missile for that! This structure allows players to back track naturally and discover things they might have missed before. It’s massively satisfying when you first discover something you can’t open or destroy and then come back, remove that obstacle and claim the goodies you’ve waited for. It adds a massive boost to replay value as newcomers will surely not get everything the first go.
The shooting is solid, and the action is pretty intense even on moderate difficulties. I never knew the importance of the cover based system in the game until you play on the extreme difficulties. It’s fantastic that this game actually implements a cover base system that works well in a 2D environment where players can shoot in 360 orientation and also the backdrops. I will admit that the aiming is slightly tricky and will take some time to adjust too. Even now I still find it difficult to adjust the aim and shoot any NPCs in the back drop.
But set pieces and boss battles are highly engaging and at times, often brutal. Shadow Complex does a great job at variation and changing things around to give a new dynamic and fresh feel to the same boss or encounter. Even turret sections are varied and the scale will change, which makes for more intense fights with alternating factors to make it feel different from the last. I partially enjoy the spider tank fights as the method of destroying the tanks as I usually change from using fire arms to interacting with the environment.
Small encounters can be varied too as multiple areas have different ways to progress. Usually you’ll shoot your way through, but keep an eye out as vents provide a stealthier approach while green vents can become deadly when a grenade is popped in. Any enemies standing next to exit of said pipe will become TOASTY!
For those who have played the game before, it’s best to try out the campaign on one of the harder difficulties as normal is a breeze for those who know the ins and outs of the game. However, be warned as there are glitches and bugs which could become a pain if you play on the higher difficulties. It annoys me that there are still bugs present that actually can affect your progress. One in particular is shown when you kick a small spider bot and it explodes on impact. The bug results in the spider bot becoming stationary and exploding at your feet. Now if you’re on the easier difficulties, it’s no problem, but on insane? Wow, prepare to be pissed off. Check points are also oddly placed at times, and they’re either too close or too far away from those bigger encounters.
Something to keep in mind, unlike Castlevania SOTN which had a neat little transportation system, Shadow Complex will require players to venture a majority of the map on foot. Now it doesn’t sound too bad at first, but the map is gigantic! However this does help lengthen the game time as playthroughs will vary, lasting between 4 to 10 hours. If you want to unlock and find everything, it’s going to cost you some decent man hours but it’s well worth it.
Even with some flaws in the narrative, bugs and the lack of quick travel, I failed to put down the controller. I was hooked and even though I’ve played the game a multitude of times, it still engaged me. I felt like I was 19 again and just couldn’t stop until I collected everything and tried out all the ways to defeat bosses and discover all the secrets the game has. Simply put, its brilliant and well worth checking out if you’ve never played it before. Those who have played it already on the Xbox 360 might want to check this classic out again. This is a game you shouldn’t let pass by if you love games such as Strider or Castlevania: SOTN.
Shadow Complex Remastered
$14.99
Pros
- Varied gameplay elements
- Intense and brutal action
- High replayability
- Immense and interesting game world
Cons
- Annoying bugs are still present
- Bland narrative
- Little tedious to traverse the game world without fast travel
