HomeReviewsShadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered
Still very much a product of its time
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Grasshopper Manufacture
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Grasshopper Manufacture
Look up major events in 2011 and there’s some world-changing stuff… and some not so world-changing stuff. Shadows Of The Damned’s Xbox 360/PS3 release may slip into either camp, depending on whether you liked it back in the day or not. It’s a third-person action adventure where two famous video game folks joined forces:No More Heroes' Suda51 andResident Evil’s Shinji Mikami. And to my knowledge, it’s considered a bit of a cult classic.
So, having playedShadows of the Damned: Hella Remasteredafter never experiencing the original, do I think it’s any good? If you were a fan of the OG, there’s no doubt you’ll like it. If you’re coming in as a newbie, I think it’s refreshing in the sense it’s a trim throwback with some interesting ideas and middling-to-good execution. But its whole schtick isn’t only a product of its time - it’s actually downright yucky.
You’re Garcia Hotspur, a hot-blooded biker lad whose arms are covered in tattoos and his hair slick with gel. Right from the get-go, his girlfriend Paula is kidnapped from the hotel they’re staying in and dragged into the underworld. Such is Garcia’s love for Paula that he flings himself into the nether portal with one thing on his mind: rescuing her. Thankfully he doesn’t need to rely on his bare fists, because he has a magical gun called… Johnson.
Light shot can also be used as a means to remove the dark cloak from enemies, or a way to stagger them. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Grasshopper Manufacture
Besides being the first of many dick jokes, Johnson is a posh yet wise-cracking skull that acts as a guide through the underworld - which itself is more than just some pools of lava, or a river lined with ghosts. It’s a journey through gothic streets, an oppressive forest, a hellish dimension, some dingy libraries, grimy sewers, and more. It’s actually a rather characterful depiction of a demon realm, if also a procession of primary-coloured areas typical of the era.
I should probably touch quickly on how this remaster varies at all from the original. Well, it runs at 60fps, looks a bit nicer, and has a New Game Plus (you can do multiple playthroughs and keep stuff from previous ones), as well as some new outfits. As I mentioned right at the top of this review, I haven’t played the original so I don’t have a point of reference. Either way, it’s technically fine, running well on both my desktop and my Steam Deck. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Grasshopper Manufacture
If all the shooting and complete lack of scares didn’t make it obvious, Shadows is very much an action game first and a horror game (very distantly) second. One where 99% of your time will be spent shooting armoured demons, skittery bastards, big brutes, and bizarro bosses with clearly labelled red gems on their bodies. Beat those bosses and you’ll unlock new weapon modes for Johnson, who’ll be able to transform and upgrade into genuinely exciting new toys: an assault rifle that locks onto multiple enemies, a shotgun that loads multiple skull slugs, and a revolver that fires sticky bombs. All of which are useful in certain situations and deliver a lovely mulching of the flesh when their bullets connect with the baddies.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Grasshopper Manufacture
Despite the variety on offer, though, I can’t help but feel like the game’s stop-and-shoot rhythm plateaus quite quickly and rarely soars to any great heights. I think it’s because the darkness gimmick forever piles on the pressure and feeds its way into a lot of the fights, so it didn’t take long for me to get tired of racing to find the goat’s head or the orbs or whatever to stop my health being leeched. All of this compounds with the labour-intensive tank aiming, which injects tension into some of the more horror-leaning encounters but becomes a bit tired when you’re forever facing off against streams of nasties.
Shadows Of The Damned: Hella Remastered will no doubt please fans of the original, as it doesn’t touch the demonic meat and bones of the original besides giving them a bit of a face lift. For those coming in fresh, it’s a fairly good time, but only until you start noticing its nastiness. I respect its zaniness and its double-A feel from yesteryear, but I also despise how its characters and its world portray women. I wish that attitude had been tossed in the bin and ‘remastered’ instead, honestly.
