Review for Shadows: Awakening. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 31/08/2018 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 31/12/2018 The version for Xbox One came out on 31/12/2018
RPGs with isometric visual have become very popular after the appearance of series of the caliber of Diablo, of which we cite the last chapter Diablo III, from which Shadows: Awakening seems to take some ideas here and there. The guys from Games Farm, thanks also to the help of Kalypso Media, who intervened when the project had already begun, managed to complete the game they had imagined, offering up to 60 hours of play exclusively in single player mode.
During our visits to Kalypso at E3 and Gamescom, we had the pleasure of talking to the developers, and getting a general understanding of Shadows: Awakening and how the player should approach it. The whole thing relies heavily on the plot and the bond that is created between demon and human being, which we will talk about later, but also how to fit the plots of the characters and how it will be necessary to face more than one run to learn the plot 100%.
The devourer of souls
The opening words of Shadows: Awakening immediately puts us in the shoes of "The Devourer", a tormented spirit who, after meeting a shady subject in the demonic world, must choose a soul to devour. We will be offered three samples: a warrior, a sorceress and an archer, each of which with a different background and independent plot development. Once the soul has been chosen, we will proceed to the rite that will bind us to the chosen fighter, who will however have a considerable influence on the emotions and will of our demon, who therefore in the course of history will not oppose us while carrying out missions or duties of any kind.
The peculiarity of Shadows: Awakening is precisely the cooperation between devourer and champion: with the push of a button you can switch from the real world to the demonic world in real time. This will allow you to face enemies that you can only find in one of the two worlds, open chests, unlock gates or create passages in the demonic world to overcome otherwise inaccessible points. Initially it will be slightly cumbersome but already after the first few hours you will realize how this system is impeccably implemented, so much so that it becomes an automatic action that you will do almost without thinking.
During your journey you will also meet other champions to devour, which once defeated can be part of your "team", which can be composed of a maximum of four warriors, manageable in the many shrines scattered in the demonic world and activated only by the devourer. This will allow the player to use the champions they prefer, also managing levels, skill points and skills, extremely important in Shadows: Awakening as well as in any other self-respecting RPG.
Old school role-playing game
Being a game out of cooperative mode, the developers had to work hard on the gameplay to make it fun and rewarding even alone. Did they succeed? Yes: Shadows: Awakening is a continuous growth of fun, and lovers of titles like Diablo III will surely be able to appreciate many stylistic choices and boss fights, even if sometimes "trivial". The high replayability helps make the experience very satisfying: we are talking about at least twenty hours for each campaign (one for each champion), with completely different missions and storylines, but which must all be played to get a complete picture of the world created by Games Farm.
As for the gameplay, you will have all the possibilities of any RPG available: it will be necessary to loot from the killed enemies, collect silver, weapons, equipment and useful objects to enhance our character, so as to be able to face more aggressive areas and enemies. Do not miss the possibility of enchant equipment, with what are called "essences", which can be added by paying a certain price. We can add from one to four per piece, but, being particularly rare, you will have to be careful how you use them, preferring the rare and powerful pieces and discarding the mediocre ones.
The level cap is set to 30 and although it seems quite difficult at first to level up, in the final stages of the game you will easily be able to earn huge amounts of exp, which will level up you and all party members, so you can unlock skills and perks. Speaking of skills, each character will unlock several during the adventure but you can only use three at a time, while as regards the perks, these can be inserted in slots that will be unlocked every three levels.
We complete the gameplay discourse by talking about the battle system, which is satisfying and fun, albeit limited. On consoles it is slightly difficult to combine the various shots, both for a slight delay between pressing the key and the start of the animation, and for a problem related to the enemy "lock-on" system, which can be activated by pressing the right stick, but most of the time it only ends up creating confusion in the most heated clashes. Net of some problems, the combat system works well, the skills are pleasant to use and there are important differences between light, heavy or throwing weapons, which will force you to choose the equipment that best suits you even before you go. in battle.
Technically not perfect
One of the things that most fascinated us about Shadows: Awakening is definitely the setting, extremely accurate and perfectly in tune with the style of the game. Artistically, Shadows: Awakening is very inspired, you just need to open the menu to observe the various samples, all well characterized and treated in detail, albeit with fairly limited graphics. Unfortunately, the localization is missing, which in a title based a lot on dialogues makes you turn up your nose, and could limit sales in our territory given the closure of some players compared to this choice of software houses. For our part, we can guarantee you that the English used is not complex, so if you are interested in the game, do not stop at this aspect, which was however reported.
Our test was done on the PlayStation 4 Pro. As much as we liked the artistic side of the game, we can't help but talk about the frame rate locked at 30 fps (or maybe less) and one resolution stops at 1080p. These problems certainly take a back seat with respect to plot and gameplay, however, in particular on Shadows: Awakening, having such a low frame rate creates problems in the most excited actions, given the continuous transition between two worlds that sometimes sends the graphic engine into tilt creating some microlags and sometimes even crashes that cause the progress of that particular doungeon to be lost.
Speaking, in fact, of progress, another aspect that we did not like very much is the rescue system, which is also automatic, but is activated only when you enter / exit an area with loading. This involves some problems given by frequent crashes and the need to carry out manual rescues after some boss fights, since in case of death after the end of the fight you will have to repeat the battle anyway.
Shadows: Awakening is an isometric RPG that Diablo III fans might enjoy. The game is all about the interaction between devourer and champion, allowing you to switch from one world to another in real time to face enemies or interact with particular environmental elements. Everything works very well, especially when seen together with the RPG component of the title: you will have the possibility to customize your champion with weapons and equipment according to the style of play and you can also choose which skills and perk to use based on the type of combat or to the sample used. We encountered some frame rate problems and sporadic crashes, but otherwise we believe the game is a valid and interesting proposal for lovers of single player RPGs.
► Shadows: Awakening is an RPG-type game published by Kalypso Media for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 31/08/2018 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 31/12/2018 The version for Xbox One came out on 31/12/2018
