Killzone: Shadow Fall Reviews
It's all the more frustrating that Shadow Fall fails to establish that identity, because it gets so close in its early design and themes. It sets up an open-ended tactical shooter in a cynical world of sci-fi realpolitik - and then bottles it, taking the easy escape route of another suicide mission into empty spectacle. There's a lack of confidence here that contrasts starkly with Guerrilla's dazzling, sure-footed command of the new hardware. It's a game that any new PlayStation 4 owner will be proud to show off - but it won't be one they remember by the time PS5 rolls around.
Pretty yet uninspired. Killzone, then.
It all comes back to that poster hanging on the bedroom wall. Killzone: Shadow Fall is so full of influences, struggling to balance so many different ideas across the eight or so hours of single-player that it fails to settle cohesively. Even worse, nothing here feels particularly new. Killzone: Shadow Fall is an immensely enjoyable shooter but one busy distracting itself from being anything more.
As a package, it's a superb launch title and a great first person shooter. Killzone's back, and we can't wait to see where it takes us next.
For those wanting to show off their new console, Killzone: Shadow Fall is the game to do it with. A reasonable, lengthy but frustrating single player campaign paves the way for a compelling multiplayer experience the likes of which you've never seen before – visually speaking, anyway. Select easy-mode and you'll have more fun overall, but if Guerrilla are to continue with the Killzone series, they need to come up with some fresh ideas for the set pieces, and try to create a more streamlined difficulty. Otherwise, this is more Killzone, but looking better than ever before – and that's saying something.
As it stands, Killzone's foray into the next generation with Killzone: Shadow Fall is a good one. Though the game is held back by a lackluster story and certain missing features, it does deliver a fun experience and it is the only first-person shooter of its kind currently on the PlayStation 4.
When compared to past Killzone titles, we found Shadow Fall to have one of the better campaigns. There are some tedious tasks found during the latter half of the game that hurt the game's flow. Regardless, Killzone: Shadow Fall is a quality first-person shooter, making it a definite play for PS4 early adopters.
Killzone: Shadow Fall aims high, misses, lands in great-looking, idiotic stars
The gunplay is uninspired and the multiplayer has been detrimentally cut down, but the presentation is truly something to behold for console gamers.
Killzone: Shadow Fall offers up incredible presentation and a better-than-average campaign narrative that's unfortunately more boring to play than it should be. The exciting multiplayer mode injects some greatness into an ultimately good game.
And so in the absence of any new ideas, Killzone: Shadow Fall exists as worshipful paean to the technical power of the PlayStation 4, not as a game to actually play and enjoy.
As a whole you can't go wrong by including Killzone: Shadow Fall as part of your next gen PS4 package. It might be lacking in true next generation gameplay mechanics but it really shines when it comes to the new generation of graphics. Sony and Guerilla Games will surely continue to develop the franchise and I can honestly say without hesitation that the path they're on is the right one.
In the end, despite an unmemorable story, I quite liked Shadow Fall's campaign simply from a design perspective alone. By ditching overbearing auto-aim, bending linearity and actually posing a real challenge at times, it's a fun experience and PS4 could do a lot worse for a debut title. I don't know if the series will ever explode in popularity, but for now, it's done its job showcasing the new abilities of the PS4.
Most of the time Shadow Fall is confident about what kind of game it is, and it's when it leaves players to decide how they want to fight it shines.
At the end of the day you will find a 7-10 hour campaign within Killzone Shadow Fall. The only reason to replay it will be for the visuals or the story, as Battlefield 4 will certainly cast a deeper/better shadow in terms of first-person shooter gameplay when you're trying to decide between Killzone or it. BF4 will also outshine the multiplayer aspect of Killzone Shadow Fall, which features huge levels, good modes/matches to play, but dreadfully slow gameplay that keep it from being the reason to purchase KZ over other FPS titles at launch. Having said that, it's Killzone and it will fight nicely with the other Killzone games on your shelf. It still brings some of the most intense campaign gameplay in comparison to other FPS titles at launch, and brings some unique elements (enemy A.I. and the OWL) to make it worth your time and money.
Visually, the game is absolutely beautiful. In addition to the fact that it's not a typical brown shooter, some of the cut-scenes on Vekta will take your breath away and make you realize that next-gen is here, and wow is it pretty. It's just a shame that the fun I initially felt with Shadow Fall's campaign faded away as the end missions droned on for far longer than they should have. At least the multiplayer brings that feeling back.
Multiplayer is solid and technical presentation sets the bar high for PlayStation 4, but Killzone: Shadow Fall lacks any other enticing features to make it a must-have shooter.
The future of first-person shooter looks an awful lot like the past.
In the current crop of offerings on the PlayStation 4, Killzone: Shadow Fall is one of your best choices.