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.
Killzone: Shadow Fall is a worthy game to purchase alongside your PlayStation 4.
Sure, Killzone: Shadow Fall has its lulls, but it's a mostly enjoyable experience from start to finish. This is no doubt the PlayStation 4's strongest exclusive launch title.
Cleverly progressive one moment and tediously predictable the next, next gen Killzone has all the same strengths and flaws as the older games – just now with even better graphics.
I had more fun with this entry than any other game in the series
That absence of meaningful evolution might be Killzone: Shadow Fall's biggest sin. For all the next-gen bluster of its visuals and the repeated blunt-force attempts to ram a message home, Guerilla's first shot on the PS4 retreads shooter cliches, and poorly. In a launch lineup crowded with shooters, Killzone: Shadow Fall sits at the bottom.
Killzone: Shadow Fall's multiplayer plays to the series' key strengths. It's too bad the campaign forgot to turn on the heat.
Killzone Shadowfall might makes eyes happy with its stunning visuals but leaves brains and fingers bored with a package that's too familiar overall.
The campaign is a real drag, but Shadow Fall's multiplayer props up the package with its fun, configurable action.
Oh, and it's beautiful. A stunner. Killzone: Shadow Fall is the game that will make you happy to own a PS4. This needs to be on your PS4 launch game list.
Killzone has never looked this good.
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.
Guerrilla Games needs to recognize that it's not plot points and politics that move its games, but the bullets and guns. If the campaign could take a step back from the spectacle to focus on core concepts and feedback loops, the qualities that make the multiplayer suite so flexible and entertaining could make the campaign even stronger. Killzone Shadow Fall is easy to recommend as a launch title, and it's also a fantastic shooter on its own merits, regardless of hardware or history.
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.
Ultimately, Killzone: Shadow Fall once again falls short of the lofty expectations placed upon it.
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.
I couldn't shake the feeling that Guerrilla Games had grander visions for Killzone: Shadowfall than what was shipped for the launch of the PS4. Despite it being visually stunning and a ton of fun to play, a lot of it feels like it missed on a bigger opportunity for the franchise.
Pretty yet uninspired. Killzone, then.
Killzone: Shadow Fall is a pretty game, gorgeous even. But the demand for moments to punctuate trailers or demos forced a sacrifice of story that it never quite recovers from. The OWL will find its place in history as one of the few controller-based mechanics to actually entertain, while the time spent in free fall may make players actually consider a plummet-related death. You find a stride in the minute-to-minute gameplay before drudgery sets in, and the multiplayer suite remains solid, if with a few new tenuous bells and whistles.
It's a dazzling game to behold, but does it have that special magic that will turn it into a hardware-selling blockbuster?