Shadows: Awakening Reviews
One of the better dungeon crawlers out there right now, Shadows: Awakening's dimension hopping gameplay help separate it from other efforts in the genre.
Still, the developer deserves props for doing something genuinely interesting in a staid genre. Shadows: Awakening is familiar enough, but it has some enjoyably unique mechanics that help to elevate it, and a world to explore that's genuinely captivating. It would be great to see the developer get a chance to do more with this franchise.
Shadows: Awakening provides an excellent starting point for players new to the Heretic Kingdoms saga.
Shadows: Awakening presents a few interesting ideas and a surprisingly large, diverse world. Unfortunately, the game's ambitious vision is undermined by a host of basic storytelling, combat, and technical issues. Those desperate for some fresh hack ‘n' slash fun will find things to like about Shadows: Awakening, but the game is easily eclipsed by Diablo and any number of other, better, action-RPGs.
Shadows: Awakening surprises me very well. I love isometric Action-RPGs and play so many games in this genre and I must say that Shadows: Awakening is one of the best isometric Action-RPG games that I ever played so far. Amazing mechanic of one body, 4 souls and 2 world, made the game so special and unique and every other gemaplay elements are so deep and entertaining. If you want a challenging experience that shows you the most potential of the game, play Shadows: Awakening on hard difficulty. This is a game that every isometric Action-RPG fans and Diablo lovers must experience it.
Review in Persian | Read full review
The amount of polish in Shadows: Awakening heralds a fantastic return to the action-RPG era of old.
Despite being fun and having some good moments on its story, Shadows: Awakening ends up being a boring experience after some time, preventing it from being as interesting as it could be.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Shadows: Awakening inherits Vikings‘ repetitive and gimmicky boss fights, while its shifting rules and general inability to explain how certain things work can turn its frequent puzzles into a slog. Add a slow movement speed and too few teleport points on top of that, and you have a game that, while enjoyable overall, fails to live up to its potential.
Shadows: Awakening offers Book One from Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms and new content in Book Two. It is absorbing extensive gameplay with some new mechanics and graphics.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
If you like your dungeon crawls with a ladle of gothic atmosphere, you haven’t seen anything like this in an eternity.
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Technical issues aside, I greatly enjoyed my time in the Heretic Kingdoms. The hack-n-slash combat with puppeteering strategies always felt fresh, the enemies always presented a challenge on the Normal difficulty, and I never got tired of the vast exploration and puzzle solving. Playing again is inevitable for me, as I'm really curious how much choices affect the puppets and the world around me. I played the goody-two-shoes route this time, by not making pacts with other demons and offering to help everyone under the sun. But I can't help but wonder how differently the game would go if I played as Vlad the Heartless. How would that help me unlock puppets I missed this time? How would it change the already chaotic world? Does it have as many ending varieties as Dungeon Siege III? I also can't help but wonder about the backstories for the other soul puppets I didn't choose. With all of that replayability bubbling under the surface, it's nigh impossible to not recommend Shadows: Awakening to all hack-n-slash RPG fans, especially those who never tire of the tried and true Diablo III formula.
Shadows: Awakening freshens up the action RPG formula with a neat character switching mechanic, albeit one that doesn't cover up all the flaws.
Shadows: Awakening attempts to stray away from being a typical ARPG but lacks the juice to keep things interesting until its closing moments.
A great game for western role-playing fans. Fun, with an interesting plot and full of details. Lots of hours of gameplay and a lovely Diablo style.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Shadows: Awakening is a deep action RPG which brings a literal new dimension to the tried and tested Diablo format. It's a great choice for those looking for a meaty fantasy time-sink, and while it does stumble occasionally, it delivers many hours of engaging hack-'n'-slash gaming.
A clever gameplay system with puppets and worlds changes provides momentum in the action role-playing game, which keeps a long-term motivation.
Review in German | Read full review
It might lack the decision making aspect of the RPG genre but, beyond that, Shadows: Awakening is an amazing game. The great mechanic of having multiple protagonists in one avatar makes every combat tactical in a distinguishbly way, which is tied to an adictive playable structure , an interesting history and a dense amount of content to create a epic adventure
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Shadows: Awakening is a great singleplayer ARPG. It plays well and introduces some refreshingly unique mechanics to the genre. Unfortunately however it's let down by some odd decisions and numerous niggling issues. If you're a fan of the genre it's absolutely well worth checking out, if not though it's best to wait for a sale.
Shadows: Awakening contains enough elements to put itself as an enjoyable alternative within isometric RPGs, being history, strategic combat and visuals its strengths.
Review in Spanish | Read full review