I actually first played Shadows: Awakening (S:A) back in 2014 when it was the first episode of what was going to be a larger Heretic Kingdoms universe. Hopefully I am remembering those details correctly. Regardless, I enjoyed what I played then, and looked forward to more, but didn’t hear about the game again until it resurfaced as Shadows: Awakening. Fast forward to present day, and the game is now available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. For anyone that enjoys an accessible, yet deep and just hella fun action RPG, Shadows: Awakening is it.
When it comes to RPGs, there are all kinds of sub-genres — from the fabled Japanese variants to strategic and turn-based — there are a multitude of sub-genres and releases to choose from. Yet, most RPG releases don’t appeal enough to me to make it worth sticking it out. Games like Torment and Pillars of Eternity I have ample respect for, but I found them intimidating because they’re so deep in lore and gameplay elements and mechanics. S:A is an experience that strikes a better balance in general for me. The story and lore are deep, if you want to read the books you find and explore all of the dialog options (I did). The gameplay is also appreciably deep, but not overwhelmingly so. The core gameplay element is instantly switching between the physical realm and the shadow realm, and also between your puppets, of which you can slot four at a time, although two of them have to be the two main characters.
Unlike some RPGs that have character creation tools, I liked the streamlined design of S:A that simply does away with character creation. The appearance of your character is going to change enough as you level up and get different armors and so forth anyway. But as far as the name, biography, base skills, that’s already decided for you. Krenze, a powerful mage, has summoned a demon, aptly named Devourer. Krenze and Devourer are not friends, and they do not trust each other. Still, they have to work together to stop a much larger danger threatening the heretic kingdoms. In the opening moments of the game, you take Devourer through a small catacomb and must pick between one of three characters to be your primary puppet. Devourer will then possess, or contain himself in this character. Choices include a powerful melee warrior, a speedy ranged fighter that uses a bow, and a mage. I chose Jasker, the hunter. Each character has a unique appearance, is fully voiced (every character in the game is), and has a history that repeatedly comes up and ties in with present events in the story.
S:A clearly lays out the main and side quests, and thanks to the Journal’s ability to track any one objective at a time, you’re not likely to get lost. The mini-map in the lower right of the screen is also really helpful with more of it being revealed as you explore. You can pause the game to view a full sized map. Icons on the map indicate points of interest that you have discovered, such as Cenotaphs (from which you can fast travel to other previously discovered Cenotaphs). Sanctuaries are also highlighted, and are often found at the start of dungeons. You cannot see Sanctuaries while in the physical realm, only in the shadow realm. When Devourer enters the area of effect of a Sanctuary, all puppets heal up, the rate of which increases as you level up. It’s also from here that you can change out your puppets as you discover (and devour) new ones throughout the 20+ hour story. Note that once you pick one of the three core characters, the other two become unplayable, and to experience them you’re compelled to replay the game.
The visibility, or lack thereof, between the shadow and physical realms is one of the strengths of S:A. There are many locations that are unreachable without using shadow realm. Walls, broken bridges, doors, many of these disappear in the shadows, allowing Devourer and his puppets safe passage to the other side. Sometimes locating these is required to advance the story, but many times these other pathways lead to challenging dungeons, treasure chests, or side quest items. When you are in the physical and are near a shadow area, a ghostly hum or chant can be heard. Sometimes you have to go between realms to solve puzzles, like touchplate puzzles. As an example, imagine an 8×8 grid. To get to the other side and not get burned up, you have to use Devourer to highlight the right floor plates to step on. However, these traps are designed such that the Devourer cannot be used to simply bypass them, you have to use him to see the path, and then do the path with your puppets. Additionally, Devourer can see Shadow Traders who buy and sell items that he can use. Because it’s so convenient and instant — simply pressing ‘A’ — going between shadow and physical realms was immediately something I did, all of the time. Every area of the game I went to has been examined in both realms, revealing a lot of cool secrets and other hidden gameplay.
As you explore Thole, the Outlands, the werewolf lands of Taymuria, and more locations within the Heretic Kingdom, you’re bound to come across numerous inventory items to collection, buy, and sell. Dozens of weapons, torso armor, cloaks, helms, gloves, boots, belts, rings, necklaces, primary and secondary weapons, soulstones, and much more can be found, bought, and sold. Devourer can also find Essences that embue your armor and weapons with additional perks, like 5% further protection from poison, for example. Item stats are clearly defined and easy to compare, so it doesn’t take long to figure out what’s worth keeping and what you can drop or sell. I appreciated the variety of goods and the ability to purchase or find (typically via a larger side quest) legendary items that required a couple of more levels than I had earned just yet.
Speaking of leveling up, I thought the pace of leveling was great. Never too long in between, and yet never too easily earned, leveling up was always an excitement. With it, each character you have earns five new points to spend on their attributes of Strength, Agility, Defense, and Willpower. Every so many levels you can also choose a new Talent per character, such as giving Zaar a 20% boost in attack power against humanoid enemies. Special skills, which are conveniently mapped to QWE, can be upgraded and changed out as well. The special skills are really cool, and encourage you to overlap them with one another. For example, I used one character’s special gravity potion to pull enemies together, and then I switched to another character instantly (Ironclad), who was is my massive, brute force guy. With several enemies stuck together thanks to the special skill of the first puppet, I was able to clobber multiple enemies with the other puppet — it’s really satisfying to come up with new combinations, and they aren’t necessarily just offensive ones, either. You can cast a protection skill, for example, as one puppet, and then switch to another, and the effect carries over.
In addition to fairly compelling lore, great characters, and fun gameplay, S:A is also a pleasant game to look at. I ran it at 2560×1080 with Fantastic detail and level and never had any issues, and was routinely impressed with the visual fidelity and details in the environments. Even within the darkest of dungeons there are strange bluish plants emitting some light and lots of other cool things to look at it. Plus, a great deal of the game is played outside of catacombs and dungeons, offering well-lit and warmly colored environments in addition to the darker, colder ones.
I have been, and continue to enjoy S:A enough that it’s hard to find much fault with it. That said, for some genre veterans looking for a stout challenge, the default difficult setting is likely much too easy. Additionally, some quest and puzzle design could be considered a bit repetetive, but for me, these concerns were greatly overshadowed by the positives of the experience.
###
