Shadows: Awakening

Shadows: Awakening is a very unexpected product, in a way. As a Diablo-clone made by a small studio, you might expect something like Grim Dawn; tons of lore and mechanical depth and equipment and build variety, in a game that, production-wise, is fairly cheap. This is generally how it goes. Instead, you get largely the opposite; the game is quite beautiful and detailed with a ton of quality voice acting (including The Doctor himself, Tom-freaking-Baker). However, it is also fairly basic as an actual game.

As I said, the game looks and sounds great. Of course it's not Red Dead Redemption 2 or anything, but for the genre, it's very detailed and vibrant, with a ton of smooth animation. The music is decent, the voice acting is great, the overall presentation is certainly better than what I expected. The game does have the occasional puzzle that, while never complex, does at least break up the "walk through hallways and kill things" gameplay loop of the sub-genre. The story is interesting, for a while. It also runs fairly well, except for surprisingly long loading times between areas.

The negatives, however, come in for the core of the game. I'm still recommending the game, it's not trash even in this area, but it's surprising basic. The first thing to understand, and this is quite unique, is that it's a Diablo-clone with a party...sort of. You have up to 4 characters to play as, swapping between them in real-time as you fight and explore. Cool. However, the result is that each character is fairly restricted; they each get 8 skills and fall into basic categories--tough warriors who engage in melee combat, archers, 2 melee fighters who focus more on speed and critical attacks, and several mages (oh, and then our main character, "the demon," who is a jack of all trades). Many skills are very strange, and feel like they were meant for a game that actually was a party-based game, doing things like weakening all enemies in an area for 10 seconds or something, which is fairly difficult to capitalize on with just one character, and really isn't superior to just using another damage-dealing skill instead. Probably half the skills in the game have questionable usefulness, yet skills are the main thing differentiating, say, one warrior from another. You get 3 warriors minimum, up to 6 possible with the DLC, yet they all feel only modestly different, and there is very little room for experimentation with them on a repeat playthrough. The only real choice is to simply use different characters, but even then, the simple system doesn't really enable many differences in how the game "feels."

Let's look at everything besides skills. Stats just raise the damage you deal, your health, and your mana, more or less. Simple. Talents are various boosts you can unlock, but most of them are just doing things like raising stats again, or directly raising damage done, or giving you defense against specific enemies or elements. All very samey. Gear? Gear is mostly just raising the attack/defense stat, and then if you're lucky, getting an extra boost here or there. However, these boosts are far too minimal; 5% ice resistance on your armor and 5% fire resistance on your helm is barely noticeable and hardly counts as real min/maxing. You will occasionally get something neat like reflect damage, causing attacks to bounce back against opponents, but even this tends to be in fairly modest amounts--you can't reasonably build a character around this as a base. All of these extras are just that, extras. Gear is also surprisingly sparse; it may not seem like it compared to other genres, but in a Diablo-clone, you expect to be wading through it. Yet there were long stretches where I had characters wearing white "common" gear for hours, because nothing better would drop OR show up in one of the game's few shops, which is almost unheard of. Interestingly, accessories like rings and necklaces, which in most games are where the most unique boosts are found, are almost entirely the most boring here; even at the end of the game, most of them just raised ONE thing for me, like 5 strength or 10 armor against "beast-type" enemies. I would say there should be a full order of magnitude more unique items in the game than there are at present.

Speaking of characters, there is a very odd and disappointing distribution in them. You will recruit quite a few but several of them are optional or semi-optional (as in, you are forced to take SOMEONE but you do get a choice as to which one). and they are basically completely silent and do nothing but fight. Yet, the choices are odd; if you do not choose to start with a mage, then there is not a single speaking mage to recruit in the entire game, ALL the other ones are just kinda there. If you don't choose the archer, then there is only one "hunter" you MIGHT recruit who speaks. But we get several fighters. Each of your three starting characters does have unique dialogue and slight variations in quests, but it's fairly minimal as well, and they get surprisingly quiet as the game goes on and other recruitable characters sort of take center stage. In short, I wish the game had fewer actual characters, but then made them more unique, with more build variety, more ways to use them. As it is, you get alot of very repetitive recruits.

And that's the biggest problem with the game; it's repetitive. This is somewhat expected with Diablo-clones but this one really drags over time. As story segments get more and more spread out, with larger and larger areas to explore and kill everything in, using the same characters and same attacks, it becomes a bore. Perhaps I could have spiced it up for myself by switching characters around more often, but even that can be hard with the limited equipment, and the differences aren't THAT pronounced. I liked the story and characters early on, but alot of stuff doesn't really get explained or it's dragged out for a LOOONG time, and by the end of the game, I was rushing to just finish the dang thing. The game is simply too long for what it offers; there is not enough story, or interesting side-quests, or fun dialogue, or unique gear, or varied builds, to fill all that time.

There is a great basis here, something I would still recommend fans of the genre play and enjoy for what it does well, but it is 100% clear that the artists and level designers were given more time and budget to go wild, while the guys writing lore, dialogue, making mechanics, crafting each piece of gear, were rushed. Heck, some gear even has a description that just says "Description of long sword" or whatever--they literally didn't finish all of the flavor dialogue, and grammatical errors are still somewhat common. I really like the presentation, I like the idea of swapping between multiple characters on the fly, the lore is the start of something interesting, but this is definitely a product that floundered in delivery. It's worth playing once, but it certainly is no Grim Dawn, much less a Diablo 2.

Underrated ARPG. I hated the real time + pause in the old Baldur's Gate games, but this game somehow manages to combine ARPG mechanics with a party-based CRPG atmosphere. I don't remember much about the story, but the gameplay was solid.
Basically, you have 4 active party members (you can get more NPCs in reserve ranks - although not all on the same playthrough), but only one is in play at a time. So you can swap while skills are on cool down or to set up a combo with one character and then switch to another for the finisher. And combat continues until all 4 active members die.
There aren't as many options with skills compared to other ARPGs, but since you have many different party members to choose from (I think over a dozen) you do have other ways of customization. Loot is pretty boring iirc, but at least the game doesn't throw a ton of loot at the players. Honestly, I'd rather have boring loot than have to spend time sorting through piles of loot. If I kill a boss or an elite, I don't mind loot explosions, but generally it's not a fun mechanic.
This is easier than their Vikings ARPG game so if you want a challenge, maybe try hard rather than normal. I would recommend saving the hardest difficulty for a 2nd playthrough since there are three main characters you can choose from and so this will give it more replay value, but if you enjoy very tough games like Dark Souls then try very hard. Normal did have a few challenging fights, but I wish I did play on hard. I assume easy is easier than most ARPGs' default difficulty.

Well, 3hrs in and I can already see why this game has a lot of mixed reviews.
Firstly, the pace is excruciatingly slow and the novelty of swapping between both spirit & real worlds has worn off. Secondly, there's issues with attacks being delayed, inputs not registering at all or attacks flat out missing their target despite standing practically on top of enemies. The wonky hit registration also applies to breakable objects and anything else you can interact with for potential loot. And lastly, the inventory system is not well designed. The icons to compare loot and toggle other options are just too small, the gear affixes are not explained at all, there are many pieces of armor/accessories that can be used by both Devourer and Puppet that provide absolutely zero benefits which makes sorting through drops a little longer than it needs to be since some bonuses apply only to Spirit world enemies but still get rolled on gear that real world characters can use. The affixes that don't/can't directly benefit either character shouldn't be rolled onto gear they can equip.
Aside from those issues the game looks pretty good overall. The armor, weapons, characters, skills, etc.. all look good. The voice acting quality is done well too. The overall concept of having a Demon posess multiple humans and swap between them is pretty cool, I just can't believe that it has become so tedious after only 3hrs of play.
Shadows Awakening definitely has its fair share of negatives beyond what bothered me (read the other reviews), but I prefer not to downvote a game unless it's really, really bad, so for that reason, I'm recommending it because despite the obvious jank and some irritating design choices, it shouldn't be outright avoided.

Shadows: Awakening was a good surprise for me.
The theme hook me in immediately. In a sea of copy-pasted uninspired games, it really made my dull brain go "Oh, wait, that's cool".
I love switching constantly between the "real" realm and the shadow realm. What's good about this design is that everything in the game revolves around that, they committed fully to it, so tactics require you to switch between characters, puzzles too, and even just moving around the map, as one realm can cross parts that the other can't (they share the same layout, just with different things on the way and I think it's great).
The characters you can unlock are very varied and unique and the environments are beautiful and clearly required a lot of work for what seems like a relatively small team.
It's a very cool idea to have to switch between characters to make combos with their abilities. You cannot rely on a single character to get through, you'll have to synergize and switch often to create combos between puppets and the demon. Shadow shields are a good idea to make you switch and use combos. Some skills are maintained when switching, allowing for very interesting and deadly passive effects when combining puppets and the devourer.
The fact that you cannot unlock all characters in one playthrough gives some replayability, although I wouldn't hold on too much on that aspect, because of course the game isn't without its flaws.
First of all, if you don't want your CPU to melt go immediately to the graphical options and change the option that says "unlimited framerate" to fixed one. As soon as I launched the game, my i9 CPU with 24 cores heated up to 90°C, that's insane for this kind of game. It stopped when I changed the framerate option.
I had the displeasure however to play it around Halloween and the game maps were riddled with immersion-breaking carved pumpkins, trees with candies and every mob was dropping candy. This destroyed so much of the world building it actually got me angry, I felt like I was playing an MMO instead of a single player game and I couldn't find an option to turn that off (it turned out there was, but only when you're in the main menu and haven't loaded any save yet).
The dialogues are serviceable at best, and there's typically an illusion of choice where you just get to pick flavors of dialogues because no matter what you choose to answer, it will always get down to the same line at the end. Sometimes, you'll even pick an answer from 3 very distinct choices, only for your character to end up saying one of the other choices you chose to ignore in just the next line.
Sometimes there's some really annoying and boring backtracking through empty levels because you killed all enemies on your way in, music is barely noticeable and maybe I just suck at this but the gap of difficulty between easy and normal was too big for my taste. The dubbing is uneven, with some out of character voices in my opinion such as Zaar.
There's not a huge amount of enemy variety, especially in the shadow realm, but good enough.
In my opinion, the majority of quests are lazy MMO level of design and, for a Hack'n'Slash, it can be quite slow paced.
The biggest flaw for me is the atrocious pathfinding: your character will very often get stuck in objects on its way, making some puzzles way more challenging than they actually are. And if you made a build with summons, you'll be blocked by your minions constantly. That's because the algorithm seems to only take into account the level's fixed architecture, not the "spawnable" entities such as minions, NPCs, objects, etc.
That being said, the positives really outweigh the negatives here, and I can't judge a game like this as if it was Activision Blizzard behind it with all the funding in the world.
After a sea of disappointments in the games I played lately, here is one I had no expectations from and surprised me by how well it was for a "small" game. It's definitely not a solo indie dev kind of game, I just mean it's not Diablo IV and you can tell, and I happen to genuinely think that it's actually more interesting than the latter.

Great game, though the final boss made me feel like Chris Redfield pushing boulders..

Review for character and story players:
Score: 8.0
Overview:
I originally bought this game not realizing it was the same developer as Viking: Wolves of Midgard, and when I realized it was, and after such a polarizing experience prior to abandoning Vikings, I fully expected this game to fail to meet my expectations and be a quick removal from my active game list. I have to say though, this game is an upgrade in every conceivable way, and the comparison is so drastic, if I didn't know the same developer name was attached, I would never have known. If you felt Vikings was a huge turnoff, like I did, don't do yourself a disservice by dismissing this game, as the quality comparison is an unprecedented improvement over their first title, and a rare thing to experience as even with iteration over a decade of games, I've never really had a developer improve as much as this developer has - there is really no comparison regarding Vikings as this game is on an entirely different level.
Characters and Story:
The characters are honestly very compelling for an ARPG, and arguable very well written even compared to more narrative drive RPGs in my opinion, and they really drive attachment and appreciation for the effort put into the narrative and world as you move through each chapter. I will say it starts sort of slow and seems to meander, but the story is driving toward a climax that I anticipate will be worth the investment: I'm only in Chapter 4 at the moment.
Regarding the characters, you start with the devourer and a primary puppet, each with different abilities and personalities, as well as backstories, personal questlines, and very different interactions with the main story and characters. Kalig was my primary puppet, and I really enjoyed his personality and banter with the devourer and other story based puppets and NPCs over the course of the story. The dialogue is fully voiced, and excellently done in my opinion, and really draws you in as direct dialogue and interaction is commonplace and really helps keep the journey interesting and fun. It gets even better when you get the next story puppet Zaar, as the chemistry of multiple characters increases the bantering and personal relationships to one another, and improves yet again when you get Carissa as she directly ties into the main narrative - I won't reveal any of the specific story wise, but the story really picks up once she joins.
I also noted that the addition of either Darius or Falon adds an additional story based puppet, and each of the mutually exclusive hidden puppets here have voiced dialogue with the story, other characters, and more importantly, have direct history with Carissa and your primary puppet, depending on whom you choose for pairing - Jasker for example has a personal relationship with Falon, which I did not experience, but makes me think about replaying to experience as I have a feeling it is stronger than the other puppet combinations. I will note, however, that several puppets are purely for gameplay and have no dialogue or personality based on my experience, but they are still interesting from a gameplay perspective. I would wager that a NG+ with a different primary puppet will create a very different experience, based on my current playthrough, which I say with confidence as Kalig has many interactions that are not just broad strokes with an insert x character type of dialogue, though I cannot confirm this without playing through again.
Experience (Gameplay, World Design, & Systems):
The gameplay is also very fun. The devourer and your main puppet are always part of your party, but you can swap in any other two puppets, each with their own abilities and playstyle, and what I really like is that the gear you find is a combination of puppet exclusive or class based, but maintains a unique look for each puppet equipping it most of the time. I will say I wish there was a bit more on the loot side, through drops and through shops, as enemies do not respawn and once you buy the inventory at a vendor it never restocks, but overall the gear design and frequent visual changes kept the pacing interesting and fun, allowing you to feel like you were becoming stronger over the course of the game while the gear aligns with that perception. This was a huge upgrade over Vikings.
Recommendations to Maximize your Experience:
1. Outfitting our characters: gear level is important for armor and weapons, but for accessories the abilities are much more important, but the accessories level really doesn't matter except for essence tier they come with innately. My recommendation is to stack up the accessories with your best essence, rather than the weapons and armor, as they can be used nearly the entire game without being out phased until you get access to the next higher tier of essences. There are three total tiers from what I can tell, which means accessories can last for chapters without needing replacement if you build them up well. Keep in mind, once attached, they are permanently used up and cannot be recovered.
2. Maximizing your story/character experience: I'll admit this would require you to accept mild spoilers, but I think it is worth it, as I wish I would have done this myself. Prior to your playthrough, do research on the puppets and their personal history, relative to the story based puppet mutually exclusive options, so you can optimally pair them with your main puppet to get the best experience. Jasker & Falon seem the strongest combination from what I've read, but Darius is also a good option mainly to pair with the mandatory character Carissa, but he may be better paired with the starting mage than Kalig as I am doing in my playthrough. There isn't a lot of info online to guide you here, but it is worth considering as I'm pretty confident it changes the experience.
3. Many of the gameplay puzzles can be a bit of a pain, and are not always clearly telegraphed. If you see something unusual, braziers with only some torches lit, holes in the ground, boulders and pressure plates, and so on, don't assume the game will guide you to a solution or that it will telegraph this is an optional hidden puzzle, and either try to figure it out then and there, or look up guides if needed. Youtube has most solutions if you get stumped, and while the wiki is fairly minimal, it does include area maps which also often have puzzle solutions on them. Some of the puzzles and hidden quests are challenging and very poorly telegraphed, some are also missable, so make sure to pay attention as you play!
Final Words:
Overall, this is a really fun game, and totally worth a playthrough if you like ARPGs. The characters are much more nuanced and enjoyable that you might expect for an ARPG, the world design and biomes are brilliantly designed and gorgeous, enemies are varied and interesting visually, and the puppets and gear really help make for an interesting experience that continues to reward exploration
I think the phrase "hidden gem" or "underrated" is used a bit too often by gamers, but in this case I would say this is honestly a pretty superb game that doesn't get nearly as much attention as it deserves, likely due to the unimpressive fist outing of Vikings tarnishing people's expectations for the developer. Honestly, it's hard to believe this title is from the same developer at all! Which makes me even more disappointed to know their most recent game is a gameplay focused roguelike, rather than another compelling character and narrative focused RPG. Here's to hoping they revisit the world of Shadows again in the future!

A lot better than the Xbox version in terms of FPS, graphics and absence of bugs. Its an under rated gem.