![]() It’s been interesting to see puzzle games find their way into my rotation lately. Shadow of the Beast actually works itself up to a few half-decent puzzles, but they were only admirable after I stumbled into a solution, because in the moment they hovered between baffling and infuriating.Februin PS4 / Reviews tagged house / in my shadow / jumping / narratively-driven / playbae / puzzle platformer / puzzles / rooms / saws / spikes by Mike I got stuck for a full hour because I couldn't find a mission-critical item better hidden than any of the game's secret collectibles. There's a lot I'm in the dark about regarding Shadow of the Beast, so poorly did it communicate with me. Actually collecting those spheres requires you to waste one of Aarbron's extremely powerful screen-clearing special attacks. Baffling as it may sound, the actually surprisingly decent tale of Aarbron's vengeance must be unlocked piecemeal via hidden collectibles. Here's the hitch: If you don't seek those secrets out, you probably won't have any clue what's happening in the story. The platforming feels terrible, and it makes it discouraging to unearth secrets hidden throughout each level when getting around feels so bad. Every jump is granted an added layer of tension when it's anyone's guess as to when Aarbron will decide to leave the ground after the "X" button is pressed. Shadow of the Beast doesn't even come close.įor starters, the sluggishness bleeds into the platforming segments that surround the combat. I can't imagine a game good enough to claw its way out of a core gameplay loop of perfectly blended boredom and frustration. I learned to stick with the basic dodge-punch-repeat-forever combo. But the demonic warrior controlled so poorly, I was almost always rewarded for my flashiness by getting sucker punched. The unintentional patricide reminds him what he once was, and sets him on a quest for vengeance against Maletoth.Īarbron has some special moves, like an attack that siphons health or one that ups the experience points he's awarded for each fight. who just happens to be his own human father. But when Maletoth charges him with tracking down another magic baby (greedy), Aarbron also kills the baby's human guardian. Spare me a paragraph to sum up the story: Aarbron is a magic baby turned into a mindless demon warrior by an evil wizard named Maletoth. ![]() ![]() well, it certainly does one of those things. No, this new Shadow of the Beast has to live or die by its mechanics and. ![]() It's got some interesting art choices and a decent soundtrack, but neither are radical enough to stand on. The remake of Shadow of the Beast being released in 2016 by Heavy Spectrum has neither of these advantages to lean on. Shadow of the Beast was a standout when it was originally released on Amiga computers, largely for the parallax scrolling graphics that put so many of its contemporaries to shame. There is much wrong with Shadow of the Beast Despite the lengthy development time (the remake was announced way back in 2013) you're eagerly waiting to see how demonic warrior Aarbron has made the leap to modern platforms. Let's say you do, in fact, have a soft spot for the 1989 cult classic from Reflections and Psygnosis. No, not Altered Beast, that retro grave was already desecrated in Europe and Japan in 2005. Do you have fond memories of Shadow of the Beast? ![]()
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