Shadows: Awakening

I find this game somewhat difficult to review, and really wish there was a ‘meh’ thumbs sideways option on Steam. Part of this is caused by my own biases and issues with the genre, and I don’t want to hold that against the game. Since I use these reviews as a diary and to inform my framework for future games, I will go into these issues. I shall therefore break it down into 3 areas: how the game is in isolation, how it functions as a sequel to Kult: Heretic Kingdoms, and my own issues with the genre. I came across Shadows: Awakening via a Click4Gameplay video on obscure and forgotten RPGs, covering Kult and this game, which functions as a remake of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms and its sequel/second half. I really enjoyed the dark fantasy story of Kult and had been looking forward to the sequel, so grabbed it in the summer sale. In isolation, this is a fine enough game. If you are an isometric action RPG fan who has never played a Heretic Kingdoms game, this is a decent purchase, particularly on sale. You’ve got 30 hours plus of content just on the main story and some side stuff, over 40 hours if you do all the side content, and far more if you use the different puppets/characters. …

This one should be a mixed. It's not a bad game, bad it doesn't do anything particularly good. The combat is clunky, your character will hit but the enemy is too far, and instead of your character walking, it stops in place and starts to hit. The story is meh, it gets better middle way through, but I was already not interested at that point. There isn't a real sense of progression, you level up, put points on your skills, and the same enemy that in the begging of the game would take 3 hits, continues to take 3 hits. There are some light choice and consequence, but I did no bother to reply. The big difference is that you can play with all classes instead of sticking with only one, but none of them fells any good. The items are weird, the "rarity" is based on essence, that you find through out the game, so every item can be a legendary one, making every item you find kind of whatever. For an ARPG, it lack gameplay. For a CRPG, it lack story. Again, not a bad game, but not a good one either. Probably best if you play something else.

Environmental puzzles kill enjoyment. Shame, because everything else about this game is cool, but this is a huge problem (for me). Be careful, understand what you're buying.

https://youtu.be/P7zU6QPu3WY Phase swapping mechanics is an extra twist that makes this action RPG stand out in neat ways.

This game is amazing!

Fun old school playing style. Old RPG meets ARPG. Also a cool instant switching system for playing with essentially 4 characters at once and a mortal and shadow realm transfer system for puzzles and making each zone feel more full. Worth a buy if you like old school RPGs and ARPGs.