‘Shadows: Awakening’ Video Game Review

Shadows: Awakening is the most recent action RPG dungeon-crawler from Games Farm and Kalypso Media, and it was released on August 31st, 2018. I’ve always had a soft spot for action RPGs like Shadows: Awakening. There’s just something about diving into another dungeon to see what type of loot I’ll get and finding out how I can make my character stronger. Does Shadows: Awakening scratch that dungeon-crawler itch?

In short, yes. Shadows: Awakening is a perfectly passable game. I enjoyed my time with it, and it had almost everything I was looking for in this type of entertainment. There’s this cycle of activity in these types of games. You get your quest, go to the dungeon, get your loot, rinse and repeat. It’s relaxing, in a way. This is where Shadows: Awakening shines. At no point was I without a quest, and I was consistently able to go and get another one. I want to applaud Games Farm for creating quests that kept me invested, and all seemed to coincide with each other. If I wanted to do Quest A, working on Quest B would help me complete Quest A. It made me invest time into every part of the world, not just the main quest line.

What separates this from something like Diablo is the character switching mechanic. In short, you have your demon form and your human form. You need to switch between the two to solve puzzles and defeat various enemies. I enjoyed that I could build two different characters and tweak them the way that I wanted to. It also would freshen things up whenever I would switch characters. If the same dimly lit dungeon started to feel rote, I could switch to my demon to get a nice change of scenery.

Speaking of building two different characters, Shadows: Awakening has some depth to it. Any game that allows me to tweak my attributes to whatever build I want my character to have is a winner in my book. I didn’t feel like I was confined to a certain class when allocating stat points. It allowed me to add dimensions to my warrior character that wouldn’t normally be there. For example, I was able to increase his agility to that which would be comparable to a rogue. It isn’t as in-depth as something like Pillars of Eternity or Divinity: Original Sin but it works well enough for me. Thank you for the freedom to build my character how I want, Games Farm.

I honestly don’t have too many complaints about the game, save for a few quality of life features. For me – someone with not the greatest vision – the text size was far too small. I had to get really close to my TV a few times to be able to read what was on screen. My only other complaint was level locked weapons. Often times, I would find a weapon but wouldn’t be able to use it until I reached a certain level. That’s fine. Many games have mechanics like that. Too often, however, I was only finding level locked weapons, and the weapons I was finding weren’t usable by my selected character. It’s not game breaking, nor is it anything I was very upset with, but it was a thorn in my side in an otherwise enjoyable experience.

If you’ve put a ton of time into Diablo III and you’re looking for something different, Shadows: Awakening is a great option. Games Farm built a deep game with interesting mechanics and a quest cycle that kept me completely invested. My only gripes with the game are small quality of life issues that really didn’t hinder much of my experience with the game. Be sure to check out Shadows: Awakening and let us know what you think in the comments!