Shadowgrounds Survivor

 PC
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 71 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 71
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 71
  3. Negative: 6 out of 71
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  1. TitaniumDragon
    Aug 20, 2014
    5
    Shadowgrounds: Survivor is a top-down shooter set in a darkened environment. A game from 2007, its graphics have aged poorly, but not nearly so poorly as its predecessor; still, close-ups on faces look quite terrible. On the whole, it is a great improvement over its predecessor, with superior pacing and voice acting, and it feels less like a low-budget title. Still, it gets repetitive atShadowgrounds: Survivor is a top-down shooter set in a darkened environment. A game from 2007, its graphics have aged poorly, but not nearly so poorly as its predecessor; still, close-ups on faces look quite terrible. On the whole, it is a great improvement over its predecessor, with superior pacing and voice acting, and it feels less like a low-budget title. Still, it gets repetitive at the end, and unlike the first game, it lacks boss fights. As such, I would generally recommend Alien Swarm, which is free on Steam, over paying for this game.

    Story

    A base on Ganymede has been attacked by a horde of aliens. Three survivors work together to save the world:
    A soldier, who is the last member of his platoon and is trying to work his way back to the colony.
    An old Russian janitor, who seems to enjoy setting things on fire.
    A sniper, who keeps a count of every kill she gets.
    They are assisted by a scientist, saved early on in the soldier’s sections, who helps them set up the defense of the colony.
    The game’s story is very bare-bones and exists to serve the gameplay, and in that role, it is adequate; the voice acting is fine and not phoned-in, unlike the first game, and on the whole it serves its purpose, though why the aliens are there is never clarified – though on the other hand, maybe it doesn’t matter.

    Gameplay

    The game is a top-down shooter. Each character has three weapons plus grenades, and each character has a special power that only they can activate. As you kill aliens, you find upgrades for your weapons, which makes them more powerful and gives them alternate fire mechanisms, and gain experience, which allows you to directly upgrade your characters’ abilities and stats.
    On the whole, the gameplay is reasonably engaging, and by switching between different characters with different weapon sets, the game keeps its gameplay somewhat fresh. Unfortunately, by about halfway through the game you have encountered every type of alien present in the game, and as a result the second half of the game is mostly greater and greater numbers of aliens, with the odd “defend the area” or “ride around in a mech shooting things” or “sit in a turret shooting things” thrown in. As a result, the game does wear a bit thin by the end, though the game on the whole isn’t terribly long.
    There is a secret hidden in each level, a S lying around on the ground, which adds a minor exploration aspect to the game, but on the whole, I didn’t really feel driven to find the things. Still, it was nice that there weren’t an excessive number of collectables.

    Graphics

    The game was made in 2007, and while it looks okay when you are looking from the third-person, well-above-the-character perspective, whenever the characters speak their faces are shown on-screen and look absolutely terrible. On the whole, the graphics are serviceable, but it has not aged well and nothing looks really spectacular.

    Final Summary

    The game is a competent third-person shooter, and you could do worse. However, Alien Swarm is still probably a better game, and it is free on Steam.    … Expand
  2. RayF.
    Dec 3, 2007
    7
    I really didn't enjoy the first shadowgrounds, due to the high difficulty, but this seems to be much easier and therefore more fun. The graphics aren't anything great, its a bit budgety in terms of production values, but it is fun to play and worth the $20.
  3. NiklasMadsen
    Mar 18, 2008
    5
    Let's get one thing off first.
    I loved the first game.
    I loved the story, the guns, pretty much everything. This this game.. I mean, what the hell went wrong! Where is the story! In the original Shadowgrounds, there where awesome logs everywhere. Now they're more rare than diamonds on a pigfarm! D: Okay, the graphics are nice, but that's not enough. And why 3    Let's get one thing off first.
    I loved the first game.
    I loved the story, the guns, pretty much everything.
    This this game.. I mean, what the hell went wrong! Where is the story!
    In the original Shadowgrounds, there where awesome logs everywhere. Now they're more rare than diamonds on a pigfarm! D:
    Okay, the graphics are nice, but that's not enough.
    And why 3 characters? It gets extremely confusing!
    No, do not like.    … Expand
  4. MarkG
    May 15, 2008
    7
    Very addictive. I play mostly fps and this was a nice change of pace. I liked how you can upgrade weapons and abilities. The reason I gave it a 7 is because the story part was pretty lame, but most games are. Also the chapters seem too short and too easy. But for what it is it's a great game, and when you can snag it up for 5 bucks do it.
  5. GolovA
    Dec 9, 2014
    7
    Sequel to the Shadowgrounds it does not add much, rather it takes and divides: you have these Three Characters, which are pretty unique, and each one uses one third of the weapons from the original. However, with additional unique traits and upgradable skills. As you play, you play all the characters asymmetrically (so you play the soldier, then an engineer, than a soldier, than aSequel to the Shadowgrounds it does not add much, rather it takes and divides: you have these Three Characters, which are pretty unique, and each one uses one third of the weapons from the original. However, with additional unique traits and upgradable skills. As you play, you play all the characters asymmetrically (so you play the soldier, then an engineer, than a soldier, than a sniper, and so on, not in any particular sequence, but to propagate the story). The story is kind of the same - Kill Aliens! :) About 5 hours play in this one, fun while it lasts; rather fast.… Expand
  6. JimCorbett
    Apr 6, 2012
    6
    This game is better than it's predecessor. The gameplay is more fun, unlocking weapons is better and the graphics are nicer. On the flip side the story is bad and the campaign is even shorter than the first one and ended up taking me a whopping 3 hours to finish. Another bland game from Frozenbyte, would not recommend it.
  7. ErnestBeqiri
    Nov 13, 2012
    6
    Shadowgrounds Survivor is an outdated video game. It's overrated. If this game was released in 2000, It would be good, but for now-standards It's not that good. That's not the only problem, there's more. The storytelling in this game is pretty weak, the graphics look outdated and the characters are forgettable. But, we all Know that the gameplay is the main part of a video game. It is fun,Shadowgrounds Survivor is an outdated video game. It's overrated. If this game was released in 2000, It would be good, but for now-standards It's not that good. That's not the only problem, there's more. The storytelling in this game is pretty weak, the graphics look outdated and the characters are forgettable. But, we all Know that the gameplay is the main part of a video game. It is fun, It is challenging, but outdated. (6.6)… Expand
  8. Captain_Chaos
    Jun 22, 2016
    7
    More Shadowgrounds, split across three campaigns with variations in gameplay between the three: there's a marine, a sniper, and a flamethrower-wielding engineer. Has the same strengths and shortcomings as the base game, so if you've played that, you will know wether or not you want to play this one. I enjoyed it, but there are much better top-down shooters out there.

Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Best PC Game of 2007
65
#65 Most Discussed PC Game of 2007

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. GameZone
    77
    Next to the Orange Box, this is actually a sweet value title. You must like killing aliens, lots of action and the kind of game where it pays to go looking down deserted dark corridors.
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  2. CPUGamer
    85
    All in all, Survivor is not big step forward, actually it’s hardly even a step, but it’s more Shadowgrounds, which is enough of a reason to go and get it. I don’t know of any other top-down shooters for the PC which are done as well, or look as good or cost $20.
    Read full review
  3. PC Zone UK
    77
    Truly a visceral, retro experience that takes us to a warmer, happier time. [Feb 2008, p.90]
See all critic reviews »