Shadwen

 PC
Metascore
53

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 22
  3. Negative: 7 out of 22
  1. 4P.de
    May 25, 2016
    47
    In theory Shadwen sounds interesting. But in reality this expedition into stealth-action from the makers of Trine suffers from problems within AI, controls and the general flow of the game.
  2. Riot Pixels
    Jun 6, 2016
    42
    It will take you around 6 hours to beat Shadwen, but I suggest you avoid it altogether. This game is not worth your time.
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jun 20, 2016
    40
    Basically Shadwen is an imaginative game, which is unfortunately spoiled by technical flaws, monotonous environment and total need for fine-tuning of most game elements. [Issue#264]
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  5. Eurogamer Poland
    Jun 5, 2016
    40
    Shadwen's biggest problem is not the execution, but an excess of ideas. Frozenbyte tried to include various mechanics and concepts, prioritizing quantity, not quality. It seems the game would be better without the shallow emotional story and time-stopping system. Gameplay is more often annoying than fun.
  6. GRYOnline.pl
    May 25, 2016
    40
    I've seen lots of indie games better than Shadwen which has been created by an experienced studio. For me - after the premiere of Trine 3 - Frozenbyte wasn't in a good place and right now it seems it has lost its way completely. Shadwen uses some good ideas (like SUPERHOT's time meddling) but the complete package is simply weak and uninspired.
  7. Destructoid
    May 17, 2016
    40
    I’m really disappointed in Shadwen and certainly wouldn’t recommend it, but it’s still difficult for me to write it off completely. If you can get through the wonky controls, the pants AI, and the visual stylings that are just a blur of identical guards and barrels, and the endless escort mission featuring the most annoying little girl ever, there are small glimmers of a good game shining out from the cracks.
  8. ICXM
    May 30, 2016
    30
    Shadwen attempts to mesh the genres of stealth-action and puzzle games in order to create a unique experience in an original medieval world, but its time-control mechanics have little purpose other than to conceal the broken AI and the tedious gameplay.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 42 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 42
  3. Negative: 11 out of 42
  1. SuperkenGaming
    May 21, 2016
    6
    Shadwen
    A superhot version of assassins creed
    Shadwen is a stealth platforming game staring 2 characters, shadwen, and lily They meet after    Shadwen
    A superhot version of assassins creed
    Shadwen is a stealth platforming game staring 2 characters, shadwen, and lily
    They meet after lily steals an apple, you help her from the guards and she joins you on your journey to help you through cracks and pull levers
    Unfortunately, what starts as an amazing and challenging stealth game, turns into a frustrating babysitting game.
    You do get to play as both characters in the beginning 2 chapters, but the rest of the game you play as just shadwen, it’s up to you to distract guards or take them out to help lily advance through each hiding spot…
    There are various tools you can craft with materials from chests to take out or distract guards as well as use your grappling hook to pool items and swing from beams...
    here’s the catch though…
    The different endings…
    Killing enemies effects how lily portrays you… so how you approach every level will affect your story…
    During my first play through I went through the more challenging no kills run... playing this game stealthily is when the frustrations of this game will be highlighted…
    Lily is AI controlled.. And unfortunately this AI isn’t very intelligent….
    Lily would constantly run from her current hiding spot back to a hiding spot we already snuck past...
    in a kill run this isn’t a problem… but in a stealth run this is a problem because you are trying to set up distractions to advance her to the next spot, meanwhile she’s running back, completely wasting your time and effort…
    You can somewhat control her by ringing a bell telling her where to go, but she will hardly ever obey your command... refusing to move from the spot she’s in that she can clearly pass without detection, or shell get halfway to the spot and freeze up, only to turn back around…
    As much as I hate the idea of moving back and forth between 2 characters, I would’ve taken being able to switch back and forth to control lily myself over relying on ai….
    It wouldn’t be too much of an issue if these levels weren’t so brutal... and they increasingly get harder….
    The guards in this game have the hearing of a dog, if you brush past a bale of hay or even jump, their head turns like the exorcist to detect you and smack you with a game over..
    Their hearing is so advanced that if you pull an object to make it make a noise, rather than inspecting the object making the noise, they will investigate your location 10 feet in the opposite direction, almost like there is some sort or magnet programmed in them... which I’m almost 100% positive there is…
    and even if they don’t detect you, they will search for you until you do..
    You can get away with hiding behind an object, but this is rare as the game throws 4 to 8 pony riding guards on top of you to deal with at all times…
    And no enemy has a programed path to stick to... once they are alerted they go all over the place
    this unpredictability definitely adds challenge, but it also takes away the entire point of the game...
    How are you supposed to solve a problem with ever changing variables…
    turning this more into an electric tabletop football game than a stealth game
    And they won’t go back to what they were doing before if they find nothing.. sometimes they’ll just stand in front of you or circle around you so it’s impossible to progress from your position
    thankfully they took a page out of prince of Persia’s book and you can rewind time to take a new approach….
    They also took a page out of Ludacris’s’ and superhots book, because when you move they move…
    if you stand still time stands still…
    you can hold a button to proceed time though, so you don’t actually have to physically move from your location.
    While Shadwen has greatly designed levels and is a decently challenging stealth game, there are just far too many ai frustrations that ultimately stop it from ever feeling truly satisfying.
    You never feel like you’ve outsmarted the game...
    you feel like you just got lucky that lily kinda did what she was supposed to.
    I give Shadwen a
    6.0/10    … Full Review »
  2. notTheRadBrad
    May 18, 2016
    6
    This game is neither bad nor good , it's somewhere in the middle ,and as for the stealth in this game , the animations are good , the stab andThis game is neither bad nor good , it's somewhere in the middle ,and as for the stealth in this game , the animations are good , the stab and all. But for anyone who is seeking out for a stealth game to play and has already played other good ones , one can give this game a chance.… Full Review »
  3. Joshua123
    May 17, 2016
    8
    This probably isn't a game that would be YOUR cup of tea, but I think this game deserves a chance. It probably won't be any hardcore stealthThis probably isn't a game that would be YOUR cup of tea, but I think this game deserves a chance. It probably won't be any hardcore stealth games, but it's still plenty enjoyable.… Full Review »
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