Shadows: Awakening

If not for some annoying technical issues and the generic plot, Shadows: Awakening would have probably been one of the best aRPGs launched this year. Still, there are a lot of good things that I've experienced during my playthrough, such as the innovative combat system that offers lots of tactical options, the smooth switching between characters, as well as the eye candy landscapes. Heretic Kingdoms remains a franchise with great potential, so I'm very curious to see where developers are going to go from here. Obviously, there's room to improve the formula, but I'd like to see something new as well.

Although the option to play a variety of starting puppets and see the story beats change nudges up the replayability factor, Shadows: Awakening does become repetitive. There are moments where characters feel unbalanced, and load times can border on egregious. Overall, though, Shadows: Awakening breaks the mold of the action RPG and reshapes it in some entertaining ways while still retaining enough of the genre to appeal to fans.

The developer deserves props for doing something genuinely interesting in a staid genre. Shadows: Awakening is familiar enough, but it has some enjoyably unique mechanics that help to elevate it, and a world to explore that's genuinely captivating. It would be great to see the developer get a chance to do more with this franchise.

Technical issues aside, I greatly enjoyed my time in the Heretic Kingdoms. The hack-n-slash combat with puppeteering strategies always felt fresh, the enemies always presented a challenge on the Normal difficulty, and I never got tired of the vast exploration and puzzle solving.

A great game for western role-playing fans. Fun, with an interesting plot and full of details. Lots of hours of gameplay and a lovely Diablo style.

One of the better dungeon crawlers out there right now, Shadows: Awakening's dimension hopping gameplay help separate it from other efforts in the genre.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Shadows: Awakening and hope that the developers eventually work on a sequel that irons out all of its issues. Until then, this is a mostly solid action RPG that's worth checking out.

An entertaining Diablo-clone with some clever gameplay ideas and a solid combat system. The lack of any kind of multiplayer is quite disappointing.

It might not be the most unique game ever made, but it has charm where it counts. [Issue#154, p.80]

Shadows: Awakening provides an excellent starting point for players new to the Heretic Kingdoms saga. Rich dialogue, ambiance and lore give life to the unique parallel system. Being able to swap between the Shadow realm and the mortal world unlocks new possibilities within the game and makes for an excellent concept. A lack of gameplay balance and other technical issues keep Shadows: Awakening from reaching its full potential. It can be said that this is a case of an excellent concept suffering from a less-than-excellent execution. Fans of the isometric RPG genre may still find the title enjoyable for what it is, as it creates a streamlined RPG experience with ample content to enjoy.

Shadows: Awakening is a deep action RPG which brings a literal new dimension to the tried and tested Diablo format. It's a great choice for those looking for a meaty fantasy time-sink, and while it does stumble occasionally, it delivers many hours of engaging hack-'n'-slash gaming.

Shadows: Awakening ultimately fails to be the action RPG that fans of the genre need. It has some interesting ideas and decent writing, but the story shifts to the backburner after a while and the side missions and combat aren’t enough to maintain interest through the grind it turns into. It’s not bad, it’s just not particularly inspiring either. If you need a new diablo-like and a lack of polish or a glut of grind doesn’t bother you, there are definitely worse options out there.