Shadows: Awakening

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 14
  3. Negative: 1 out of 14
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  1. Game Over Online
    Oct 8, 2018
    80
    Shadows: Awakening could use a longer power curve, or to dole out some more significant fights or abilities, to keep things from feeling stale. It’s the best possible version of what it is, but after a while, a lot of the shine wore off and it started feeling like a particularly violent part-time job. Still, if you’re looking for a new dungeon crawler, this is a pretty good one, and I did enjoy the first twelve hours or so.
  2. Softpedia
    Sep 26, 2018
    80
    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.
  3. DarkStation
    Sep 17, 2018
    80
    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.
  5. Digitally Downloaded
    Sep 12, 2018
    80
    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.
  6. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Sep 5, 2018
    80
    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.
  7. IGN Spain
    Sep 3, 2018
    80
    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.
  8. PlayStation Universe
    Sep 12, 2018
    75
    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.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 17 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 17
  3. Negative: 5 out of 17
  1. veldor
    Sep 4, 2018
    9
    This game has great mechanics of gameplay even if sometimes it is a little slow. The story is good as I have seen for now, the graphics areThis game has great mechanics of gameplay even if sometimes it is a little slow. The story is good as I have seen for now, the graphics are appealing and good, I enjoy this game !!… Full Review »
  2. Schueli
    Aug 11, 2022
    7
    in Action-RPG, welches ähnlich wie die Diablo-Reihe aufgebaut ist. Hat echt Spaß gemacht, wenn auch die ewigen Laufwege teils echt genervtin Action-RPG, welches ähnlich wie die Diablo-Reihe aufgebaut ist. Hat echt Spaß gemacht, wenn auch die ewigen Laufwege teils echt genervt haben, so dass ich am Ende keine Lust mehr auf die letzten Nebenmissionen hatte. Im Großen und Ganzen aber ein gutes Spiel, zumal man es auch derzeit für rund 10 Euro ergattern kann.… Full Review »
  3. Kai82
    Sep 8, 2023
    7
    A good action RPG with some interesting ideas. To be fair it started really great but at the end it dragged a bit. The main gimmick is thatA good action RPG with some interesting ideas. To be fair it started really great but at the end it dragged a bit. The main gimmick is that there are two realms you can traverse. The normal world and a shadow realm where ghosts, spirits and demons live. They use this well for riddles and puzzles but to be fair again I can see this improved a lot. The other thing is that your character is a demon that captures (or devours?) souls. Basically you switch between the characters that the demon has captured (3 are available and if you got more you have to switch). The main 3, where you can chose only 1 per playthrough, have their own personalities, sub stories and dialogues. The others are a bit mixed. Some are just there while others have also a lot to say and do. However this worked great and got me attached. The gameplay is an action RPG like Diablo or all the others. You fight monsters, solve riddles and level up your characters. There are choices and optional quest that lead to different outcomes and endings. Like I said the game dragged a bit towards the end. Also I had some problems to get better weapons for some characters as the drops were mixed (Some characters got a lot of weapons while I got nothing new for others for hours). The shops are a bit expansive if you don't want to grind for money. The presentation was really good. I liked the voice actors and the graphics create an atmospheric world. The soundtrack is a hidden gem. Sadly there were some bugs. I had a few crashes and the worst was after I defeated the final boss. Because the battle dragged on too much I did not replay it. Also the melee characters are weaker on higher difficulties just as a warning. Overall I liked the game for the 2 realms, interesting idea with the characters and gameplay. However it is not flawless. I give a 7/10 and say at the beginning I would have gone higher.… Full Review »
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