![]() ![]() While the core gameplay idea is seemingly genius, Shadwen isn’t able to fully capitalize on it. ![]() Sure, you can get fancy if you wish to get through the game without killing anyone, but it’s never required and the game doesn’t do a good job of showing you how to use the additional traps you find in hidden chests. That’s really all the strategy that is needed for basic play. There’s regular guards, that can be taken out with a backstab, and heavily armored guards, who simply need to be attacked from above. Not being forced to adapt is disappointing, and this is largely due to Shadwen only having two types of enemies. My strategy that I employed from the very get-go was essentially just as effective in the game’s last level as it was in the beginning. The game does give the player additional toys to play with later on, such as poison traps and explosives, but the game rarely gives you a good reason to use them. That’s just not enough to keep the gameplay feeling fresh through 15 stages. That’s about as far as the stage layouts go. The main challenge from the very beginning to end is basically getting two guards who are talking with each other separated and killing each one individually. While obviously the game is going to revolve around taking out enemies (or just distracting them if you choose to go a non-violent route), the guards’ arrangement is far too similar level to level. Every single stage is essentially the same: eliminate area after area of guards so Lily can sneak past them unharmed. While the physics-based jank is almost to be expected from such a game, and sometimes the bugs are weirdly charming, the biggest issue in Shadwen is the level design. This lessens the overall frustration, but the game’s rough gameplay doesn’t eliminate the trial-and-error like it’s supposed to. Did a dead body just freak out on a ledge and fall right on top of a guard below thus alerting him? Just rewind and try to drag the lifeless corpse again. If there’s one nice thing about the game’s rewind mechanic, and this is something players will use frequently as being spotted is an immediate failure, it’s that players are almost instantly given a second chance. When trying to get on top of a ledge Shadwen has the habit of not grabbing onto it, and instead forcing the player to awkwardly jump up and around to get on top of it. This also happens a lot when trying to use the game’s grappling hook, which only worked as intended about 50% of the time. That’s awesome in theory, but everything from wooden crates to dead bodies have the habit of freaking out from time to time. Just like the Trine series, a lot of Shadwen deals with manipulating the game’s physics. Which is why it’s frustrating that the grappling mechanic is typically more awkward to use than fun. It’s incredibly freeing to be able to swing from balconies and jump across rooftops unnoticed. She can quickly climb to the top of any wooden structure and only needs to get behind guards in order to permanently end their night. Shadwen, who is armed with a knife and a grappling hook, is very mobile. Unlike Lily, the titular assassin doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty, and controlling Shadwen, whose goal is to kill the King, opens up a lot of different mechanics. It’s a great concept, and one that’s immediately appealing. After a brief introductory stage that’s all about non-violently sneaking around, which is done by distracting guards by pushing objects around, players are introduced to Shadwen, who is the game’s primary protagonist. Going a step further, Frozenbyte has also given players the ability to rewind time, which eliminates a lot of the trial and error frustration that has plagued stealth games in the past. While Lily may not be a veteran thief, she does have one thing on her side: time. What makes Shadwen unique is that players are allowed to plan every move as action is paused when you’re not moving (although the player can press R1 to make time pass while standing still). Shadwen‘s promising journey begins by placing players in the shoes of Lily, a starving orphan child who is looking to sneak past guards in order to get an apple. ![]()
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