Unfortunately it is also one of the few compliments we can devote to this stealth adventure that has great virtues, but almost does not let us enjoy them. In spite of the good ideas, of the exciting thing that becomes its action in very precise moments of the game, the new thing of the creators of Trine is an absolute disappointment. Who was going to say it.
Classic in the way of posing its action, with a protagonist able to move with great ease through the stages, the first bars of Shadwen invite you to expect the best of a video game that soon, too soon, shows its shortcomings. It gives you freedom of act
ion , but never takes advantage of it; puts at your disposal a wide range of gadgets and traps with which to surprise enemies, and does not give them the importance they deserve Worse yet! It makes you responsible for a girl you will want to kill on more than one occasion for your clumsiness. It is not the objective, of course.
Our mission, apart from ending the life of the king, is to clear the way so that young Lilly , always attentive, advance on stage without being seen by the many guards who protect the fortress. He acts on his own, moving between hiding places every time the soldiers look away, although he also accepts orders as long as he knows it is safe to leave his hiding place. A
n idea frankly attractive, which makes this a video game more original than other works of the style, but unfortunately also generates some frustration due to problems with artificial intelligence . That of the young orphan, and that of the enemies themselves, to whom it is terribly easy to deceive simply by moving a box. It is not the worst.
Killing or not killing, that’s the question
While some soldiers react logically to the din caused by the fall of a barrel, or whatever you have used to create a distraction, others will not even blink even being a few meters away from the place. You can ground a stack of boxes and as if nothing! There they stay, thinking about the shrews. And that we talk about some rivals that at the minimum, as soon as they see yo
Little importance is given to the argument, and it is a pity, because it is difficult to empathize with its protagonist when you do not know the reasons that lead her to be murderous.
It is intelligent until it suddenly stops being so. And it’s annoying, of course. Especially when you’re a confirmed murderer and you do not w
ant her to discover it. Who would want? More knowing that your actions will affect the relationship between Shadwen and Lilly . If the girl sees us committing atrocities, if she falls flat on her face with a corpse, she will fear and hate us; if on the contrary we manage to guide her to the throne room without taking the life of anyone, then she
will be more understanding and affectionate with the protagonist. But beware, it is not necessary to act with such pacifism. You can kill a guard and hide his body; nobody will realize the crime. An idea that we love but unfortunately, as with so many other aspects of the game, is not quite well resolved. Problems?
At the intelligence level, enemies are capable of the best and the worst in a matter of seconds
While we appreciate that Lilly has autonomy, when you are committing a murder and she runs happily to your position, you would like to be struck by lightning immediately, however much you tell her not to come, to return where she came from, she will insist , again and again until you give up that stupid duel to see who is more stubborn, if she, or us.
Facing Shadwen’s action is also, at times, tedious. It’s always the same. The freedom of action offered is nothing more than a mirage. Change the design of the scenarios, sometimes they are broader, others more closed, there are also those that opt for verticality … but in the end the method does not change. There is no variety in the challenges it poses; It’s null! if
we talk about the guards we face, and as much as we have gadgets with which to kill or distract the soldiers, their use is incomprehensibly limited.
To be clear. We think it’s great that we have to make these traps for ourselves, but not like that; not with so few raw materialsto which to resort, because in the end its shortage will take you to keep these inventions “for later”. And then you do not use them because there is always a “for later” ringing in your head.
There are a lot of gadgets and traps with which to distract and kill, but before using them we must manufacture them! A great idea … little used.
Another good idea that does not come to fruition is that of time control . In Shadwen, as in the recent SUPERHOT , if you move the time advances and if you stop, everything around you stops, which is great to study the position of the
enemies and act accordingly. It gives the action a certain strategic air, so we like it, no matter how much more tactical this component has been. The biggest problem here is found in the possibility of going back in time, or rather, in the lack of limit
s to this option. You can rewind everything you want, so the fear of dying disappears completely. What good is it to be careful if at any time you can return after your steps without penalties or anything like that? Yes, it is great to avoid an error or to do tests with Shadwen’s weapons, but they make it so easy for you, that you lose all the grace.
Better sensations for the use of the hook , thanks to which our killer can reach high positions with great ease. It’s fantastic, why cheat us, mo
ve at such speed on stage, fall behind an enemy, and stab it before moving on to something else. The verticality of many levels also helps create memorable game situations, those that make you vibrate with emotion. And there are a few like that in Shadwen, but that’s just a few. A small glimpse of that great potential that this stealth adventure has, which sadly does not meet expectations.
