THE LORD OF DEADSIDE COMES TO CONSOLES

Fate is a really funny thing; and I may be making that sound more grandiose than is necessary but it is. You see, I very recently started reading the current run of Shadow Man comics. Which when I saw the advert for it, I remembered there was a game that came out when I was a kid called Shadow Man and I found that it was all connected. So fast forward to me being assigned to review that very game’s newly released remaster for consoles and you get the ‘fate is a really funny…blah blah’ you get it.

I won’t go into much detail on the back story, as we reviewed the PC version last year but sufficed to say as a first timer, I really enjoyed my time with Shadow Man Remastered. For the uninitiated like myself, Shadow Man puts the players in the control of the Lord of Deadside himself. The Shadow Man moniker is something that is passed down and its current owner of the mantle is Michael LeRoi. The story starts with a prophetic dream from a voodoo priestess named Mama Nettie (for short); seeing the coming apocalypse she informs Shadow Man who is tasked with going to Deadside; (think the afterlife but creepier) to try and stop this great evil from succeeding. It sounds very generic, but I promise you it is presented with a fantastic amount of flair and creepiness that honestly it surprises me that this game was allowed on Nintendo 64 at the time.

MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99

Shadow Man Remastered is an action-adventure game from the late 90’s and it shows in a lot of ways. For one as great a job as Nightdive did on remastering this game, some things just didn’t change i.e., blocky hands and the like. But you know what, all of that is ok; which is wild coming from me because I am probably a ‘graphics whore’ and have a hard time going back to the games of my youth. But like I said Nightdive did a really good job here, the textures are all smooth, the framerate is great and everything just sings at 4K.

Speaking of singing, the audio in this game is top notch and I am really wondering how much of it was improved over the original. The vocals are especially of note when in Deadside, just as Anthony noted in the PC review; the effect that was used is perfect in providing that eerie feel. Jaunty is probably my favorite just because it wasn’t what I was expecting when I first saw him. I mean he’s a snake with a top hat and white painted skull face, I was full on expecting to hear some sort of ‘Baron Samedi’ type impression but was pleasantly surprised by what we got. Not only is the voice awesome but he’s an overall awesome character and if they bring this franchise back, I hope there is room for Jaunty… even though I haven’t seen him in the new comic series…yet?

So, what don’t I like… well for starters I totally agree with Anthony’s plee for a map system in this remake. Maybe that is the kind of thing that would have pushed it into more of a ‘remaster’ but lordy does it need one. It would make the backtracking less tedious, as this game features many levels that are gated and require certain items or keys to open. Think about how much harder Ocarina of Time or Symphony of the Night would be without a map and that’s pretty much where we are. Honestly for a game from the late 90’s I was surprised at how large the game play area was. There is lots of secrets and areas to find in Shadow Man Remastered, not so much as say Shadow of the Tomb Raider but its cool to see the genesis of what the genre did back then.

And while the story wasn’t the best, it was entertaining and that’s all I require from my media. Also, it should be noted that the controls have been updated from their old school versions which is a plus, all and all if you are looking for a creepy action adventure game with a cool main character (who is a brotha!!) and some interesting otherworldly mechanics then you should give Shadow Man Remastered a whirl.. or do it so we get a proper current gen sequel.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.