29:38 The original game came with a printed map. The Steam version has it included as an image file (Check your SteamApps/common/ShadowMan/ folder after downloading the game) A web image search for "Shadow Man World Map" should find an image of it on the Steam community page. You can also try a web image search for "shadowman map". I found the map very helpful and recommend having it on hand when playing the game. :)
Yeah mine too. Every once in a while as a kid I would get up early and decide I was going to figure out how to beat this game. I never did though, not really even close
It’s all subjective. I loved this game but from a first play through the backtracking was/is insanely boring and not fun. I cannot fault this tho because it was an old game before they figured out it’s friendly and good to help players know where the fuck they are going
Really well made video!I still own this game on ps2 slim and it used to be a blessing to play.I remember getting jumpscared in the asylum every 5 seconds and pausing continuosly lmao
Cannot wait to play this on Switch - this is my all time favorite game and I pray a remake is made or a sequel that takes place when Mike loses to Legion
Hey Shala! A brilliantly in-depth and informative video. I rented this game back in the day (oh yes - those days), but was quickly irritated by the controls. I now have one more reason to go back in time and punch teenage me in the face. This game would've definitely been a part of my favourite games growing up. It's funny as well, I was looking at this game thinking "man this reminds me of Soul Reaver". Then 2 minutes later you mention Soul Reaver. I don't think you missed a beat with the review too; every aspect of this video game was covered. Great video!
Thank you so much! And I agree! Definitely wish a younger me stuck with this game and didn't toss it aside. But better late than never, right? :P Again, really appreciate it, man! :)
Never played this, but I had this CD with bunch of n64 game music. It had all that basic Nintendo music, but then it had this game's main theme. Totally captured my attention.
This game was my childhood, it terrified me as a child yet i could not stop myself from returning to brave my fears. I love to see any amount of attention this game gets, especially reviews pushing new people to try it.
I gave up on this game as a kid and I very much wish I hadn't. Its the sort of game I would've loved if I had the patience to go through it. But better late then never! Also, excellent name! ;)
Distressed typewriter font? Grungy, rusty texture maps? Moody synth soundrack? Oh yeah, this is absolutely my aesthetic. This was a fantastic review mate. Just the right length to fit in all that depth. Extremely good. I have always had this game on my radar but didn't know enough about it until now. After this, I absolutely know I will love this game. Thank you!
Don't know if I'll get around to reviewing the remaster any time soon, but I'd highly suggest you check you HeyBlondie's review of it!: ua-cam.com/video/BBFEMai4aFU/v-deo.html I'm sure given everything I said about the original version will just make me like the remaster all the more if and when I get around to playing it.
definitely a game that took me off-gaurd when i finally sank my teeth into it. as someone who just loves level design and just the idea of Digital Space almost to a fault, the fact that this game is so unrepentantly nonliner (and sometimes just plain convoluted) basically meant it was a super extended chance for me to just indulge. definitely some of the coolest combinations of atmosphere and level design from this era
For sure. I was so pleasantly surprised playing it that I told my brother that I wish that this was a game I stuck with when I was younger (on the N64) because I would've loved it if I stuck with it. It's definitely and underrated gem. Thanks for watching!
I totally forgot about this game! I never went past the beginning as a kid, controls were annoying and the game was scary. Can't believe this channel only has 1.16k subs, unacceptable! Much love man, thanks for the video.
Had a similar experience with it as a kid. I just didn't *get* it and I gave up on it way too quickly. Going back to it now has been wonderful! Thanks a lot for the kind words! Really appreciate it! And thank you for watching! :)
This game got me into using a journal to track areas I need to come back too in a game, 100% the game with no guide and I love the way it makes it feel like its something you have to do versus being forced to do. Recently played the remaster and it truly is the full vision of what shadowman should have been. I highly recommend you take a look at the remaster to add in a few new points to the game review! Edit: Right towards the end I paused the video to type this only to hear you talk about the remaster lol, well I still hope you will cover its changes and impact on the game.
I have every intention of eventually playing the remaster, but I doubt I'm going to do a follow up or a comparison. Just don't have the time for it. Who knows, though? Thanks a bunch for watching!
Thanks for the video man. Definitely One Of my favorite game Of all time. I remember the year 1999 when it was released, i was 14 and i appreciated it so much on my N64. So much that i baught it and Soul Reaver at the same time on PC to experience the ‘’sup version’’, and years later on my Dreamcast. The PS port was so BAAAAD Soul Reaver is a great game, but my heart goes to Shadow Man. I love the atmosphere, sound design, level design, story. I agree when you say that the combat is kind of repetitive (circle-straf-shoot) I can’t wait for the remastered. I completed Shadow Man 3 times, and it will be the 4th. Thanks again man, great GREAT video
Thank *you* for watching the video and leaving me such a wonderful compliment! It's commentary like this that makes everything worth the effort. I'm very glad you liked it! And I am also looking forward to the remaster. Maybe not immediately, but definitely for a second playthrough.
While I'm, by no means, an expert on either game, I feel like this is the N64's Eternal Darkness. Not necessarily comparing the quality, but this seems like the game that broke the mold of games that normally appeared on the Nintendo consoles of the time.
So, I had a similar thought and almost made a comment about this being a relatively rare game for the N64 for its scope and it's maturity (because outside of Mortal Kombat, it's hard to think of another game with the same level of dark atmosphere and gore), but I thought it would drift a bit too far from the PC focus. Still, nice to know someone else's thoughts went into this direction!
I still remember getting this with my Dreamcast when I was around 8 years old. I guess my parents didn't realise how mature it was. Regardless of how scared I was, I pushed on... I think my first real breaking point was The Asylum... Once you get inside and are faced against all of those hookmen in a really cramped space and nowhere to go, honestly scared me more than the first Diablo. Regardless of how afraid, just like Diablo I pushed on and faced by fears. I even managed to get past the New York level shrouded in darkness with Avery jumping out whenever he felt like it. This game is, and always will be something very personal to me and that feeling I had when I finally completed it was probably the most satisfying experience I've had in gaming. The remaster is a day one purchase for me, and thank you for the review!
Thank you for watching, and for sharing your story! I think we all have those nostalgic games we cling to and that stick with us for one reason or another, and I think that Shadow Man is definitely one that sticks with you for all the right reasons!
Shadow Man is my most favorite game ever (on the n64 at least). It was also the hardest game I've played. Shadow Man definitely has allot of interesting and unique mechanics and gameplay. And man I'm super excited for the remaster. Which will actually be released next month on the 15th. Btw what was that music you used on the end screen?
I'm also really looking forward towards the remaster, which is part of the reason that I picked up the original and decided to play it when I did. And I'm glad because it turned out to be a really awesome game that I wish I had more patience for back during my N64 days. The song from the end is actually from the soundtrack! Its the tune that plays when you fight Milton in the Gardelle jail. "This is the end, beautiful friend!"
Found this game long ago and its sitll waiting to be installed. What is "long time ago"? I changed three PCs from that point. Maybe there will be enough time to play it. Many old games was really great, but very time consuming because of their trial and error gameplay, save mechanics, lots of backtracking, you name it. Around same time i found "Dark Earh", and started it last week. Looks promising. Graphically its dated, but have a lot of character and good voice acting.
I entirely agree. And Shadow Man in particular was built to be as mysterious and lengthy as possible. It's great, but it's a serious time commitment. The nice thing about Shadow Man is that at least you can save anywhere (on the PC version, at any rate. Can't say for certain on the other consoles), so there's that. And if you're interested in Dark Earth, my good friend Indigo Gaming did a wonderful video on it! Check it out: ua-cam.com/video/0rzLcDQNG3g/v-deo.html As always, thanks a bunch for watching!
@@Indigo_Gaming Great representation and interesting insight of Kalisto's history. Its a shame they went bancrupt. I intalled DE again after watching that video. My problem with the game when i downloaded it first time i was not able to understand english speach, only read subs if they are slow enough. Russian translation had horrible voice acting, butchered dialogs and very fast subtitles. Now i can play much better voiced english version.
I absolutely loved this game as kid I still play it to this day and it never gets boring....well for me anyway's. The atmosphere is the best part about this game very creepy and unnerving at times. Great review of this fantastic gem of a game.
This was the first time I've ever played it beyond just trying it for the N64 once and never touching it again, and I loved it! It's a great game that needs more love. Thank you so much for watching!
I played a few hours of this before I remember why I threw it in the trash 20 years ago. I like the characters and the concepts, but this game does not respect my time. I spend 80% of my time wandering around previously explored levels looking for the next step to progress. And those repeatedly respawning enemies can kiss my goddamn grits. Luckily, for them, you can just type "g_freezeAI 1" into the console and they turn into statues. But then that does little more than highlight what a tedious waste of time it is going over and over old levels just to find that one blood falls or skin fire door or whatever. Usually when I play a game all night I expect to feel like I've gotten somewhere by the time the sun is up. With this game I'm lucky if I've gotten to the next shadow level after backtracking while lost for hours becuase I am missing some dark soul tucked away somewhere that's stopping me from progressing. The level design is more labyrinthine than Turok 2. One funny thing is that in the actual Loading screen hints it tells you to go talk to Nettie and Jaunty if you're lost. So they actually expect you to be wandering around aimlessly thinking"WTF?". Like if that isn't bad game design I don't know what is. Compare it to portal for example where you may be stuck for ages, but it's because you know where to go and what to do, you just haven't figured out how to do it, whereas here, you don't know where to go or what to do or how to do it. And that's why I stopped playing it again. It looks awesome, it sounds awesome, it feels and plays awesome, but it's fundamentally flawed in its design.
I can see where you're coming from, but I don't feel as if those issues are necessarily flaws because the game was designed to be an exploration based game, and therefore its main allure are traversing those labyrinths. It's fundamental to what the game aims to achieve. It's like saying that collecting the music notes in Banjo-Kazooie is too tedious and time consuming. That being said, it also very much is a product of its time, and there are aspects of it that are certainly dated, but they're not so bad that its unbearable, at least in my opinion. Different strokes, I suppose.
I wouldnt say it's flawed at all, this all sounds like a personal issue because you weren't very good at remembering where you'd been, I'm not saying that to insult you just it genuinely it isn't THAT hard to find where to go. I won't say i never got lost myself but as this reviewer stated that's how the game was intentionally designed. I first played this about 10 years ago at a mates house to completion and we'd both never played it before, we had the unfortunate time of his copy being a ps1 copy too, so compared to every other version it was even harder to get around, the frame rate was awful and the controls constantly messed us up due to said frame rate but we did it and we had a hell of a time. Its all personal preference but honestly the exploring side of this game mixed in with atmosphere was what I loved most. Weird how the thing I praise the game for others may hate. Each to their own but once again it definetely isn't flawed, you may not personally like it but that doesn't mean it's bad just not your cup of tea.
@@harley202 I just think that any game that constantly forces you to retread old ground without a clear and definitive sense of progression has a problem with its pacing and flow. Yes I couldn't remember where every fire wall was, but I really shouldn't have to. Well designed games have a way of guiding the player forward, rather than constantly requiring them to go backwards. A played shouldn't get lost in a well designed game because it will be geared toward progression not regression. That's not to say that nonlinear games shouldn't exist, they should just be designed in such a way that it doesn't feel like you have to spend most of the game doing things you've already done over and over, because the design isn't intuitive enough to allow for a smooth flow of progression. Like, I think about point and click adventure games. Part of the design choice is to go back to places you've already been. But in a game that's designed well, you should be able to see a new obstacle or find a new item and know exactly where it should go because it's designed to be unique and memorable. Shadow man's repetition and game design elements are not unique, so (for example) I can't easily recall what little dead end hallway in what huge friggin level that they might have put a single push wall that I need in order to progress. That's poor game design, even if it was intentional.
@@franzpattison this game wasn't designed with any of the QOL you've mentioned in your comment In mind and it was never meant to, typically the only thing you need to do is progress to a point where you have your 3 abilities, then just check the dark souls count via the teddy and go clean the areas you haven't finished yet and discover new areas within said areas that were previously inaccessible, it's not as frustrating as you make it sound. I typically remembered where the pushable walls were or me and my friend wrote them down. The games meant to be puzzle/maze/exploration based. Everything your saying is pretty irrelevant because it can't be applied to something that was literally designed to not be as accessible as your saying you'd like it. Your hatred for backtracking and having to remember walls/pools/waterfalls in areas you've already been does not equal it being bad by design, it's simply that the way this game is played doesn't suit you. I mean you can literally teleport to areas with dark souls you're missing and ignore the bits you've done while keeping your eyes peeled for the 3 things I mentioned above, if you didn't note them down, which back in the day a lot of games especially adult orientated ones expected you to do, it was just how things were in the 90s, I personally love it but it isn't for everyone. Either way I'm good with this conversation, I can tell most of what I say you won't agree with anyways as it's clearly not the type of game you like and that's all good, have a good day.
A well structured review which does Shadow Man the justice it deserves. More people should know how this game stands out among the slew of cookie-cutter titles. Shadow Man Remastered has lowered the barrier to entry even further by smoothing the rough edges.
It brings me joy to see that the remaster is being recieved so positively. I'm looking forward to actually getting around to trying it sometime. Thanks for watching! :)
29:38 The original game came with a printed map.
The Steam version has it included as an image file (Check your SteamApps/common/ShadowMan/ folder after downloading the game)
A web image search for "Shadow Man World Map" should find an image of it on the Steam community page.
You can also try a web image search for "shadowman map".
I found the map very helpful and recommend having it on hand when playing the game. :)
"The shadowyness of my man is like the inside of a coffin on a moonless night."
"That's pretty shadowy, Man."
Man...I'd make a comment about this "pun," but I'd rather not throw shade on you. ;)
*shadowiness
ouch.
This game marked a lot my childhood, undoubtedly it is one of my favorites of all time !!!
Yeah mine too. Every once in a while as a kid I would get up early and decide I was going to figure out how to beat this game. I never did though, not really even close
This game was and is still perfect. There's no other way to describe it. I can't wait for the remastered release from Nightdive.
Other 2 days and the Remastered version will be ours!!! Not for console players...they will have to wait, though
@narmaK still waiting on the release on Steam. Another 2 more days. Ugh, the wait is a struggle. I wanna play the game now.
It’s all subjective. I loved this game but from a first play through the backtracking was/is insanely boring and not fun. I cannot fault this tho because it was an old game before they figured out it’s friendly and good to help players know where the fuck they are going
@@DarkSoulJah it‘s here!!!
@@RandomJin_ i know !
Already got it yesterday.
Just arrived in the playrooms, shadowlevel 6 😬
Really well made video!I still own this game on ps2 slim and it used to be a blessing to play.I remember getting jumpscared in the asylum every 5 seconds and pausing continuosly lmao
Thank you very much! :)
It took me a year to finish this game and i loved every minute of it
Cannot wait to play this on Switch - this is my all time favorite game and I pray a remake is made or a sequel that takes place when Mike loses to Legion
And what do you think of song for shadow man 1 where the somber Moonlight Sonata plays
It's very fitting for when it's used. Sets the scene wonderfully. Though I don't think it's quite as interesting as the rest of the soundtrack.
Hey Shala! A brilliantly in-depth and informative video. I rented this game back in the day (oh yes - those days), but was quickly irritated by the controls. I now have one more reason to go back in time and punch teenage me in the face. This game would've definitely been a part of my favourite games growing up. It's funny as well, I was looking at this game thinking "man this reminds me of Soul Reaver". Then 2 minutes later you mention Soul Reaver. I don't think you missed a beat with the review too; every aspect of this video game was covered. Great video!
Thank you so much! And I agree! Definitely wish a younger me stuck with this game and didn't toss it aside. But better late than never, right? :P
Again, really appreciate it, man! :)
Great review of a great game! I love watching the enemies twitch before blowing up on a mess of blood and meaty chunks. So satisfying :)
Thank you very much! :)
God that main theme still kicks ass. I love when games don't try hard to sound like film scores.
Never played this, but I had this CD with bunch of n64 game music. It had all that basic Nintendo music, but then it had this game's main theme. Totally captured my attention.
I think the game's soundtrack is really good, but I agree that the main theme is just splendid. Its some really good stuff!
@@CultoftheCyberSkull Nice catch with the Zelda Shadow Temple
This game was my childhood, it terrified me as a child yet i could not stop myself from returning to brave my fears. I love to see any amount of attention this game gets, especially reviews pushing new people to try it.
I gave up on this game as a kid and I very much wish I hadn't. Its the sort of game I would've loved if I had the patience to go through it. But better late then never! Also, excellent name! ;)
😂😂😂😂 that beginning tho!!!! And your reaction is sooooooo underrated 👏🏾🙌🏾🤛🏾
Distressed typewriter font? Grungy, rusty texture maps? Moody synth soundrack? Oh yeah, this is absolutely my aesthetic. This was a fantastic review mate. Just the right length to fit in all that depth. Extremely good. I have always had this game on my radar but didn't know enough about it until now. After this, I absolutely know I will love this game. Thank you!
You're too kind. Thank you very much! I hope you get a kick out it when you play it! :)
Waiting for the remaster review, you are going to love it!
Don't know if I'll get around to reviewing the remaster any time soon, but I'd highly suggest you check you HeyBlondie's review of it!: ua-cam.com/video/BBFEMai4aFU/v-deo.html
I'm sure given everything I said about the original version will just make me like the remaster all the more if and when I get around to playing it.
definitely a game that took me off-gaurd when i finally sank my teeth into it. as someone who just loves level design and just the idea of Digital Space almost to a fault, the fact that this game is so unrepentantly nonliner (and sometimes just plain convoluted) basically meant it was a super extended chance for me to just indulge. definitely some of the coolest combinations of atmosphere and level design from this era
For sure. I was so pleasantly surprised playing it that I told my brother that I wish that this was a game I stuck with when I was younger (on the N64) because I would've loved it if I stuck with it. It's definitely and underrated gem. Thanks for watching!
Great video! Literally never heard about this game. I'll add it to my list, seems to have that late 90s dark-electro vibe that I really dig
Thanks for the compliment and thanks for watching! It's a solid time. I'd definitely recommend it! :)
Ah, it's ya boi Raidy Shady
I totally forgot about this game! I never went past the beginning as a kid, controls were annoying and the game was scary. Can't believe this channel only has 1.16k subs, unacceptable! Much love man, thanks for the video.
Had a similar experience with it as a kid. I just didn't *get* it and I gave up on it way too quickly. Going back to it now has been wonderful!
Thanks a lot for the kind words! Really appreciate it! And thank you for watching! :)
Damn, I didn't know you posted this until now. Going through the remastered version. Its pretty good.
Good to hear! I'm looking forward to checking it out next time I've got the itch to go to Deadside ;)
I remember playing this on PC. First time I was rushed by a dude with a chainsaw in the industrial area I almost shat myself
Those asylum guards have a tendency to elicit that kind of reaction ;). Thanks for watching!
This game got me into using a journal to track areas I need to come back too in a game, 100% the game with no guide and I love the way it makes it feel like its something you have to do versus being forced to do. Recently played the remaster and it truly is the full vision of what shadowman should have been.
I highly recommend you take a look at the remaster to add in a few new points to the game review!
Edit: Right towards the end I paused the video to type this only to hear you talk about the remaster lol, well I still hope you will cover its changes and impact on the game.
I have every intention of eventually playing the remaster, but I doubt I'm going to do a follow up or a comparison. Just don't have the time for it. Who knows, though?
Thanks a bunch for watching!
Thanks for the video man.
Definitely One Of my favorite game Of all time.
I remember the year 1999 when it was released, i was 14 and i appreciated it so much on my N64. So much that i baught it and Soul Reaver at the same time on PC to experience the ‘’sup version’’, and years later on my Dreamcast. The PS port was so BAAAAD
Soul Reaver is a great game, but my heart goes to Shadow Man. I love the atmosphere, sound design, level design, story.
I agree when you say that the combat is kind of repetitive (circle-straf-shoot)
I can’t wait for the remastered.
I completed Shadow Man 3 times, and it will be the 4th.
Thanks again man, great GREAT video
Thank *you* for watching the video and leaving me such a wonderful compliment! It's commentary like this that makes everything worth the effort. I'm very glad you liked it! And I am also looking forward to the remaster. Maybe not immediately, but definitely for a second playthrough.
While I'm, by no means, an expert on either game, I feel like this is the N64's Eternal Darkness. Not necessarily comparing the quality, but this seems like the game that broke the mold of games that normally appeared on the Nintendo consoles of the time.
So, I had a similar thought and almost made a comment about this being a relatively rare game for the N64 for its scope and it's maturity (because outside of Mortal Kombat, it's hard to think of another game with the same level of dark atmosphere and gore), but I thought it would drift a bit too far from the PC focus. Still, nice to know someone else's thoughts went into this direction!
Thank you for the review. I skipped this when I was a kid, and chose MDK instead.
Thank you for watching!
I still remember getting this with my Dreamcast when I was around 8 years old. I guess my parents didn't realise how mature it was. Regardless of how scared I was, I pushed on... I think my first real breaking point was The Asylum... Once you get inside and are faced against all of those hookmen in a really cramped space and nowhere to go, honestly scared me more than the first Diablo. Regardless of how afraid, just like Diablo I pushed on and faced by fears. I even managed to get past the New York level shrouded in darkness with Avery jumping out whenever he felt like it. This game is, and always will be something very personal to me and that feeling I had when I finally completed it was probably the most satisfying experience I've had in gaming. The remaster is a day one purchase for me, and thank you for the review!
Thank you for watching, and for sharing your story! I think we all have those nostalgic games we cling to and that stick with us for one reason or another, and I think that Shadow Man is definitely one that sticks with you for all the right reasons!
Shadow Man is my most favorite game ever (on the n64 at least). It was also the hardest game I've played. Shadow Man definitely has allot of interesting and unique mechanics and gameplay. And man I'm super excited for the remaster. Which will actually be released next month on the 15th. Btw what was that music you used on the end screen?
I'm also really looking forward towards the remaster, which is part of the reason that I picked up the original and decided to play it when I did. And I'm glad because it turned out to be a really awesome game that I wish I had more patience for back during my N64 days.
The song from the end is actually from the soundtrack! Its the tune that plays when you fight Milton in the Gardelle jail.
"This is the end, beautiful friend!"
Found this game long ago and its sitll waiting to be installed. What is "long time ago"? I changed three PCs from that point. Maybe there will be enough time to play it. Many old games was really great, but very time consuming because of their trial and error gameplay, save mechanics, lots of backtracking, you name it.
Around same time i found "Dark Earh", and started it last week. Looks promising. Graphically its dated, but have a lot of character and good voice acting.
I entirely agree. And Shadow Man in particular was built to be as mysterious and lengthy as possible. It's great, but it's a serious time commitment. The nice thing about Shadow Man is that at least you can save anywhere (on the PC version, at any rate. Can't say for certain on the other consoles), so there's that. And if you're interested in Dark Earth, my good friend Indigo Gaming did a wonderful video on it! Check it out: ua-cam.com/video/0rzLcDQNG3g/v-deo.html
As always, thanks a bunch for watching!
@@CultoftheCyberSkull I wouldn't watch that guy, he's kind of a hack.
@@Indigo_Gaming Great representation and interesting insight of Kalisto's history. Its a shame they went bancrupt.
I intalled DE again after watching that video. My problem with the game when i downloaded it first time i was not able to understand english speach, only read subs if they are slow enough. Russian translation had horrible voice acting, butchered dialogs and very fast subtitles.
Now i can play much better voiced english version.
Love this game, i re bought this game for dreamcast not to long ago, too bad i dont have a hdmi converter for my new tv otherwise id play it now
How is it on Dreamcast? I'd guess it's pretty close to the PC version.
The Disco mode really convinced me to get the game!
Far out, brother!
I absolutely loved this game as kid I still play it to this day and it never gets boring....well for me anyway's. The atmosphere is the best part about this game very creepy and unnerving at times. Great review of this fantastic gem of a game.
This was the first time I've ever played it beyond just trying it for the N64 once and never touching it again, and I loved it! It's a great game that needs more love.
Thank you so much for watching!
@@CultoftheCyberSkull you are welcome
After 18 goddamn years of this game kicking my ass I finally fuckin beat it
I played a few hours of this before I remember why I threw it in the trash 20 years ago.
I like the characters and the concepts, but this game does not respect my time. I spend 80% of my time wandering around previously explored levels looking for the next step to progress. And those repeatedly respawning enemies can kiss my goddamn grits. Luckily, for them, you can just type "g_freezeAI 1" into the console and they turn into statues. But then that does little more than highlight what a tedious waste of time it is going over and over old levels just to find that one blood falls or skin fire door or whatever.
Usually when I play a game all night I expect to feel like I've gotten somewhere by the time the sun is up. With this game I'm lucky if I've gotten to the next shadow level after backtracking while lost for hours becuase I am missing some dark soul tucked away somewhere that's stopping me from progressing.
The level design is more labyrinthine than Turok 2. One funny thing is that in the actual Loading screen hints it tells you to go talk to Nettie and Jaunty if you're lost. So they actually expect you to be wandering around aimlessly thinking"WTF?". Like if that isn't bad game design I don't know what is. Compare it to portal for example where you may be stuck for ages, but it's because you know where to go and what to do, you just haven't figured out how to do it, whereas here, you don't know where to go or what to do or how to do it.
And that's why I stopped playing it again. It looks awesome, it sounds awesome, it feels and plays awesome, but it's fundamentally flawed in its design.
I can see where you're coming from, but I don't feel as if those issues are necessarily flaws because the game was designed to be an exploration based game, and therefore its main allure are traversing those labyrinths. It's fundamental to what the game aims to achieve. It's like saying that collecting the music notes in Banjo-Kazooie is too tedious and time consuming. That being said, it also very much is a product of its time, and there are aspects of it that are certainly dated, but they're not so bad that its unbearable, at least in my opinion. Different strokes, I suppose.
I wouldnt say it's flawed at all, this all sounds like a personal issue because you weren't very good at remembering where you'd been, I'm not saying that to insult you just it genuinely it isn't THAT hard to find where to go. I won't say i never got lost myself but as this reviewer stated that's how the game was intentionally designed.
I first played this about 10 years ago at a mates house to completion and we'd both never played it before, we had the unfortunate time of his copy being a ps1 copy too, so compared to every other version it was even harder to get around, the frame rate was awful and the controls constantly messed us up due to said frame rate but we did it and we had a hell of a time. Its all personal preference but honestly the exploring side of this game mixed in with atmosphere was what I loved most.
Weird how the thing I praise the game for others may hate. Each to their own but once again it definetely isn't flawed, you may not personally like it but that doesn't mean it's bad just not your cup of tea.
@@harley202 I just think that any game that constantly forces you to retread old ground without a clear and definitive sense of progression has a problem with its pacing and flow. Yes I couldn't remember where every fire wall was, but I really shouldn't have to. Well designed games have a way of guiding the player forward, rather than constantly requiring them to go backwards. A played shouldn't get lost in a well designed game because it will be geared toward progression not regression.
That's not to say that nonlinear games shouldn't exist, they should just be designed in such a way that it doesn't feel like you have to spend most of the game doing things you've already done over and over, because the design isn't intuitive enough to allow for a smooth flow of progression.
Like, I think about point and click adventure games. Part of the design choice is to go back to places you've already been. But in a game that's designed well, you should be able to see a new obstacle or find a new item and know exactly where it should go because it's designed to be unique and memorable.
Shadow man's repetition and game design elements are not unique, so (for example) I can't easily recall what little dead end hallway in what huge friggin level that they might have put a single push wall that I need in order to progress. That's poor game design, even if it was intentional.
@@franzpattison this game wasn't designed with any of the QOL you've mentioned in your comment In mind and it was never meant to, typically the only thing you need to do is progress to a point where you have your 3 abilities, then just check the dark souls count via the teddy and go clean the areas you haven't finished yet and discover new areas within said areas that were previously inaccessible, it's not as frustrating as you make it sound.
I typically remembered where the pushable walls were or me and my friend wrote them down. The games meant to be puzzle/maze/exploration based.
Everything your saying is pretty irrelevant because it can't be applied to something that was literally designed to not be as accessible as your saying you'd like it. Your hatred for backtracking and having to remember walls/pools/waterfalls in areas you've already been does not equal it being bad by design, it's simply that the way this game is played doesn't suit you. I mean you can literally teleport to areas with dark souls you're missing and ignore the bits you've done while keeping your eyes peeled for the 3 things I mentioned above, if you didn't note them down, which back in the day a lot of games especially adult orientated ones expected you to do, it was just how things were in the 90s, I personally love it but it isn't for everyone.
Either way I'm good with this conversation, I can tell most of what I say you won't agree with anyways as it's clearly not the type of game you like and that's all good, have a good day.
A well structured review which does Shadow Man the justice it deserves. More people should know how this game stands out among the slew of cookie-cutter titles. Shadow Man Remastered has lowered the barrier to entry even further by smoothing the rough edges.
It brings me joy to see that the remaster is being recieved so positively. I'm looking forward to actually getting around to trying it sometime. Thanks for watching! :)
Brilliant game. I loved it.
Awesome videos ❤️❤️💖🥰🥰
Thank you! :)
Ah yes, my creepy childhood
Welcome back, nigga. Great video, as always!
Thank you so much! Glad you like it! :)
Love-me some shadowman, its sad to see soo many peps shitin on this game.
I've only been seeing people praising the game, especially the remaster. It's actually nice to see it's gotten such a great reception!
@@CultoftheCyberSkull Ow Really? then this is a nice twist, such a gem from another era, the comics are awesome too.
I think people shit on the ps1 game,it looks awful
Plz do.shadow man 2
Shadow Man the GOAT game!!!