Shadow Complex

Let me tell you, Shadow Complex is one of my biggest gaming regrets! I had the chance to buy the physical release of this when it first came out and I thought about it too long and then bam, it sold out. Now it goes for well over double the asking price, actually, if we are talking about a sealed copy it can go for as much as four times the price! I really wish they would re-issue this as I would love to add it to my physical game collection. Anyway, this is a fantastic Metroidvania game and one that I think deserves a sequel or a full remake of some kind, perhaps even a jump to 3D!

A Creepy Cavern, What Could Go Wrong?

For a 2.5D Metroidvania style of game, Shadow Complex is very story driven. Our main character is a dude called Jason who is hiking with his girlfriend Claire when they come across a strange cavern. Claire claims she used to visit this place so goes to check it out. Jason follows and sees some soldier like dudes taking Claire away! Turns out that this cavern is home to a secret base where a terrorist group is planning to overthrow the USA with their advanced weapons and now Jason needs to save Claire and find out what is happening. I loved the story in this game, I thought that it was really neat and when I played it the first time, I was so invested!

Wait, Let Me Think About That

Ok, spoiler warning here as I am going to spoil the ending a little bit, if you have not played the game, skip this section and head to the next. Ok, are you still with me? Shadow Complex has a great story and at the time the out of nowhere twist ending that it threw my way was awesome as I never saw it coming in a million years. However, I have played through this game multiple times, and the more I think about it, the less I like the twist ending as it feels like a shock M. Night Shyamalan twist ending that is done just for the sake of having a twist ending if that makes sense. In the moment it is awesome, but it does not hold up on repeat playthroughs.

Learning From The Greats

The inspiration for Shadow Complex was Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and if you are making a Metroidvania game, especially back when this was made, there was no better inspiration than those two games! You are on a 2D plane, but enemies can wander and come from wherever they like. There is a lock on system that allows you to blast enemies no matter where they are and the right stick is used as a laser pointer type thing. You start off with basic stuff, but you get access to more powerful ammo and gear as you progress. There is a levelling up system too that will see your stats improve as you level up. In typical Metroidvania fashion, you are free to explore where you want, but certain areas and things will be locked until you are at a certain level or have a certain upgrade. It is awesome and fun stuff and if you are into Metroidvania games, I do not see there being any way that you do not have a lot of fun with this.

A Cool Sense Of Style

For a 2.5D game, Shadow Complex is pretty cinematic, we have some great voice acting here with Nolan North taking the lead role and he makes Jason a very believable protagonist. The visuals are really cool and have a kind of Metroid Dread thing going on if that makes sense. The underground cavern base and the surrounding mountain area look fantastic. The remastered version of this that they made for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC is the way to go as the original does look a bit rough if I am being brutally honest. For a game that is over ten years old (talking about the remastered version) I think that the visuals and the general presentation hold up pretty damn well.

Pros:

• I loved the setting and 99 percent of the story
• The Metroidvania style gameplay is so much fun
• This game puts up one hell of a fight, so its great if you want a challenge
• The remastered version presentation is still great

Cons:

• The twist ending is not something I am a huge fan of
• Limited Run Games needs to make this available again!