User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 43 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 43
  2. Negative: 3 out of 43

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  1. J
    Nov 15, 2007
    9
    A great fun game for a great budget price. Too bad it's pretty short though.
  2. TimothyS.
    Nov 20, 2007
    9
    What a great gaming experience! SGS is even better than the original Shadowgrounds!
  3. AlexanderB
    Nov 15, 2007
    10
    This game is great! Evertyhing you loved about Shadowgrounds, only prettier, better, and more physics and cooler explosions, fire, everything!
  4. AkuA.
    Dec 12, 2007
    9
    Well finished and polished retro game, a very unique atmosphere and very good break from forever spawning fps games. Good value for the small amount of cash it cost.
  5. PhilT.
    Nov 27, 2007
    9
    Very fun little action game. The graphics are a step up from the previous game and look pretty darn good for an indie developer. It has fast-paced action and a serviceable storyline for people not looking for a lot of epic storytelling or tons of depth. It's pretty standard space opera fare, but that doesn't mean that it is not truly enjoyable. Voice acting and dialog are cheesy and fun, exactly what I want from a game that lets me play out a cheesy sci-fi action movie. The addition of physics is a nice touch, but it doesn't really alter gameplay, but that is okay. The RPG-lite system of character upgrades is back in full force and incredibly fun. Overall, a great action game for people looking for a nice diversion for a few hours. Don't pick it up looking for the best game ever made and you won't be disappointed. Expand
  6. EricE.
    Dec 28, 2007
    9
    Graphics got even better! I didn't think that the graphics in Shadowgrounds could get better but this tops it with Ageia PhysX capabilities, which allows you to move/destroy virtually anything from boxes to chairs to tables. *Does not require the Ageia PhysX card but is better with it.* This time around rather than following one single person, you follow 4 different characters. You are also able to take control of a Mech and canons. If you liked Shadowgrounds at all you will like Survivor. I found Survivor actually easier than Shadowgrounds. Ammo was much more plentiful. No real big boss mobs, just waves and waves of mobs coming at you instead. Expand
  7. Jun 7, 2011
    10
    I LOVE this game. Great moody music-detailed yet simple lighting and graphics-reminds me of the top down shooter days of my NES gaming days from waaaaaay back. I like all the characters and actually enjoy the story. Almost like a top down Doom 3 in way. One of the more under-rated games of the past few years.
  8. May 6, 2012
    9
    Great game, i wish there were more games like this.
    its a good twist on the original...........................................Great game, i wish there were more games like this.
    its a good twist on the original...........................................
  9. Apr 6, 2012
    6
    This game is better than it's predecessor. The gameplay is more fun, unlocking weapons is better and the graphics are nicer. On the flip side the story is bad and the campaign is even shorter than the first one and ended up taking me a whopping 3 hours to finish. Another bland game from Frozenbyte, would not recommend it.
  10. Anon
    Jul 6, 2009
    8
    Excellent shooting experience. I needed a break from the common FPS's in our world(Team Fortress 2, Crysis, etc etc) I saw this on steam for dirt cheap, and the metascore was pretty decent. I've enjoyed every single minute playing it. It actually got my adrenile pumped, and modern games just don't do that for me sometimes. Outdated graphics for a release in 2007, but who cares? The price is under 10 bucks. And you'll enjoy a break from those common First Person Shooters Expand
  11. [Anonymous]
    Nov 16, 2007
    8
    A quite fun little mini-sequel to the original. Building on the original isometric shoot-em-up action, survivor adds some nice new graphical touches and a smattering of physics based destruction. Unfortunately the gameplay, whilst still quite fun has been changed somewhat oddly in survivor. You will often find yourself trapped in an area by mysterious forcefields blocking all exits until you manage to kill the required amount of beasties. I would love to see a full-blown fallout style rpg done with this engine, it really shows off some nice effects. Expand
  12. RayF.
    Dec 3, 2007
    7
    I really didn't enjoy the first shadowgrounds, due to the high difficulty, but this seems to be much easier and therefore more fun. The graphics aren't anything great, its a bit budgety in terms of production values, but it is fun to play and worth the $20.
  13. InsanelySane
    Feb 27, 2008
    2
    The first Shadowgrounds was a breath of fresh air, with its simple yet immersive world and gameplay kind of allowing you to forget the typical setting and story and just focus on the upgrades and 'suspense'.
    This sequel is terrible on a few level. What a disappointment and a few steps backwards from the first. In this sequel, the developers have adopted typical decisions you see
    these days with companies, thinking these sort of features are a requisite for good games these days (they're not at all!). Story is pathetic and thin with painfully (!!!!) cliche'd characters, horrible horrible voice acting (what were they thinking?!) and generally where as in the first game you had all weapons to choose from and slowly discover, with this sequel the SAME weapons with SAME upgrades are distributed (read: limited) between each of the 3 characters. Aside from this, the game was boring this time round. Very boring and repetitive.. Who cares when nothing new is there to discover? there is no 'suspense' in this sequel. No atmosphere. Graphics are slightly nicer than original, as are improvements of physics - but again, who cares when the core is now rotten?! Expand
  14. Wrick
    Nov 15, 2007
    8
    Survivor builds nicely on the original, maintaining the excellent fast-paced action and improving on the faults of its predecessor. Survivor shows huge improvement in writing and voice acting, as well as adding a choice of three characters to play. There are some nice new special moves for each character (including the brute execution, where the marine hauls himself onto the head of the enemy and shoots them in the back of the head) and new character upgrades on top of weapon upgrades. The action remains heavy and challenging, perhaps even more so than the original, and the soundtrack has undergone (in my opinion) some great improvements. The graphics and physics updates are also excellent, and the ability to shift crates and barrels and the like to where you need them adds a whole new tactical layer to combat, as does the inclusion of hand-thrown grenades. The game also seems to run better on low-end machines than the original, suggesting superior exploitation of resources by the programmers. Survivor also nods towards replayability, which the original really lacked, with the addition of secrets in the campaign and the "Survivor" mode, where the player is pitted against wave after wave of aliens. The sections are also smaller and more numerous in campaign mode now, meaning less chance of the minor frustration of the original as you have to play through an hour or so of the same mission because you failed at the end. Although the game was so fun to play it wasn't a real issue. The negative points are that the campaign feels rather short, and Frozenbyte still hasn't implemented online mode. There is a co-op from one computer that allows for two mice and keyboards, though. All in all, survivor is a grerat achievement and improvement on the original, retaining and building on tremendous gameplay. Expand
  15. NiklasMadsen
    Mar 18, 2008
    5
    Let's get one thing off first. I loved the first game. I loved the story, the guns, pretty much everything. This this game.. I mean, what the hell went wrong! Where is the story! In the original Shadowgrounds, there where awesome logs everywhere. Now they're more rare than diamonds on a pigfarm! D: Okay, the graphics are nice, but that's not enough. And why 3 characters? It gets extremely confusing!
    No, do not like.
    Expand
  16. MarkG
    May 15, 2008
    7
    Very addictive. I play mostly fps and this was a nice change of pace. I liked how you can upgrade weapons and abilities. The reason I gave it a 7 is because the story part was pretty lame, but most games are. Also the chapters seem too short and too easy. But for what it is it's a great game, and when you can snag it up for 5 bucks do it.
  17. Nov 13, 2012
    6
    Shadowgrounds Survivor is an outdated video game. It's overrated. If this game was released in 2000, It would be good, but for now-standards It's not that good. That's not the only problem, there's more. The storytelling in this game is pretty weak, the graphics look outdated and the characters are forgettable. But, we all Know that the gameplay is the main part of a video game. It is fun, It is challenging, but outdated. (6.6) Expand
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 21
  2. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Next to the Orange Box, this is actually a sweet value title. You must like killing aliens, lots of action and the kind of game where it pays to go looking down deserted dark corridors.
  2. All in all, Survivor is not big step forward, actually it’s hardly even a step, but it’s more Shadowgrounds, which is enough of a reason to go and get it. I don’t know of any other top-down shooters for the PC which are done as well, or look as good or cost $20.
  3. Truly a visceral, retro experience that takes us to a warmer, happier time. [Feb 2008, p.90]