Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 56 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 72 Ratings

  • Summary: No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda and Resident Evil 4 director Shinji Mikami are hard at work on a new horror action game to be published by EA.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 56
  2. Negative: 0 out of 56
  1. Jun 21, 2011
    93
    Its freshness shows just how stale a lot of the industry is and it's what's needed in an era of grey, modern shooters.
  2. 85
    Suffice to say, if you can live with the juvenile humour and mental blank slate which makes up Garcia's education, Shadows of the Damned is an awesome game with great gameplay and graphics and it's a hell of a lot of fun.
  3. Jul 11, 2011
    85
    Shadows of the Damned is a primordially charged adventure into hell with sexuality and violence turned up to 10. Pleasantly disturbing, humorously shockingly and never boring, gamers with an acceptance for the weird will want to have this game in their collection.
  4. Jul 3, 2011
    73
    An ordinary shooty adventure, dressed up in a bizarre plot. With knob gags. [Aug 2011, p.82]

See all 56 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 23
  2. Negative: 1 out of 23
  1. This game is essentially Resident Evil 5 with a lot more childish yet funny sexual puns (Considering the handgun is called a boner) It uses most of the control mechanics from Resident Evil 5 as well (You can strife side to side when aiming unlike RE5); using the d-pad to switch different weapons, L1 to aim and R1 to fire, and a 180 degree camera flip. It even has a goofy half-demon & half-human merchant that sells you all sorts of items to help you on the way (Whatya buying!? Hooray for Resident Evil 4 references) The story isn't anything extremely special, it reminds me a lot of Dante's Inferno's story(The game not the book); A demon takes the protagonists' girlfriend into a hell-like place and naturally, you have to get her back. Even though the story isn't incredible, the one-liners between the main character, Garcia Hotspur and his witty & smart mouthed demon skull companion will have you chuckling all the way to the end. Overall, a game that definitely is unique to the third-person genre and should not be missed. Expand
  2. You've probably heard that your friend/weapon in this game is named Johnson, and that the main, pistol-like weapon is dubbed the "Boner". Maybe you also know that weapon eventually morphs into the "Hot Boner" and, when Johnson is particularly aroused, the "Big Boner". All this could mean that the game relies too heavily on high school humor, but despite these things (and the banter between Garcia, the protagonist, and Johnson is often bad enough to roll your eyes), the game truly shines as a worthwhile addition to your collection. Despite creative names, the weapons you possess are variations on the pistol, machine gun, and shotgun present in any shooter, all equipped with an alternate "Light Shot" used to shoot goat heads and smash the armor (made of darkness) on enemies so you can kill them. Fighting in this game is hectic and mesmerizing...and fun. While there are times you'll feel like you're in the middle of another samey fight sequence, the game is smart enough to mix it up so you're never bored. Late in the game, you'll even be thrown into truly original situations that have the Suda 51 feel to them, creating a feeling of a game that is part Killer 7 and part Resident Evil 4. Beyond the gameplay, the story here really shines as well. Story books let you in on the back stories of the bosses you'll fight, and Garcia's motives are never really understood until the end. Yes, it's a bit derivative, but who cares when you're having this much fun? Expand
  3. Not perfect but definitely a must-play for anyone with taste. A variety of gameplay styles are used throughout the game, all of which are base don the same basic rules. Expand
  4. I fell for EA's marketing trick again. This is the worst game that I've played in 2012, worse than FF13-2 by a mile. The boss fights are the most outdated, cheap and frustrating fights that I've played in a long time. I don't think I played a game that has this badly designed bosses since the PS2 days. The controls are cluncky, the hitboxes on the enemies are way to small. I stopped playing at 5-2 because I simply don't want to continue torturing myself. Don't bother playing this game. Expand

See all 23 User Reviews