Shadwen

 PC
Shadwen Image
Metascore
53

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 41 Ratings

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  • Summary: Shadwen is a stealth-action game where the only rule is to remain unseen. Stay hidden - or the ruthless guards will kill you on sight.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 22
  3. Negative: 7 out of 22
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Jun 14, 2016
    80
    I was sad when I saw other reviewers scores. I think Shadwen is a nice little game with stealth elements. You just have to play it Game of Thrones style: kill everything that is in your way, not everybody. [June/July 2016]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. GameSpew
    May 22, 2016
    70
    Despite its problematic narrative, Shadwen is a very unique game that breathes new life into a genre that hasn’t seen much development in a while.
  3. CD-Action
    Aug 21, 2016
    60
    One big escort mission where toying with laughable AI becomes a game in a game. [08/2016, p.68]
    All this publication's reviews
  4. Everyeye.it
    May 24, 2016
    50
    Shadwen, unfortunately, has proved to be a messy bunch of ideas, unable to involve the player in its narrative context, which could be interesting, but has been developed too superficially. Same goes for the gameplay mechanics, made of concepts taken from other games and put together almost with no consistency.
  5. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Jul 7, 2016
    50
    After the failure of Trine 3 Frozenbyte was in urgent need for a new hit but Shadwen with its clumsy flirtation with stealth and obsolete technologies clearly can’t claim the status. [Issue#210, p.81]
    All this publication's reviews
  6. 4Players.de
    May 25, 2016
    47
    In theory Shadwen sounds interesting. But in reality this expedition into stealth-action from the makers of Trine suffers from problems within AI, controls and the general flow of the game.
  7. ICXM
    May 30, 2016
    30
    Shadwen attempts to mesh the genres of stealth-action and puzzle games in order to create a unique experience in an original medieval world, but its time-control mechanics have little purpose other than to conceal the broken AI and the tedious gameplay.

See all 22 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
  1. Joshua123
    May 17, 2016
    8
    This probably isn't a game that would be YOUR cup of tea, but I think this game deserves a chance. It probably won't be any hardcore stealthThis probably isn't a game that would be YOUR cup of tea, but I think this game deserves a chance. It probably won't be any hardcore stealth games, but it's still plenty enjoyable.… Expand
  2. nico92160
    May 18, 2016
    8
    Visual, IA, story if this is what you really want in a game thenyou won't enjoy Shadwen. But if for you it's all about gameplay, in that caseVisual, IA, story if this is what you really want in a game thenyou won't enjoy Shadwen. But if for you it's all about gameplay, in that case it's really different. Shadwen is one of the last recent game with a huge potential about different way to finish mission or just to be stealth: grapnel, time control... This what i think Shadwen can be describe by one sentence :"it's not about graphics, it's all about gameplay".… Expand
  4. Katabug
    May 21, 2016
    8
    What a terrific little game!

    A real diamond in the rough. I thoroughly enjoyed it. For anybody who's tired of combat focused games,    What a terrific little game!

    A real diamond in the rough. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

    For anybody who's tired of combat focused games, Shadwen is a breath of fresh air.

    It's very casual friendly, you don't need lightning fast reflexes or supernatural senses to play it. It's challenging without being frustratingly difficult.

    I think its a great introduction to stealth based games for somebody who has never played one before.

    It's a bit rough around the edges. But the foundation is certainly there and I really hope Frozenbyte sell enough copies to make a sequel worthwhile. Cause I'd love to see them flesh out and build upon the excellent foundation of the first game.

    Well done Frozenbyte! I highly recommend this game.    … Expand
  5. Letiste-Gaming
    Jun 1, 2016
    6
    Sin ser una maravilla de juego, creemos que se he menospreciado demasiado al título. Frozenbyte ha mimado el título y eso se nota, dándonos unSin ser una maravilla de juego, creemos que se he menospreciado demasiado al título. Frozenbyte ha mimado el título y eso se nota, dándonos un curioso concepto de juego de sigilo en el que el tiempo es un elemento primordial.… Expand
  6. SuperkenGaming
    May 21, 2016
    6
    Shadwen
    A superhot version of assassins creed
    Shadwen is a stealth platforming game staring 2 characters, shadwen, and lily They meet after    Shadwen
    A superhot version of assassins creed
    Shadwen is a stealth platforming game staring 2 characters, shadwen, and lily
    They meet after lily steals an apple, you help her from the guards and she joins you on your journey to help you through cracks and pull levers
    Unfortunately, what starts as an amazing and challenging stealth game, turns into a frustrating babysitting game.
    You do get to play as both characters in the beginning 2 chapters, but the rest of the game you play as just shadwen, it’s up to you to distract guards or take them out to help lily advance through each hiding spot…
    There are various tools you can craft with materials from chests to take out or distract guards as well as use your grappling hook to pool items and swing from beams...
    here’s the catch though…
    The different endings…
    Killing enemies effects how lily portrays you… so how you approach every level will affect your story…
    During my first play through I went through the more challenging no kills run... playing this game stealthily is when the frustrations of this game will be highlighted…
    Lily is AI controlled.. And unfortunately this AI isn’t very intelligent….
    Lily would constantly run from her current hiding spot back to a hiding spot we already snuck past...
    in a kill run this isn’t a problem… but in a stealth run this is a problem because you are trying to set up distractions to advance her to the next spot, meanwhile she’s running back, completely wasting your time and effort…
    You can somewhat control her by ringing a bell telling her where to go, but she will hardly ever obey your command... refusing to move from the spot she’s in that she can clearly pass without detection, or shell get halfway to the spot and freeze up, only to turn back around…
    As much as I hate the idea of moving back and forth between 2 characters, I would’ve taken being able to switch back and forth to control lily myself over relying on ai….
    It wouldn’t be too much of an issue if these levels weren’t so brutal... and they increasingly get harder….
    The guards in this game have the hearing of a dog, if you brush past a bale of hay or even jump, their head turns like the exorcist to detect you and smack you with a game over..
    Their hearing is so advanced that if you pull an object to make it make a noise, rather than inspecting the object making the noise, they will investigate your location 10 feet in the opposite direction, almost like there is some sort or magnet programmed in them... which I’m almost 100% positive there is…
    and even if they don’t detect you, they will search for you until you do..
    You can get away with hiding behind an object, but this is rare as the game throws 4 to 8 pony riding guards on top of you to deal with at all times…
    And no enemy has a programed path to stick to... once they are alerted they go all over the place
    this unpredictability definitely adds challenge, but it also takes away the entire point of the game...
    How are you supposed to solve a problem with ever changing variables…
    turning this more into an electric tabletop football game than a stealth game
    And they won’t go back to what they were doing before if they find nothing.. sometimes they’ll just stand in front of you or circle around you so it’s impossible to progress from your position
    thankfully they took a page out of prince of Persia’s book and you can rewind time to take a new approach….
    They also took a page out of Ludacris’s’ and superhots book, because when you move they move…
    if you stand still time stands still…
    you can hold a button to proceed time though, so you don’t actually have to physically move from your location.
    While Shadwen has greatly designed levels and is a decently challenging stealth game, there are just far too many ai frustrations that ultimately stop it from ever feeling truly satisfying.
    You never feel like you’ve outsmarted the game...
    you feel like you just got lucky that lily kinda did what she was supposed to.
    I give Shadwen a
    6.0/10    … Expand
  7. notTheRadBrad
    May 18, 2016
    6
    This game is neither bad nor good , it's somewhere in the middle ,and as for the stealth in this game , the animations are good , the stab andThis game is neither bad nor good , it's somewhere in the middle ,and as for the stealth in this game , the animations are good , the stab and all. But for anyone who is seeking out for a stealth game to play and has already played other good ones , one can give this game a chance.… Expand
  8. sweet
    Jun 13, 2018
    3
    I loved the ideas behind Shadwen, on paper. Unfortunately in practice they don't work. The default pause state and rewind feature serves toI loved the ideas behind Shadwen, on paper. Unfortunately in practice they don't work. The default pause state and rewind feature serves to remove the tension that makes stealth games enjoyable, and it destroys world building narrative. I had thought the orphan would give strong motivation for a pacifist style of play, but the reality is it turns the game into one long tedious escort mission.

    The game doesn't work, even before we get to the broken mechanics. The AI is one of the worst I have ever experienced. The world and level design is absurd, with trees growing indoors, wooden platforms sprinkled around randomly. It feels extremely contrived and gamey. The crafting system is mostly pointless, existing only to justify looting. The limited abilities of your character is frustrating, everything is reliant on this absurd grappling hook on a bungee. You can jump around like spiderman but you can't simply throw an object.

    Credit to the developers for trying to do something original, but sadly it simply doesn't come together into an enjoyable game.    … Expand

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