Once you understand the basics of the game, it becomes entertaining. The problem is that its short and limited to roughly 3 hours(the original game could beat in 30 mins, so it is still an improvement). Shadow of the Beast has focused a little arcade style to increase its longevity. The points are used to unlock content and improvements. There are unique extras, for example, activate the original music, a demonstration game-play of the Amiga version. Its asking price is $14,99, which explains the length of the gameplay in today’s standards.
Comparing the game to its original version from 1989, the remake is very colorful, inspired by the dark atmosphere of the series and, best of all; it pays more attention to Roger Dean artwork in the 2D graphics of its Amiga version. It begins with a beautiful forest and then goes through caves, temples, red swamp vegetation, deserts, a macabre of the hellish landscape. It is a technical challenge to build up from scratch this kind of 2.5D adventure and stay true to its original in an artistic way.
The setting is the key in Shadow of the Beast and that you want to investigate further of this universe. And he soundtracks. It’s epic, wild and catchy. If this orchestral music not just to be to your liking, you can unlock and replace it with the classic version.
Final Thoughts
The new Shadow of the Beast will not be remembered 20 years later because unlike the original, it does not mark any technical milestone, but a good homage to the style of the series with all that it implies such as platforms, minimum puzzles if your goal is simply to explore the story from start to finish. Its combat system and unlocking unique extras are great, and as for the game mechanics, not all players will adapt to this style. In any case, it has been an excellent opportunity to take a look at a character and universe that’s 20 years old now, and we look forward to seeing more classics game remakes like this in the future.
