Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Jan 3, 2022

  We need more games like ShadowMan (many, MANY more), more remasters from Nightdive. Shadowman is a hidden masterpiece, and proper passion project. Nightdive treated it right. Can't thank yous guys enough, been waiting for this to be rematsered a long time, and it's just so much better than I expected. For the unaware; ShadowMan is an early 3d platformer/action/adventure, with a psychological horror theme. Crash course on how to set the right atmosphere too. The premise alone is enough to get you going: bunch of serial killers are rounded up by an evil deity to bring about the apocalypse, by torturing souls to fuel an engine that will create an immortal army, in an asylum designed by *clears throat* Jack the fucking Ripper. Why would you not wanna jump into this world?
• gamedeal user

  Jan 27, 2022

  Ignore my playtime. This is the second time I've bought this game, first on GOG. The fact that I wanted to purchase this twice for the same platform to support the release should show my opinion pretty clearly. If you are remotely interested in 3D Collectathon platformers, in particular some of the early forefathers of the genre who have held up well, give Shadow Man a shot. If you are interested in Metroidvanias with levels that are large and full of shortcuts and areas that lead back to former areas of the level like a proto-dark souls, check it out. The big caveat is that I can say for certain some people will definitely not like it. Despite the polish brought on by the remaster, fundamentally, parts of the game are very old-school. There is no in game map and the levels are massive and can be confusing, due in part to the original levels having limited geometry and textures. While I don't mind it, I know quite a few people hate back tracking, which is a large part of exploration in this game. The combat can be tedious as the game goes on... And yet, the game is more than the sum of its parts. Like I said, I cannot guarantee you will love it or even like it, but the game has so much creativity and thoughtful design, especially for an early 3D metroidvania platformer that was designed to work with the N64 and PSX. Finding new upgrades feels exciting. Gather Dark Souls, the games main collectible, is exciting. For as low poly and chunky as the game is, it bleeds an incredibly unique and haunting atmosphere unlike any game I can think of. The voice acting is really good and all the characters, while not being super deep or complex, feel like they have a personality that distinguishes them from the rest, especially considering most of the cast was voiced by the devs themselves. The writing is, again, not super deep or complex, but it has a lot of charm with its late 90s industrial edge. The music and audio is often talked about when Shadow Man is brought up, and for good reason. Yes, it is flawed and archaic in some ways that some will be unable to get past, but I assure you, this game has kept up its small, be devout cult following for over 20 years for a good reason. As for the remaster, this is, bar none, the absolute best remaster I have ever played. The game looks nice with its new lighting system, and the higher res textures add quite a bit of atmosphere to the game, and the customization is high. However, the updates are more than just graphical. The control scheme has been revamped (the original was tank controls, which the player can use if they so choose) to a more modern style, reminiscent of FPS games. A weapon wheel removes tedium from combat. Three levels that were cut from the original release have been restored and designed partially from the ground up, and these are three massive levels. On top of that, and my personal favorite, are the new secrets that were added to the game that became a community scavenger hunt across the game. It also appears more updates are on the horizon as well. Nightdive have also been very receptive to fan feedback and made changes accordingly. Seriously, this is the most complete and thorough remaster I have ever seen. Again, if this looks even remotely interesting to you and you are willing to put up with its more dated aspects, I highly encourage you to try it and, even if you don't enjoy it, you can at least appreciate it for what it sets out to do. For 20 bucks, you can't beat it, especially for the sheer quality of the remaster that put remasters from AAA game studios to shame.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 22, 2022

  22 years ago we got Nintendo 64 for Christmas. We got Banjo Kazooie with the console and my big brother begged my mom for Shadow Man! The game had a huge impact on me and my 14 year old mind back then lol. It gave me nightmares. It pulled me in. It consumed me. I loved it! But we didn't have a rumble pak to save our game so every time we had to start from beginning. 22 years later i finally beat the game with this amazing remastered version! Aside Resident Evil 2 this is my all time favorite game! It's eerie it's dark it's challenging! The best soundtrack hands down! It pulls you in and seduces you! Thank you for taking the time to remaster this masterpiece of a game! People pls buy it and play it! You wont be disappointed! Bravo Nightdive for polishing this magnificent game! Many greetings! General G❤❤❤
• gamedeal user

  Jun 19, 2022

  A timeless favourite I can't stop coming back to.

  I've been returning to this game ever since I first bought it for the N64 back in the day. I hesitate to use the word 'fun' considering the gruesome material within, but it's provided endless fun over the years, despite the dated graphics. Your task, as Shadow Man, is to go to another plane of existence, Deadside, to collect up all the Dark Souls before an ancient evil does and brings about Apocalypse. There are 120 of them, so between that and the now boosted total of 666 Cadeaux to collect, it can be a lengthy journey. Not to mention a brand new 10th Marrow Gate for you to find, three never-before-played maps and a new disgusting boss to turn into chunky giblets, it's even more fun than before! The game follows a 3rd person viewpoint with running, jumping, climbing mechanics, including strafing and even rolling if you can find a way to use it properly. I can't stress enough just how important strafing is, as while enemies are few and far between to begin with, there are a few places where you can have up to ten enemies all firing various things at you at once. The Sisters of Blood are the worst though, as their projectiles are hard to predict due to their boomerang bouncing nature. I had my ps4 controller hooked up for the whole of my playing experience. While it worked fine most of the time, I did have to avoid using the targeting reticule (I think it defaults to L1 bumper or something), as every time I tried to use it I was unable to move. I didn't bother too much with trying to fix this as it wasn't a big thing, I could still let Michael auto-target. Another thing - the game crashed every time I went into first person sniping mode. So I stopped doing that. It isn't needed. The other problem I found with my controller was tapping to 'put away' weapons and things in my hands so that I could climb things. More often than I liked, It turned out I was double-tapping, so nothing happened, I was always fully armed. SEVERAL of these button presses later and I would finally get my hands free for some climbing joy. Similarly, I would occasionally press jump and nothing would happen. There probably is a workaround to these issues but I couldn't be bothered looking for it. If I fell into lava (without gads) and died then I'd just reload for the trophy. Mildly annoying but as long as I saved regularly then it wasn't a problem. One of my personal favs is the music tracks have been extended. Some of the area music used to be pretty short but now areas like the Fogometers (previously Undercity), Cageways, and even the sordid Playrooms have some beef to it. Also when hunting The Five in their respective homes, we can now see them playing with us a bit more. I was surprised to see Jack crawling along the ceiling in the train yards, and most of the others have brief encounters well before the final fight takes place. Not Victor though, understandably. And, as always, their dialogue and quotes are top-tier. "I'm the only power round here, boy, and you gonna find that out soon enough!" "The end is nigh, and it's sooner than you think!" "Pah! Dying is easy. I have achieved that more than once in my existence." In the end, whether it be nostalgia, or curiosity, or just a need to play something different as nothing else seems worth buying lately, Shadow Man is still a satisfying ride. As Shadow Man himself says: "There sure is some crazy s*** going on around here."
• Government Cheese

  Oct 14, 2022

  excellent on steam deck and a real blast from the past if you have ever played this on any console or pc in the early 2000's you have to revisit the remaster. the cut levels and content that didn't make it into the original release and the new textures and higher resolutions make this a must play again game
• Adam

  Dec 12, 2022

  I thought the original game was a masterpiece. There isn't a word to describe how good the remaster is.
• thethreelads

  Apr 1, 2023

  need me some nettie feet pics
• gamedeal user

  Apr 2, 2023

  TRU GEM, NEVER PLEYED WHEN I HAD A N64 BUT WANTED TO TRY AND AM ***NOT*** DISAPPOINTED - LVLs are INTERCONNECTED LIKE DARK SOULS feels like a spiritual predecessor to teh dark souls gmes VERDICT: EBIX
• gamedeal user

  Jul 10, 2023

  Probably the best 3D Metroidvania that isn't Metroid Prime. I was totally sucked into this game over the past week. The atmosphere is incredible and at times truly disturbing, even with N64 graphics. It was incredibly satisfying to earn upgrades and open up more of the map. The combat is a little janky and I was getting tired of it towards the end of the game, but I think the variety of weapons makes up for it. Also, I have never experienced level design quite this...surreal? Most, if not all, of the maps are a giant sprawl that get confusing quick due to the lack of a map. It feels like trying to find your way around in a nightmare, but maybe that is intentional given the setting. At least the game tells you when there is something new to find in a level, and you are allowed to fast travel to another level from anywhere, at anytime. Nightdive did an incredible job with this remaster. They included cut content, new content, and quality of life improvements that would be a huge pain to play without. I never had a single frame dip or stutter, and only a single crash in my 20 hours of play. They added the option to switch between the old graphics and the new, and the new looks great. I did prefer Dreamcast water though, just feels like it fits the aesthetic better. I highly recommend you pick this up if you enjoy Metroidvanias or 3D Platformers. It has good replay value, as you likely won't find all of the secrets and collectables on your first playthrough. A word of advice though. When you get to the Playrooms, maybe mute the music...
• gamedeal user

  Apr 16, 2021

  As a huge fan of the original game I can say that this remaster is a perfect example on how a game should be presented to a modern audience. The original 1999 Shadow Man did not age very well graphically or with it's game play however, it did have an immense amount of charm to it due to it's great soundtrack and the lore of the world it is set in. Shadow Man Remastered fixes all of the flaws of the original without changing what the game is. The world is still a maze to navigate, however the controls are improved with full game pad support included multiple joysticks (something the original lacked) and the graphics, while still dated, look amazing. If you are a fan of the macabre or you played the original this game is amazing and at $20 the price can't be beat. The original game was 10s of hours long with most 100% playthroughs taking up to 60 hours. The remaster adds content that was cut from the original, although I don't know how substantial it is, it definitely could have added a few more hours of game play.