Отзывы

• gamedeal user

  Mar 2, 2019

  If you have read some of my reviews you may have come across already some walking sims or first-person exploration games. I'm an avid fan of this genre so I tend to play a lot of them. Just to name a few: [i]Vanishing of Ethan Carter[/i], [i]Gone Home[/i] and all projects of Tonguc Bodur. These games focus a lot on walking and puzzle solving instead of shooting - the idea here is to tell a story and give the user an atmospheric experience. AdroVGames released already a walking sim back in 2016 - I do not often find these using the CryEngine but [i]Investigator[/i] was one such game. So, here we are 2 years later when the next project of AdroVGames came out. Similarly to Investigator this game also has a relatively dark atmosphere; a protagonist that finds himself in a desperate and dangerous position. The problem with ShadowSide is that it came out more than 6 months ago but there haven't been enough updates to correct its mistakes. For instance, the FPS value tend to go down (without any particular reason) in certain sections to below 30. Similarly to Investigator the graphics menu only allows preset values - we do have vsync, chromatic abberration and motion blur available but additional options would have been nice. The game can crash between chapters and when quitting Steam still indicates it is running. ShadowSide looks beautiful. Just as in Investigator there is a lot of emphasis on the dark, corridor-like areas but this game now sports a lot of outside locations with snowy scenery. There are some nice cutscenes, too, but perhaps in this regard Investigator was more ambitious. In any case, the game looks decent (performance issues are not justified) and screenshot fans will appreciate the opportunities it offers. The story is a mess. Although there are 15 chapters to tell it the changes happening are sudden and are not explained properly. First, it very much seems like a story with a protagonist suffering from multiple personality disorder then the tone quickly changes to sci-fi where it is unclear if you are fighting for yourself or for mankind. In one of the updates the developer confirmed the tutorial section had been removed - it would have been nice to keep it as there is no controls menu showing all key bindings. Plus, occasionally we get a "task" but I didn't know what key to hit to make it reappear. ShadowSide is an ambitious game but focuses too much on hidden achievements (most notable are those related to treasure hunting on level 5) instead of telling a story. It feels too rough around the edges and, to be frank, I expected more after Investigator. In its current state I cannot recommend it - with some gameplay and performance tweaks I may revisit this review.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 19, 2018

  Game is a complete mess of a story and gameplay. The only real mystery this game has is trying to figure out why you are continuing to play it and how do you get your life back wasted on it. This game literally has no sensible story and seems to be a collection of non-linked maps that force you to run around "exploring" for no reason and no explanation why. The exploration is broken with the issue that the instructions of what you are to do and what you CAN do are completely unhelpful. Sometimes you can climb a wall, sometimes you cannot. Sometimes you can get in a forklift to move an object... other times you cannot. Sometimes you can pick up tools... other times you cannot. The biggest issue I have encountered so far is trying to build a raft. The game wants you to find pieces to construct a raft that are scattered around a deserted village. Find rope - Not so hard Find nails - Not so hard Find a hammer - Not so hard Find 2 barrels - Not so hard Find Planks - I have been all over this game map and it is filled with wooden fences which would more than function as Planks. Instead, I am running around and cannot find the ultra specific "Planks" it is looking for. This goes from being exploration to being completely tedious. This kind of thing is duplicated in a lot of the levels with instructions being unclear and things just happening because "Plot" and trying cheap jump scares. The game simply is not fun to play in this kind of state and the way it is portratyed in the store is extremely decieving.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 22, 2018

  I played all AdroV games that where released and it's unusual that free games were much better than paid ones. Shadow Side is kinda jumpscare horror, kinda adventure type of game. it's a collection of 15 levels without any logical sense. Level design is weird, amateur and confusing. I spend 10 mins to figure out part 2. It's very hard to find items You need, especially when Adro is choosing the pickup order, so You can't grab something before you do something. This time, we are getting tasks, few dialogue choices and more open levels, it's definitely an upgrade since investigator, but still I think it's not worth the money when game lacks fundamental game design.
• gamedeal user

  Dec 24, 2018

  I apperciate the work of the developer but the game is not that good. Poor level design and poor gameplay are really annoying. I know this game has been made by one person but it could have been better.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 5, 2019

  ShadowSide is publisher/developer AdroVGames' second release; their first being Investigator. Without deviating from his original format too much, this one-man operation has crafted yet another exploration-based release that puts players into the shoes of an authority figure; this time a policeman named Alex Carter. Early on, Alex finds himself in a pretty serious car accident and in need of medical assistance, and that's when he realizes that he's not alone in his own head. For all intents and purposes, ShadowSide is a walking simulator; more accurately, a running simulator as walking is far too slow. Players will spend their time exploring the mostly linear landscapes in search of various treasure collectibles and the few documents that are scattered about. Despite the store page stating that "the main hero can inspect practically every object", gamers are actually pretty limited as to what they can inspect and it's an inconsistent feature; some desks can be searched while a lot can't, and the same goes for lockers, boxes, and a few other assets. Objects can't actually be picked up like in other titles. For an indie game, this release looks fairly stunning; that's always the power of CryEngine. The developer did a great job with optimization, as it's completely stable, rendering at a constant 60+ FPS with no crashes, bugs, or glitches... at least in my experience. There's a good amount of textures, assets, and models used, and there are a decent variety of environments to wander through during the 3 hour, 15 chapter adventure. Many of the levels do involve snow, but players will experience cities, woodlands, and mountains in the cold, winter weather. Now would also be a good time to mention that the entire game is in Russian, but there are English subtitles that are surprisingly well translated. The ultimate problem with ShadowSide is that it's an amalgamation of several stories, all shoved into one release. It feels as though the developer couldn't settle on what he actually wanted to put out into the world. The story starts out taking a paranormal tone that slowly morphs into a mental disorder, then the protagonist becomes hunted by every type of law enforcement known to man, and suddenly an alien invasion is happening. It just keeps changing, and none of the plot elements meld together; the story is needlessly convoluted, and it's all frustratingly difficult to understand. There are also many areas where you receive an "ending" to the game, yet the game keeps going until it overstays its welcome by two or three chapters. While this game does have its fair share of mostly plot-related problems, it does offer some captivating moments as well. There is a bit of replay value given the multiple endings that can be found all throughout the game, though be prepared to do a lot of running as many of the later chapters prefer long treks in lieu of story building. ShadowSide isn't an essential must-play, but if you can grab it on sale for a buck or two it's well worth sinking some hours in; that said, definitely don't grab it at full price. [h1]Rating: 2.5/5.0 - It's not awful, but it's not great.[/h1] The Horror Network [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/28221963/]Curator[/url] | [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thehorrornetwork]Group[/url] Click for Gore
• gamedeal user

  Dec 27, 2018

  [h1]A bit of an underrated game.[/h1] ShadowSide starts out decent with an interesting story. As the game goes on the story grows more convoluted, leaving me confused as to what was going on a lot of the time. That being said, there was something about it that kept me hooked until I at least finished the game. The game itself is not difficult. But if you are easily distressed by jump scares and a suspenseful atmosphere, then go into this with caution. [h1]Positives[/h1] + Very beautiful graphics + Simple controls + Dialogue is kept to a minimum so you are able to enjoy the exploration + Multiple endings depending on the choices you made + Great audio. If certain sounds can literally make me cringe in my seat, then the game is doing something right + The dev does a good job at maintaining a suspenseful atmosphere [h1]Negatives[/h1] - Story is difficult to follow - Felt like you started with one game and ended with a completely different game I got about 7 hours of gameplay out of it, but that is with exploring as much as possible and stopping to take screenshots. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1599769693 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1599769843 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1599770126 I probably wouldn't pay full price for it. At a discount it's not a bad way to spend a few hours. Despite the fact that you can get multiple endings, I probably will not be going back to replay it after my first playthrough.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 20, 2022

  Pretty good game, I did not expect this really, I thought it would be a casual waking simulator for like 4h. I was skeptical, waking for 4h. But no, the game is good. Very good audio and lightning and atmosphere, decent horror elements, and jumpscares. The story is the only thing confusing as many said in the comments, but still, a fun game, recommend it.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 4, 2021

  I won't lie, this game somewhat surprised me. I thought this'd be your typical horror game with your typical jump scares and boy was I wrong. To start, I felt that this game was primarily a story oriented experience and a horror one second as it's clear that a lot of thought was put into this game's story. I found myself quite naturally experiencing and progressing through it wondering what's to happen next. I think this game is a prime example of how a good story is not simply told through dialogue but through atmosphere, environments, world-building, and perspective. Not to mention the visuals are absolutely gorgeous, really adding to the atmosphere and the stunning variety in said environments had gone a long way in keeping things fresh. Now, this game is by no means a masterpiece and I definitely have to say that it requires a good deal of patience to play through it (and it does have some minor flaws that might slightly degrade the experience) but man is there a lot of substance here. You might like it or you might hate it but I really do believe it to be worth a go and it's pretty darn cheap (mostly when on sale) I'd give it a solid 7.5/10<\b>
• gamedeal user

  Jan 2, 2019

  A low budget indie game that looks good, being made in Cryengine does bring some visual advantages, a game that performs very well, and at lest in my case add zero bugs or problems, a very stable game start to finish, very rare in this type of indie games, only for that I recomend it and also because I bought it cheap. But after that, is a very shalow game, with IMO a confusing story, very linear and simplistic gameplay, a press button and automatically the character does stuff with zero player interation, reminds me of another russian game made on Unity3D called 35MM.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 3, 2023

  I liked ShadowSide more than Investigator, the progress is very noticeable :) Although, story also is not very straightforward as in previous game, but the puzzle is much easier to solve, near the end of the game parts will start to get into their places. Visually it is great, horror parts are also good. Some sequences can be pretty scary :) Beautiful scenery, nice difference in environments, mystery to solve.. And also easter eggs and references to well known jokes/memes are very appreciated :) I'd say, if you want better and more polished experience than Investigator, then you will probably like this one! To be honest, I liked it so much that I want to play it again :D