Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered Review

thesixthaxis.com:

When Shadows of the Damned was first released back in 2011, the expectations were huge given the collaboration between industry giants Suda 51 and Shinji Mikami. These two titans of Japanese gaming combined to produce a cult classic that still feels unique in its sleazy grindhouse aesthetic and over the top humour. I view the original as part of a previously lost trilogy of 360/PS3 era horror infused titles alongside Lollipop Chainsaw and Splatterhouse, all three of which embraced the absurd and relished their combination of silliness and ultra-violence. With that in mind I’m crossing my fingers for a Splatterhouse remaster, even if music licensing issues might make this a futile wish.

Getting back to the matter in hand, Shadows of the Damned is a B-movie style fever dream that takes huge inspiration from low budget horror whilst depicting a twisted take on a classic damsel in distress narrative. You play as Garcia ‘fucking’ Hotspur, a foul-mouthed, hard-drinking demon hunter whose exploits attract the attention of the Lord of Hell, Fleming. As vengeance for the demons lost to Hotspur, Fleming abducts his girlfriend, the mysterious Paula and drags her to the underworld. In order to rescue her, Garcia grabs his Johnson (the ridiculously named demon that serves as Garcia’s gun and motorbike) and jumps through the closing portal to Hell. What follows is a high octane third-person shooter with linear progression and light-based puzzles.

Graphically, the Hella Remaster mostly just changes the resolution, but in going up to 4K, so much detail can be revealed and appreciated, really helping the distinctive visual design to pop. The aesthetics have a comic book feel to them with bold lines and moody environments whilst light and dark plays a huge role in the overall gameplay mechanics. The original voice acting is retained, fortunately so, as everyone is clearly having a lot of fun delivering some of the ripest lines you’ll hear this year. Musically there is a spooky mariachi