Dive into the revamped world of Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered with this exciting review. Join Garcia Hotspur on a thrilling adventure filled with demons and danger!
The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 generation will remain in our memories for many reasons, but also for being one of the most irreverent that our medium will ever see. And I say this with certainty because nowadays, we see every day how even the executives themselves affirm that productions must now be safe and profitable . Few people, in their right mind, would bet on works like Shadows of the Damned , a madness that brought together Suda 51, Shinji Mikami and Akira Yamaoka under a production that was not afraid of anything.
Now it’s time to talk about it again because it’s brought us a new edition: Hella Remastered. It’s not the kind of remaster that has the most to say, that’s for sure. The original Xbox 360 and PS3 game has been taken and brought back practically as it was, with the corresponding resolution and framerate improvement to 4K and 60 frames per second. Apart from that, an extra New Game+ mode has been added so you can continue killing demons after finishing the game, but beyond a slight modification to the interface, don’t expect quality of life options or other types of modernizations from it; much less a graphical remodel. This is the most classic and basic remaster there is.
The typical one that in the PC world is done so automatically that there would be no reason for it to be released. However, here it is done for a fairly logical reason: it was never released on PC, so for the first time you can enjoy the Grasshopper title on computers without having to resort to emulation. With so few new features, what is left? Perhaps it would be interesting to see how well this cult classic has aged.
And on this point, I have mixed feelings. The game is a mess with a script so bad and self-aware that it serves its purpose: making you laugh. The game constantly mocks video game conventions, such as puzzles, checkpoints, and health bars. Because it makes no sense, it tries to explain everything within a demonic world in a way that makes even less sense, until you can’t help but smile. You’re in hell collecting strawberries as keys to give to baby doors, collecting gems that improve your ability, and alcohol that restores your health.
A road movie to hell
Ultimately, Shadows of the Damned has no complexes. Nor any gameplay, and that’s fine. If it has to put huge weak points on enemies, it does so with pride. The same goes for its puzzles or the light and darkness system it invents to give a little more shine, never better said, to its levels. But, all in all, it really is a game that couldn’t compete head to head with the best shooters of the moment, and even less with those of today.
Because yes, Shadows of the Damned has a fair control and a gunplay that could be improved. This remaster would have been fabulously helped by a review of the controls to make them more modern and natural, as well as a refinement of its aiming system and camera. Grasshopper, however, has only wanted to bring the original work as it was conceived, and it is respectable. It is still a fun game where perhaps the experience gains more from its shameless set than from the excellence of its mechanics.
And from the very beginning, Shadows of the Damned is already filling the screen with blood, insults and demons. Now that it’s in ultra high definition, you can better see García Hotspur ‘s resemblance to a young Benicio del Toro, who will have to cross the gates of hell itself to rescue his beloved Paula, kidnapped by a demon called Fleming. The game exudes style, starting from the start after the prologue with a fabulous menu to the crazy camera shots.
And you know what? Even though it’s not the best shooter in history, you can see the creativity of its developers beyond pure charisma. Even though today it seems like an excessively guided game, some phases are well developed and yes, García will hate “the fucking puzzles”, but the creators don’t and they liven up the combats well. Combats that, as I said, may not have the best feel to the controls, but they are well measured because they know how to be more than just a kill-kill, having to use an alternative shot on some enemies, the environment, knowing when to change weapons and mastering their cadences and reloads. In addition, the final bosses are better designed than they seem and require finesse in dodging to face the weak point.
So Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered is enjoyable if you know what you’re getting at, just as it was when it was released. Besides the fact that you won’t find many similar current products, it was worth bringing this game to the new consoles so that it doesn’t fall into oblivion and even more so to computers, which it had never done before. So, this hell will be eternal .
Returning to Shadows of the Damned with this remaster reveals not only that Grasshopper’s work has been a few years behind it, but that even back in the day it wasn’t the most refined shooter of the generation. But what it lacks in refinement it makes up for in charisma thanks to its eccentric vision of hell and characters and dialogues so absurd that it’s impossible not to smile. This Hella Remastered arrives with a reissue of the classics, which concentrates on improving the resolution and frame rate without touching or retouching the original work at all, beyond including a New Game+ mode. The best news is that it releases a version for PC, which never reached stores.
- It is a remaster of the Xbox 360 and PS3 classic
- It is the crazy story of García Hotspur shooting through hell to rescue his beloved Paula.
- There are few improvements coming, focusing mainly on increasing its resolution and frames to 4K60.
- For the first time, it’s playable on PC and includes a New Game+ mode.
- It became a cult work created by Suda51, Shinki Mikami and Akira Yamaoka.