Nintendo Switch Review Key Provided By Nightdive Studios
Perhaps one of my most memorable gaming experiences of 2021 was my first trip to Deadside when I had the chance to review Nightdive’s first launch of Shadow Man: Remastered when it came to PC in April. Under-impressed by its horrid controls both with a controller or even a mouse and keyboard, my overall time with the game was sort of a sour one.
Though I had a pretty bad time, giving the game a 4/10, it was one of the games of last year that never really left my mind. And while I never picked it up again, its amazing settings, themes, and slammin’ theme song always managed to creep out of the depths of my brain to say hello every so often.
It’s one of the most unforgettable games that truly deserved a bit more TLC. Luckily for myself and the other gamers that have too fallen under the game’s spell, I can finally say that it has rebounded in my eyes.
Gameplay
I’m not sure what they’ve done between last April and now but as far as controls go, this is the absolute best that they could have done. Playing the game in handheld mode on the Switch is nothing short of an absolute joy. Controls feel smooth and a bit slippery, in just the right way. Shadow Man himself is as agile as a cat and as easy to control as ever.
Because I was able to play the game without getting upset with its controls, I was able to truly appreciate just how great its gameplay is and how unique it is even to this day. There is not another title that I can think of that has replicated this one’s original gameplay sequences. It really is a product of its time, being a pioneer for the industry as a whole.
It really feels like Nightdive took into consideration any complaints that they had heard and made the effort to correct them. Combat is really great too and my only real complaint about the gameplay portion is that I didn’t find the gyro-aiming functionality to be present at all.
I tried looking through the various settings to locate it but came up short. I even tried different weapons or viewpoints while in-game and too just could get anything to work. It’s a real shame though because I was extra excited to check it out seeing as the regular controls were done so well.
Audio and Visuals
Perhaps one of the coolest things about this remaster, which is prevalent across all consoles, is its vast amount of customization options for visuals. You can adjust the anti-aliasing, ambient occlusion, HD textures, FOV, and many more. Being able to adjust such things on consoles, or a Switch no less is a really amazing thing.
Though it is worth pointing out that the game can chug a bit here and there with all settings set at max of course. Even with most of them off, I noticed a hiccup a few times in specific spots. But I can’t say that any really got in the way too much.
As with the PC version, all visuals are beautiful even with all things turned down. The game looks incredibly detailed for an older game with its few touch-ups. I absolutely adore its art style and nightmare-inducing characters.
Audio has also been tweaked. It’s another complaint I had with last year’s launch but I feel like it’s night and day here. I was over-joyed by just how much ambiance there really was. Kudos to them on this!
Replayability
This version of the game has immense replayability. It’s a title that never grows old. The gameplay is fresh, the setting is haunting, and the melding of its sounds and music just begs to be returned to. There truly isn’t anything else like it.
What It Could Have Done Better
I really wish that the gyro-aiming controls were present. This was a huge hit as I would’ve loved to have the chance to test them out. The controls are great on their own so combining them with gyro would’ve been a really cool thing to see. Having the staple feature for the console not being in the game is a pretty big let-down.
This title still suffers from some sucky checkpoints and auto-save spots that had me wanting to pull my hair out. I also found enemies to be extremely wonky when I was in their presence. They’d kind of hover around me every once in a while but it was more funny than annoying.
Verdict
Nightdive took what didn’t work in last year’s original game and did a great job at improving most things I had an issue with. It’s a solid game that finally feels like it is worth a full playthrough for those new to the IP. If you have a Switch, get this. Though it may not have its gyro, at this moment, it is still a fantastic new addition to the Switch library of remasters that you have to own.
