Game Review: Shadow Man Remastered (Xbox Series X)

Based on the Shadow Man comic book series published by Valiant Comics, Shadow Man was an action-adventure game developed and published by Acclaim. It was released in 1999 on PC, Playstation, N64 and Dreamcast.

Now, depending on what version you played you will either have good or bad memories of this game. If you only ever played the PS1 version, that’s a real shame as the game was just too much for the console to handle. The N64 version was decent but if you really wanted to experience Shadow Man in all its glory, you had to play either the PC or Dreamcast versions.

Regardless, the multi-console release and popularity of the game overall saw it get a sequel called Shadow Man: 2econd Coming in 2002 on the PS2. Nobody cared and that was it for the short-lived franchise. That was until Nightdive Studios came along and decided to re-release it in 2013 on PC. Seemingly buoyed by its renewed popularity, they set about developing a remastering of the game which finally saw the light of day in early 2021 on PC.

Console players have had to wait a while for it but finally, as of January 2022, it has now been released on all modern consoles.

Remastering of old games is ten-a-penny these days and the results can be mixed. For every good one there is a bad one. Ones that feel like complete overhauls and ones that do the bare minimum with nothing more than a graphical upgrade to hang its hat on.

Which camp does Shadow Man Remastered find itself in? Well, when the list of what’s different in this remastering includes 4K resolution, improved shadow mapping, per-pixel lighting, anti-aliasing, and missing content, then you know you’re on to a good thing.

We’ll explain more in a bit but first, the story and gameplay.

Michael LeRoi is the current iteration of the Shadow Man. A voodoo warrior who protects the land of the living (called Liveside) from the threats of the land of the dead (called Deadside). Thanks to the Mask of Shadows that is knitted into his ribs, Michael has powers that allow him to deal with most threats in Deadside. However, a new threat has arisen that will test his abilities to the maximum. A threat that threatens to bring about the apocalypse. An apocalypse that has been foretold in prophecy.

A being known as Legion has gathered five of the world’s most dangerous serial killers and used them to construct a towering Asylum in Deadside. There, he is gathering all the forces of darkness that reside in Deadside, planning to implant them with fabled dark souls. Once done, he will be able to send them over to Liveside and bring about the end times.

Michael will have to traverse every corner of Deadside to find the dark souls, deal with the ‘five’ and defeat Legion before he can enact his evil plan.

It is a fantastic story that feels suitably epic but also has character-based depth too. This is a standalone story that satisfies while paying tribute to the comic books that inspired it. Michael LeRoi is both endearing and dramatic, his personal drama fits in perfectly with his ‘harbinger of souls’ persona. He’s a character most will enjoy taking control of, backed up with a strong set of side-characters like Nettie and Jaunty. It was a great story in 1999 and is a great story in 2022.

There are no complaints to be had there, but what about the gamplay? The original game provided a solid mix of action, adventure and combat but had its flaws. This remastering is pretty much the same, albeit with a tighter control system and small, but notable changes to the UI.

As Shadow Man you can run, jump, duck, dodge, strafe, swim and shoot. All necessary tools at his disposal as Deadside is a maze-like place filled with all manner of enemies trying to take Michael down. The main weapon at your disposal is the Shadow Gun and it’s what most will use throughout. As you collect dark souls, you will be able to charge your shots up too making enemy battles easier. Along the way, a number of unique voodoo style weapons (that often double up as tools too) can be found and used. Shadow Man allows you to double wield weapons too for even more combat chaos.

Although, while holding two weapons, he will be unable to do a lot of the platforming that is involved. Which there is a lot of.

You see, Shadow Man requires a ton of exploration with back-tracking engrained in it thanks to important upgrades and the unlockable weapons/items. Areas are blocked off by soul gates that require you to have a certain number of dark souls to unlock. In addition, each area has secrets and different routes that require certain items to access. By the end of the game, you will be a walking badass, with no area of the game off-limits. Provided you can remember where things actually were.

Yes, one of the biggest complaints of the original game still exists here and that is the lack of a map. Can’t quite remember where you saw that elusive dark soul in an earlier part of the game? Get trekking and get looking. Unless your memories of this game are so strong, you can find your way with ease.

Be prepared to be shocked though, as the aforementioned cut content being put back in has resulted in a lot of unexpected changes. Yes, even if you’ve played this game 100 times before, this remastering brings a ton of new reasons to play it again.

Remember how several of the five serial killers are in prison and you have to travel there to defeat them? Well, it turns out that only Victor Batrachian was supposed to be in prison and his level is unchanged. However, Marco Cruz and Milton Pike? They both have their own areas to explore and they are massive. If that wasn’t enough, Avery Marx now jumps out and attacks you in the corridors of the disused hotel too.

What about when you take the lift carriage from the Asylum Gateway to the Cathedral of Pain? Why are there two switches now? That’s because the new switch takes you to the Experimentation Rooms. A brand-new area in the Asylum that also might be one of the most frustrating to explore.

Incredible changes but we’re only scratching the surface here.

In addition, the fantastic soundtrack has been completely remastered with new music and sound effects for the new levels. Cut, unused dialog, animation and models has been put back in, auto-targeting is now a thing, some levels have been rearranged, new enemies have been introduced and so much more.

While the changes to gameplay and level design are so very notable, the other thing worth talking about is the graphical update and improvements to the lighting. The former has a lovely HD texture (bear in mind this is a remaster not a remake) but allows you to switch between that and the original texture if you prefer. The latter enhances and makes previously hard to navigate levels so much easier. A great example being the area previously know as The Undercity but given the new title of Fogometers here. A level that was a nightmare to explore because of the piss-poor lighting.

It’s just one of so many improvements that make this the definitive version of Shadow Man to play. The time, love and care that Nightdive Studios have put in to this is clear and the end result is a triumphant remastering. Shadow Man was always a good game but this version can be called great.