Shadow of the Beast (2016 video game)

Shadow of the Beast is an action-adventure game developed by Heavy Spectrum Entertainment Labs and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4 in 2016. It is a remake and re-imagining of the 1989 game of the same name.

This article is about the 2016 video game remake. For the original 1989 video game, see Shadow of the Beast (1989 video game).
Shadow of the Beast
Developer(s)Heavy Spectrum Entertainment Labs[1]
XDev
Publisher(s)Sony Interactive Entertainment
Composer(s)Ian Livingstone
SeriesShadow of the Beast
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)PlayStation 4
Release17 May 2016
Genre(s)Platform, action-adventure, hack and slash
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

Gameplay of Shadow of the Beast combines platform and action elements, with the introduction of combos. Players have to defeat enemies. This can be achieved by counter-attacking to strike them down; shield-wielding foes must be ducked behind in order to defeat them.[2] It features a traditional health bar, combos through quick time events, traps, and puzzles. The game features the parallax scrolling from the original title, using some 3D elements.[3][4]

The original Shadow of the Beast is included in the remake as an unlockable extra. An "infinite lives" mode was added to make the original game easier to play.[5]

Plot

The game follows the story of its original predecessor. Players control Aarbron, a seventh born to a seventh child, who was born so strong that Maletoth, a reaper of spirits, saw in him the potential to hold a great power. Maletoth kidnaps Arbron. While Aarbron's mother leads the search of her son, perishing in the process, Maletoth brings Aarbron to the Gate of Souls, where he ordered the Council of Mages to corrupt Aarbron through magic. Aarbron becomes the Beast, a monstrous warrior-servant manipulated by Maletoth for his quest to conquer the world thanks to the power of the Beast.

Later, Maletoth learns of another strong child, so he commissions the mage Zelek to kidnap this child by using the Beast. In the meanwhile, Aarbron's father had turned to the Seekers, a group of people dedicated to stopping Maletoth. The Seekers discover Maletoth's plan to create a second Beast and become unstoppable. The Seekers find the child before Zelek in the attempt of keeping her safe from Maletoth. However, Zelek learns of this plan and uses the Beast to slaughter everyone involved in protecting the child, including Aarbron's father.

Killing his father awakens Aarbron. He pursues Zelek, who had found refuge in the lands of the Dryads and given the child to the Queen of the land. The Queen send the child to Maletoth while unsuccessfully tries to kill the Beast. The child is delivered to Maletoth, while the Beast lears of Maletoth from a dying Zelek. Maletoth is turning the child into new Beast, ordering the destruction of Aarbron.

Aarbron goes to Hydrath's castle to defeat Hidrath and enter the portal the leads to Maletoth. The Sentinel, another of Maletoth's creation that seek revenge, sees in Aarbron the power to finally take on Maletoth and helps him in this endeavor. The Sentinel brings the Beast to the Graveyard of the Fallen so that he could channel the soul trapped there and gain power. Empowered by these souls, Aarbron defeats Maletoth, taking his power for his own.

Development

Shadow of the Beast was announced during for PlayStation 4 during gamescom.[6] The first trailer was revealed, together with the announcement of Heavy Spectrum Entertainment Labs being the developer of the game.[7] The first gameplay footage during E3 2015.[8] The game released on 17 May 2016.[9]

The game uses the Unreal Engine 4 as its underlying engine technology, and Audiokinetic Wwise for audio.

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic64/100[10]
Review scores
PublicationScore
GameSpot5/10[11]
IGN7.6/10[12]
Metro8/10[13]

Shadow of the Beast received "mixed or average reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic.[10] IGN awarded it a score of 7.6 out of 10, stating: "Bloody, elegant combat and an otherworldly vibe make Shadow of the Beast a successful reboot of the Amiga classic."[12] Writing for Metro, David Jenkins described the game as taking the inspiration from the art and concept of the somewhat flawed original and marrying this with influences from modern action games, such as Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and Heavenly Sword, to create something greater than its own legacy.[13] GameSpot awarded it a more negative review of 5 out of 10, stating that "For a remake, it's not a good sign that the best part about the modern Shadow of the Beast is revisiting the game that inspired it."[11]

gollark: Good idea.
gollark: `+` and `-` for functions in potatOS are admittedly just fancy compose.
gollark: ```lualocal func_mt = {}if debug then debug.setmetatable(function() end, func_mt) endfunction func_mt.__sub(lhs, rhs) return function(...) return lhs(rhs(...)) endendfunction func_mt.__add(lhs, rhs) return function(...) return rhs(lhs(...)) endendfunction func_mt.__concat(lhs, rhs) return function(...) local r1 = lhs(...) local r2 = rhs(...) return r1, r2 -- limit to two return values endendfunction func_mt.dump(x) return string.dump(x) endfunction func_mt.info(x) return debug.getinfo(x) endfunction func_mt.address(x) return (string.match(tostring(f), "%w+$")) end```
gollark: OH REALLY?
gollark: Oh, and you can index strings so `("abcd")[4]` returns `"d"`.

References
  1. "Shadow of the Beast - Details". Metacritic. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  2. "The new Shadow of the Beast is one man's dream come true". Eurogamer. April 16, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  3. Turner, Jack (May 19, 2016). "Shadow of the Beast review, PS4: More for gamers seeking nostalgia". The Independent. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  4. Bierton, David (May 18, 2016). "Digital Foundry vs Shadow of the Beast on PS4". Eurogamer. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  5. Orry, James (May 5, 2016). "Shadow of the Beast PS4 also includes the original Amiga game". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  6. Makuch, Eddie (August 20, 2013). "Shadow of the Beast remake coming to PS4". GameSpot. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  7. Barker, Sammy (August 22, 2013). "GamesCom 2013: So, Shadow of the Beast Is Making a Comeback". Push Square. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  8. Birch, Matt (June 26, 2015). "New Shadow of the Beast footage and screens from E3 2015". PlayStation.Blog. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  9. Birch, Matt (March 30, 2016). "Shadow of the Beast Launching May 17th on PS4". PlayStation.Blog. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  10. "Shadow of the Beast". Metacritic. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  11. Concepcion, Miguel (May 23, 201). "Shadow of the Beast Review". GameSpot. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  12. Ingenito, Vince (December 9, 2016). "Shadow of the Beast Review". IGN. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  13. Jenkins, David (May 16, 2016). "Shadow Of The Beast review – revenge of the Amiga". Metro. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
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