Posts Tagged metroidvania

Aside from raising a few eyebrows with its Orson Scott Card connection, Shadow Complex has received a very welcoming reception. I played the game all the way through, which is more than I can say for most titles I try, and it definitely had its moments. Still, I don’t think its praises are entirely deserved.

Jason "I'm nobody" Fleming, the protagonist of Shadow Complex.

Shadow Complex is filled with perplexing and downright annoying gameplay choices, but no one seems to have picked up on these. Maybe it’s a sense of nostalgia for a “Metroidvania” — now with a shiny new coat — or maybe it’s just an entirely new generation of gamers enchanted by this particular subgenre. Regardless, I found the game full of dubious bits of design that tugged and pulled at me, preventing me from just letting go and enjoying it as a whole.

Most of these, I believe, stem from a single issue: the game’s lack of an identity.

I don’t mean its bland aesthetics, lackluster story and paper-thin characters, either (although those certainly did not help). What I’m referring to is its hodgepodge of game mechanics that seem haphazardly thrown together. Not wanting to sound completely bitter, I’d like to point these out in a somewhat instructional fashion, providing concrete examples and an occasional way to alleviate or solve the problem(s).

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