Shadow of the Depth Review
OUR RATING: 7/10
Shadow of the Depth thrusts players into a world where darkness has consumed a once-thriving kingdom. As one of five distinct characters, each with their own motivations and backstories, you’ll embark on a perilous journey through procedurally generated dungeons teeming with monstrous foes. The game’s premise may seem familiar to veterans of the genre, but its execution sets it apart from the pack.
One of Shadow of the Depth’s strengths lies in its diverse roster of playable characters. While the game initially locks most of them behind progression barriers, each character offers a distinct playstyle that caters to different preferences.
Each character’s unique abilities and attributes encourage players to experiment with different strategies and playstyles. This variety adds significant replay value to the game, as mastering each character’s nuances becomes a rewarding challenge in itself.
The controls are responsive and intuitive, allowing players to quickly grasp the basics of movement, attacking, and dodging. However, mastering the intricacies of each character’s abilities and combos requires practice and skill.
The game employs a top-down perspective that may initially feel unfamiliar to players accustomed to isometric or side-scrolling roguelikes. However, this viewpoint offers distinct advantages, providing a clear overview of the battlefield and allowing for precise positioning and tactical decision-making.
As you navigate through the winding corridors and chambers, the ambient sounds and occasional musical cues heighten the sense of tension. The audio design complements the visuals perfectly, immersing players in a world where danger lurks around every corner.
Encounters with enemies are fast-paced and intense, often pitting players against hordes of foes simultaneously. The variety of enemy types, each with their own attack patterns and behaviors, keeps combat engaging and challenging. From shambling zombies to nimble archers and hulking brutes, players must constantly adapt their strategies to survive.
Shadow of the Depth incorporates a multi-layered progression system that rewards players for their efforts, even in the face of defeat. As you explore the dungeons and vanquish foes, you’ll accumulate experience points and currency that can be used to unlock new characters, abilities, and permanent upgrades.
The game’s rune system allows for further customization of your character’s build. By equipping various runes, players can enhance their attributes, modify their abilities, or gain unique passive bonuses. This system adds an extra layer of strategy to character development, encouraging experimentation and allowing for diverse playstyles.
The procedurally generated dungeons in Shadow of the Depth ensure that no two runs are exactly alike. Each floor is filled with a mix of combat encounters, treasure rooms, and occasional trap-laden areas that test your reflexes and decision-making skills.
As you progress through the dungeon, you’ll discover a wide array of weapons, items, and upgrades. The randomized nature of these drops adds an element of excitement to each run, as you never know when you might stumble upon a game-changing piece of equipment.
The game’s inventory management system allows players to sell unwanted items for additional currency, adding a layer of resource management to the overall experience. Deciding whether to keep a newly found weapon or sell it for potential upgrades becomes an important strategic consideration.
Shadow of the Depth’s boss encounters serve as the pinnacle of the game’s challenge. These formidable foes boast unique designs, intricate attack patterns, and substantial health pools. Defeating a boss requires not only skill and reflexes but also a deep understanding of your character’s abilities and the boss’s weaknesses.
One of Shadow of the Depth’s most striking features is its hand-drawn art style. The characters, enemies, and environments are beautifully rendered, with a level of detail that brings the dark fantasy world to life. The use of vibrant colors and dynamic lighting effects creates a visually engaging experience that sets the game apart from many of its peers in the roguelike genre.
The audio design complements the visuals admirably, with atmospheric background music that ramps up during intense combat sequences. Sound effects are crisp and satisfying, providing auditory feedback that enhances the impact of your actions. While some enemy sound effects may feel repetitive in the current early access build, the developers have acknowledged this and are working on improvements.
As with many roguelike games, Shadow of the Depth’s strength lies in its replayability. The combination of procedurally generated dungeons, multiple playable characters, and a deep progression system ensures that players have ample reason to return for multiple runs.
The game’s difficulty curve is well-balanced, offering a steady increase in challenge as players become more proficient. The inclusion of multiple difficulty settings allows both newcomers and seasoned roguelike veterans to find an experience tailored to their skill level.
It’s important to note that Shadow of the Depth is currently in early access, with ongoing development and content additions planned. While the core gameplay loop is solid and engaging, some areas of the game feel somewhat limited in scope at present.
The narrative elements, for instance, are relatively sparse in the current build. While each character has a brief backstory, the overarching plot and world-building aspects could benefit from further expansion. Additionally, some players may find the current number of dungeon environments and enemy types somewhat repetitive after extended play.
Shadow of the Depth runs smoothly on a variety of hardware configurations, with stable frame rates and minimal loading times. The game offers robust controller support, making it equally enjoyable whether played with a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad.
While it draws inspiration from popular titles like Hades and Diablo, Shadow of the Depth carves out its own identity through its unique visual style and top-down perspective. The game’s focus on tight, responsive combat and character progression systems puts it in good company with other well-regarded roguelikes.
Shadow of the Depth offers an engaging and visually striking roguelike experience that shows tremendous promise. Its core gameplay loop is satisfying, with responsive combat, diverse character options, and a well-implemented progression system. The hand-drawn art style and atmospheric audio design create an immersive dark fantasy world that begs to be explored.
While the game’s current early access state means some aspects feel limited or unfinished, the solid foundation and developer commitment to improvement bode well for its future. Players who enjoy challenging action RPGs with roguelike elements will find much to appreciate in Shadow of the Depth.
For those on the fence, it may be worth keeping an eye on the game’s development progress. As additional content and features are added, Shadow of the Depth has the potential to evolve into a must-play title for fans of the genre.
