Game Reviews

Let’s be clear, Shad’O is another tower defence game – but please don’t stop reading yet. Unlike other games of the genre, Shad’O does something unique – it tries to immerse you in a story.

Yes, there’s a story in here, one that centres on William: a young boy in his pyjamas who finds himself in a strange world overrun with shadows and darkness. William can’t remember how he got to this place, or, for that matter, much of anything at all. Luckily, his adorably British accented teddy bear is there to help guide him on the path to regain his memories, one at a time.

It may seem odd to focus so much on telling a tale, considering the genre, but Shad’O actually manages to use the story elements to give the game of tower defence an unusual twist. It weaves itself into the game effectively, counteracting the repetitive nature of the genre. And beating a level does simply dump you into the next one, but rewards you with beautifully drawn stills of William’s memories, and little by little, the game paints a picture of what exactly happened to him.

What the story element does best of all, though, is create an atmosphere of unease, which hangs over the whole game. Dark and foggy visuals and deliciously creepy music combine with the story to build a dreary world. Some stages are even set in nightmare-fuel places like inside floating hallways and among giant evil-looking snowmen. Even for someone who can struggle to get along with tower defence, these mental battlefields will fascinate. On them your goal in each level is to protect your memory, represented by a bright pillar of light, from the advancing shadow monsters.

To protect his memories, William enlists the help of some strange patchwork companions. Each companion has different skills, including the ability to stun enemies or hurt them with a beam of light. Stages are covered with a dark fog, except in a few small lit areas. Placing down companions drives away the fog around them and reveals more of the path – and the advancing monsters.

Before you can place any of your companions, though, you have to farm light. Light farming happens slowly enough to really make you think about which companions you place down. This need to strategise makes the game satisfyingly challenging most of the time.

Of course, you’re not limited to the slow light harvesters that you start with. Every stage you beat gives you access to one upgrade or spell, with enough upgrades and different kinds of spells to fit any play style. You can opt to get an attack spell and upgrade your attacking companions. Or you can focus on faster light harvesting. Plenty of different choices give you free reign to play the game the way you want to.