Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered – Nintendo Switch Review

Overview – developed and published by Grasshopper Manufacture in collaborations with NetEase Games, Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered revives the cult classic from Suda51, Shinji Mikami and Akira Yamaoka. As Garcia Hotspur, take on the lord of the underworld during a quest to save his love Paula who has been kidnapped. This title is available on all platforms, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank NetEase Games for providing the copy of Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. Please note, this title features sexual content, graphic violence and depictions of Suicide. If you are uncomfortable with any of these subjects or content, please click off this page and take a look at the other coverage that is available on the site.

Story – Garcia “G” Hotspur is a crass demon hunter, slaying hell spawn with his skull companion and former demon Johnson. After getting home from a hunt, he finds his lover Paula dead and he is attacked by demons. During this attack Fleming, the Lord of the Underworld appears and kidnaps Paula’s soul. Determined to reclaim his love that has been stolen from him, Garcia and Johnson traverse the depths of the underworld, laying waste to all in their path.

Gameplay – Shadows of the Damned is a third person action adventure, putting the player in the role of Garcia Hotspur, the foul mouthed demon hunter on a mission to save his love. In this horror styled adventure, travel through 5 acts, split into multiple chapters that span the depths of the Underworld. Each of the chapters progress in a linear fashion, with the player moving through hellish environments and battling Flemings demonic forces.

During exploration of the Underworld, the areas will be split into segments with gates separating them. Most of these gates will be unlocked just by eliminating the demonic threats in the area. However, there are special puzzle gates and baby gates, needing special requirements to be completed. Baby gates are the more common of the two, which require items to be fed to them like strawberries to open them up.

To battle the demons of hell, the player must use Johnson, the former demon who can transform into multiple weapons and serve as a light in the darkness. When moving around the different locations, Garcia will carry Johnson as a torch, illuminating the darkened passages of the underworld. Johnson in this form can also be used as a defensive weapon, allowing the player to knock back the demons, potentially destroying them if charged.

When Johnson is in his weapon form, he can use his bones as ammunition to kill the unholy armies of the underworld. The base weapon is the Boner, a revolver styled gun that fires single shots, dealing an average amount of damage to enemies. Then there is the Monocussioner, which is styled like a shotgun, dealing heavy damage up close to enemies. These two weapons are available from the start, being very useful in battle with the damned.

Weapons in this game have limited ammunition, with the chance to run out of bullets if the player is careless. But thankfully, there are ammo boxes that can be found in stages, extending the supply by a modest amount. If Garcia is in a pinch and low on ammo, Johnson can fire the Lightshot, a special concentrated light bullet that can stun normal enemies. When an enemy is stunned, the player can close in and deliver a gory coup de grace to them.

The demons will appear as the player makes their way through the stages, attacking relentlessly until they are taken down. But they are not the only threat to Garcia and Johnson during the quest to save Paula. The darkness will appear throughout the underworld, which will enshroud Garcia and hurt him if he is exposed to it for too long. The most common way of exorcising the darkness is by hitting a goats head with the Lightshot, but there are other ways.

There will be moments where the player must be in the darkness for extended periods of time. While exposed to the darkness, the player can solve puzzles, which will often involve shooting switches to open doors to progress. The player will need to travel through the darkness at points, which can be extremely dangerous and risk death. While in these areas, Garcia must consume human hearts to prevent his body from failing him.

The darkness can also empower demons, covering them in a layer of shadow and making them more deadly. To defeat these foes, the darkness must be expelled by hitting them with a Lightshot, allowing Garcia to kill them. Demons will also spawn from corpses while in the darkness, making for a hazardous situation that can lead to a quick death if the player is careless. The darkness does have benefits to it, as there is the chance for it to affect demons too.

When Garcia slays a demon, they have the chance to drop items that will be collected automatically. The most common item to drop are white gems, which will be added to Garcia’s bank and are used for the in game shops scattered through the underworld. In these shops, the player can purchase drinks which are the main form of healing lost health, with Hot Sake, Tequila and Absinthe available, providing varying amounts of recovery.

Red gems can also be found during the adventure, which are extremely important to progressing through the hells. These special blood red gems are used to upgrade Garcia’s weaponry and maximum health, with each subsequent upgrade giving the demon hunter more power. These gems can be bought from a special vendor, who will happily take the banked currency in exchange for these special, all powerful gems.

As the player makes their way through the Fleming’s domain, they will encounter powerful foes in challenging boss battles. These battles will lock the player in an arena, where they must dodge, dive and blast their way to survival in a multi-phase battle to the death. During these intense fights, the player must damage the weak point of the enemy until it breaks. If the player can successfully survive the encounter, they will be rewarded with a Blue gem

When a blue gem is collected, Garcia will attach it to Johnson, empowering him and unlocking new forms to be used in battle. These new forms are important to the quest to save Paula, as there will be stronger and increasingly deadly threats that will appear. These foes will require stronger weapons to defeat, like armored demons that need to be blown up, and the giant Hell Monkeys, which can only be annihilated by Johnson in his BIG BONER form.

But the game isn’t all bloody guts and gore, as there are special side scrolling shooter sections that appear during the adventure. These segments are in a colorful paper doll style, giving a brief reprieve from the crimson coated carnage. During the side scroller sections, the player can move all around the screen and aim/fire their weapon in a 180 degree arc. White gems will spawn in these stages and if players can collect them all, they will get a red gem bonus.

Last to discuss is the special remastered additions that have been implemented. In the Nintendo Switch release, the player can use gyro control aiming when looking down the sights. This grants players with the capability to fine tune their shots, which is useful for some areas as the aim can be a little wonky at times. Then there are the additional costumes, with new outfits and looks for Garcia that change how he looks during action and cutscenes.

Finally we have the implementation of New Game Plus. Once the game has been cleared, players can embark on the road trip through hell again. But this time they will carry over all of the items, upgrades and weapons that they had during the last run. Having access to the full arsenal of weaponry, upgrades and power boosts makes for a very fun time, offering higher replay value that the original release sadly lacked at the time.

Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.

Controls – there is a pretty easy to use control system in this release, with tutorials that teach the player how all of the mechanics work. It features a movement and aiming system that is similar to Resident Evil 4, with the camera trailing behind the player. The moment to moment action works well, with inputs being reactive and laid out in a comfortable way. The optional motion controls for aiming are also nicely implemented, allowing for more precision.

Difficulty – there are multiple difficulty options for this title, with an Easy, Normal and Hard setting that can be selected from the start of the game. If the player is able to clear the game, a Very Hard difficulty will be made available for the next attempt. In general the game is pretty challenging, with the boss battles being the hardest part of the game. But in general, aside from a few minor difficulty spikes, the experience is pretty solid and balanced.

Presentation – visually, the dark and menacing tone that the original release carries over well. The settings, enemy designs and the large scale bosses all look pretty good, with the most important elements of the lead characters looking the best. This release performs pretty well on the Nintendo Switch, with my experience suffering little in terms of frame drops or lag. The experience is pretty smooth when played in both Handheld and Docked play modes.

The sound design elevates the experience to something pretty special, created by Legendary Silent Hill composer, Akira Yamaoka. The score is heavy and atmospheric, with a sense of dread that permeates throughout. The main theme for the game is performed by British Punk Band, The Damned. There is English and Japanese voice over, featuring the talents of Steve Blum (Cowboy Bebop) and Paul Mercer (Resident Evil 4) in the English cast.

Final Thoughts – I had played Shadows of the Damned long ago, with some experience back when it first came out on Xbox 360, so I was very excited to get to grips with this remastered version of the game. I will say now, if you aren’t a fan of gross bloody violence, obscenity filled dialogue and dick jokes, this game may not be for you. There is that distinct SUDA51 style that is present throughout the game, with the subtle story details, character interactions and overall narrative all tied together well.

I did have a few minor hiccups during my time with the game, with a couple of glitches and a crash or two, but it didn’t sour my experience. I was fully invested in the game and narrative from start to finish, enjoying all of the intricate details that were present. So I have no issue whatsoever with recommending this game. If you played it when it first came out, you will probably have an even better experience with this new iteration, especially with the new game plus mode.  

In the end, I give Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered a final score of 4.5/5. This is a damned good trip to hell and back, with an engaging story, entertaining characters and jokes, challenging boss battles and an absolutely rocking soundtrack. This is the revival that Shadows of the Damned deserved. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.

Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)

Link to PlayStation version (HERE)

Link to Xbox version (HERE)

Link to Steam version (HERE)