Demons: from gamers to preachers, everybody agrees they could use a good beatdown. Truly, the urge to bash some underworldly creatures has remained a constant staple ever since the concept of Hell and its denizens were first conceived. Countless protagonists have fought their way through hell and back: some for the sheer sport of killing demons, like Doom’s famous Doomguy; others for escape, such as Hades’ Zagreus. But there are those who have intentions far nobler than body counts or their own freedom: somebody else’s.
Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered simultaneously blends comedy, drama, horror and action into an astoundingly entertaining package. Remastered by the iconic Grasshopper Manufacture INC, the same label behind No More Heroes and Killer7 as well as the original producers of the game, it has everything that you’d want from a modern remaster, so much so that at times I completely forgot that the game wasn’t a new project: the atmosphere is incredibly well designed in every area, the music shifts naturally between punk rock, atmospheric and spooky ambience, and deeply touching moments of solemnity. It isn’t just audibly impressive but visually immersive as well: each part of Hell is distinct and entertainingly well-designed from the rooftops to the roadkill. In fact, I will admit that during my playthrough I thought that the main character’s jacket changed color depending on his equipped weapon before realizing it was just an illusion from the color-changing torch he was carrying. I am not one to be overly-zealous about lighting in a game, but color me impressed by the attention to detail.
The game follows a day in the life of Garcia Hotspur, (middle name “F#@%ing”, at least according to him) as his work as a Demon Hunter spirals into a desperate quest to save his beloved Paula from the ruler of Hell, Fleming. After a particularly nasty kidnapping/murder, Garcia chases Fleming through a portal to Hell with only one goal in mind: kill anyone and anything it takes to get her back. Paula doesn’t permanently die, so you’ll be seeing a lot of her all over Hell… at times literally. Although never without a quip, Garcia doesn’t have to adventure alone: by his side is a former demon named Johnson, a floating skull with the ability to turn into all kinds of helpful items and equipment, such as a torch to stave off the darkness or, more importantly, Guns. But Johnson is more than just a wingman, weapon, light source and stand-up comedian, he’s also an expert on the inner workings of Hell and the Demon World. If you ever find yourself lost, confused or just want to look back over what you’ve already learned or experienced, the Johnsonpedia is there to guide you.
The game knows when not to take itself seriously, and the tone is set perfectly when it feels like making you laugh. Your starter gun, a skeletal pistol that fires bones out of the skull at its front, is rather subtly named the “Boner,” and various upgrades to it throughout the game only enlarge the innuendo. But for all the joking that the game does, it knows how to get serious at a moments’ notice, effectively switching to a moment of drama or horror. Hell is no joke, and the game will remind you that fact the moment you start feeling comfortable. I jumped more times than I expected, and I found myself more emotional than I thought I would be. Seeing Garcia walk willingly into traps following his “Angel,” always holding out hope it’s really her, is incredibly impactful. …as is seeing her being tortured all across Hell, just to try and torment Garcia.
The game’s gunplay is very well balanced and exciting. Even from the get-go, you have plenty of ways to bust some skulls: your Pistol is a reliable weapon that never gets outclassed, and one you’ll find yourself using up until the end; Johnson also has a trick up his sleeve for dealing with “Hell-Monkeys,” charging up a blast of light to fire a Light Shot that stuns enemies and leaves them vulnerable for a glory kill, or filling himself with light to perform a devastating Cane Bash that instantly kills the enemy it connects with. Later additions to the arsenal include a submachine gun and a powerful “rocket” launcher, all dressed in macabre design, but I won’t spoil them here. Not that a single name would spoil any of your arsenal, as throughout the game you’ll slowly unlock upgraded forms of your weapons which increase their capabilities and naturally scale throughout the adventure to become incredibly powerful. And you can increase your strength before finding the next boss you get the pleasure of ending the un-life of with the power of Red Gems, an illegal performance enhancer in the underworld that you can use to make your weapons or yourself even stronger against the undead.
The game is filled with incredible characters, each with iconic personalities. Garcia comes across at first like a murder-happy playboy a-la Dante, but further talks with Johnson, as well as his reactions to the situations he finds himself in and his decisions in crucial moments go to show a deeper character who hides his scars under his bravado and is clinging desperately to the best thing in his life, hating himself for letting her get put at risk. Johnson as well is a surprisingly nuanced character, as despite his constant innuendo and joking he is genuinely horrified by the state he finds his former home of Hell in and even shows empathy and is disgusted by the gruesomeness his fellow demons relish in. He genuinely cares for Garcia, is always the first to point out a trap to keep him safe, and even sympathises with the victims of the fairy tale-esque brutal life stories of the souls condemned to hell. I’ll leave a majority of the other characters a mystery for you to discover for yourself, but I will say that you encounter at least one friendly face in Hell whose lights and flowers are always a welcome sight.
The game is more than gunplay and dialogue, there’s also plenty of fascinating and enjoyable mechanics both simple and complex. The doors in Hell are locked by lower-level demons as a form of punishment, guarded under their baby-faced watch. To get these infernal infants to open up, you’ll need to get them their snack of choice, ranging from eyeballs to brains and even… Strawberries. More interesting than doors is the looming Darkness flooding the land: as a mortal in a land of the dead and deadly, you won’t exactly find their version of sunlight healthy for the skin… or the soul. Stepping into the gloom slowly drains you, putting you on a timer before it starts sapping your life. Fortunately, your light-shot can be used to turn on the goats. The lamps are goats by the way. Just figured I’d mention that. Where this gets even more interesting is when this is used for puzzles and for combat. When enemies step inside the dark, it coats them like an invincible shield. You can’t even touch them while they’re covered until you clear it off of them with a Light Shot. This means, however, that if you find yourself surrounded and trapped in the Darkness, you have absolutely no way to defend yourself. On the other hand, there are gateways barred off with pure Darkness whose switches are protected by it as well. To open these doors, you’ll have to intentionally walk into the danger zone to make the buttons “mortal” before firing off a shot from inside.
There are plenty more mechanics to be uncovered, from minigames to unique interactions between enemies and terrain, and even some times where you might intentionally let an enemy turn out the lights, but I’d like to mention one last little detail that I found particularly genius: in Hell, larger and more powerful demons maintain their forms with a constant supply of blood, which is stored in glowing red gems. That’s right, the game even has a consistent reason for bosses and enemies to have weak points! Although we all take them for granted nowadays, it’s rare for such a weakness to actually exist and have meaning in-universe, so it was a nice touch that grounded the game even more for me. Between worldbuilding like this and the minor details that fill out the world like promotional flyers for underworldly events, it’s clear that the game was a labor of love.
Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered is a phenomenal game that I invested way more hours into than I ever expected to and one that I look forward to continuing to enjoy after this review. From its touching sincerity to its outrageous hilarity, the game is a masterpiece of HorrorPunk that I highly recommend. I genuinely struggle to think of any flaws in the game from my experience with it, and while perfection is impossible I believe that this game comes close to it. Now that it’s come back from the dead, give this remaster of an underrated gem from 2011 a chance. Trust me, it’s a Hell of a good time.
Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered is available for PC via Steam.
Related: Reviews by Aaron Grossmann
Gaming is a passion that I, like many other people, hold near and dear to my heart. As an aspiring Game Writer and general Storyteller, I enjoy looking into the vast worlds and deep stories of every game I can. Then again, sometimes bad guys just need a good pummeling, and I am more than happy to provide!
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