Shadow Complex avoids 'Metroidvania' comparisons just barely

Shadow Complex has been available for quite some time, but the fun hasn't quite worn off yet. Many people tout it as a Metroidvania knock off. Others call it a Metroidvania homage. Either way, Shadow Complex can't escape this comparison of classic game design from Metroid and Castlevania. A lone player exploring a single, massive dungeon, slowly treading on new ground more and more by collecting upgrades and weapons. So is it blatant reliance on tired game design, or a game to add to the Metroidvania term?

As mild mannered Jason Bailey, you follow along your girlfriend in a hike in the mountains. Lo' and behold, the mountain turns out to be a hidden underground base to a high tech facility hell bent on creating a new American revolution, and Jason's girlfriend gets kidnapped like the damsel in distress he is. She must be great in bed, because Jason decides to rescue her with nothing but a backpack to start with.

"I'm gonna need more backpacks..."

If you've ever played Metroid or Castlevania,the game may feel like a blatant copycat. You explore a large dungeon, collect upgrades, kill dudes for experience, and backtrack endlessly as exploration is encouraged. Spend more time with it though and you slowly come to terms on how it feels like it's own kind of Metroidvania. Afterall, those names are a franchise, so of course later sequels don't stray to far from the formula. This game does it's own thing while still using the tried and true game design of Metroid and Castlevania.

As you slowly gain upgrades, you truly appreciate how much stronger you were when you started off. From barely grabbing ledges to triple jumps and hook shots. Combat is a little clunky however, due to vague 2.5D depth of firefights. You travel on a flat plane, moving left to right while jumping, but enemies can be located in the back and foreground, confusing your efforts with the right stick to aim. Leave it to autoaim and you may spend clips waiting for it to lock on (no wonder you get unlimited ammo).

But most of all, the entire continuity it creates makes it uniquely apart from Metroidvania without straying from design. Some sections of the base are surprisingly different for example, the flooded area and the mineshafts. The foam weapon, this games ice beam, is a blast to use on higher levels with unlimited ammo as you can creat hilarious towers of foam. And my personal favorite boss is the bi-ped, which you unfortunately only run into twice.

But once you beat the game, it's surprising fun comes in on how you play it a second or third time. First time through, you should enjoy it for what it is. But afterwards, this game was definitely made for speed runs and completionists. With a few friends also playing the game, it's fun seeing who's punched the most grunts and who has the fastest completion time. Just seeing how fast you can complete the game now that you know all the tricks make it more fun then the first time through.

So for a game from the XBLA for roughly 10 bucks, this game is surprisingly meaty. Chair has really out done themselves on this little game that could play with the big boys. Who knew the makers of Undertow could pull something like this off?