Shadows: Awakening devours souls on Steam in Fall 2018

Shadows: Awakening, a new isometric single-player RPG by development group Gaming Minds, has a pretty cool hook. Players take on the role of a demon summoned from the Shadow Realm - The Devourer - and set out on an adventure. The Devourer - being a devourer - sets about seeking out the souls of long-dead heroes and…devouring them. This allows the Devourer to form a party of sorts, as he is then able to flip between the different personas that he has devoured at will. According to the dev team, you can switch between “long dead heroes” at any time, switching out combat styles and opening new dialog options.

Now, take a look at this little bit that I clipped from the press release: “Gather your party, control powerful heroes and use their skills to your advantage. But who is in charge… the demon, or the souls that it has devoured? It's up to you to either thwart a major threat and save the world, or to plunge it into complete disaster…” It seems to me from the way that statement is phrased that the souls that have been hijacked by the Devourer might be able to mount an internal revolution of sorts - a demonic possession in reverse. This give Shadows: Awakening an cool angle that I haven’t seen before in video game story telling.

The dev team posted a new video yesterday, giving some details about the world and characters, and some insight into the development process. I am unfamiliar with the franchise, but the team seems pretty sure that they have made improvements across the board from previous installments. The most important change seems to be the switch to the Unity engine, which has stabilized and smoothed out the gameplay. There are a lot of other interesting tidbits in the six minute video, so if you are at all interested in Shadows: Awakening, you might want to take a look.

Some additional details:

• A Tale of Two Worlds – In a parallel universe inhabited by demons and monsters; seamlessly switch between the Shadow Realm and the mortal plane and witness a gripping storyline in a world full of myths, destinies and legendary creatures.
• Unique Party System – multiple characters in one demon, each retaining their own personalities with internal dialogues, rivalries and communication between the characters.
• Wide variety of Skills and Characters – Choose from 3 heroes, each with their own personal storylines, quests and dialogues. Consume the souls of 14 playable characters, each with their own unique skillsets, like Kalig the Bandit King and Evia, Daughter of Fire.
• Tactical Real-Time Combat – Combine the skills of your various characters to maximize the effects of your devastating skills and spells.
• Extensive Gameplay – 20+ hours for a single playthrough, but with substantial options for replayability which accumulate to 60+ hours for the full experience.
• Challenging Puzzles – Complex puzzles are scattered throughout the game, and will take you through a vibrant set of locations, from rustic towns to the deepest and darkest of dungeons.
• Crafting and Looting System – Expanded crafting and looting system will let you use rewards to configure the ultimate adventurer.
• Fully Voiced – All dialogues are fully narrated, including actors like Tom Baker

Shadows: Awakening is currently available for pre-order on Steam, for the discounted price of $33.99. Pre-ordering gets players access to the closed beta, as well as some in-game bonuses when the game drops this fall.