In Shadows of the Damned you play as Garcia Hotspur, demon hunter. You track down and kill the monsters with your companion Johnson, a floating skull. Johnson can transform into a torch, a motorcycle (which he does only once – it isn’t really part of the game), and a number of weapons, including a pistol, a shotgun and machine gun. Your interplay with Johnson is great and makes the game less lonely, although it detracts somewhat from the survival horror feeling.

You have to rescue your girlfriend, Paula, after Flemming, the Demon Lord of the Underworld kidnaps her as revenge for you killing so many of his minions. As you progress through the eerie, desolate surroundings, you come across a number of cool looking locations from (mostly) empty towns and villages, haunted looking forests, caves, a market, a demon red light district, catacombs and finally Flemming’s own lair, the Castle of Hassle.

The visuals rendered by the Unreal Engine 3 look great and help show off the stylish world, while the music and sound design by Akira Yamaoka really complement the game well.

The game is definitely adult themed, and there many images and situations that are quite disturbing. Paula will be killed, eviscerated and dismembered many times before your eyes. There’s gore and blood everywhere, and sexual innuendo is present in a good portion of the dialogue.

The main shooting mechanic is quite good, but requires you to be very accurate. There’s no auto aim apart from one of the late game weapons. You can ‘insta-kill’ enemies with headshots or damage their limbs with precision shooting. Pinpoint accuracy is required to hit soft spots on boss enemies as well.

Johnson can transform into the phallically named Boner, a pistol which can be evolved into the Big Boner. Johnson can also assume the form of The Teether, a machine gun that fires demon teeth. The Skullcussioner is the game’s shotgun variant and fires skulls. These weapons are upgraded periodically as the game progresses.

You’re slow but can run for short period. However you practically slow to a crawl while aiming. The screen also zooms in while aiming and you really lose sense of your surroundings. You may find it difficult to hit targets that are low down or high up with the zoom mechanic. This can be particularly frustrating when fighting huge bosses in confined areas or when shooting obstacles on the ground while running.

Switching between weapons is easy and there are quick time like prompts to smash enemies that creep up behind you, so you’re not rendered too vulnerable by the zoom mechanic. You also have a 180 degree spin, a feature generally included in games to compensate for poor mobility. The spin uses the same button as the dodge, which can be a bit fiddly because sometimes you’ll spin around and take an incoming projectile to the back instead of leaping out of the way.

Ammo is plentiful throughout levels and in boss fights and you can replenish your health by drinking alcohol you find or purchase from vending machines. Enemies drop white gems that can be used to purchase ammo, alcohol and performance enhancing red gems from a friendly demon named Christopher. Defeating bosses will score you blue gems that facilitate weapon upgrades.

Apart from the shooting there are some clever puzzle elements. Darkness will flood some areas and is permanent in others. It drains your spirit and then your health, so hanging around in it is not a good idea. In many cases darkness can be cleared by shooting a Goat’s Head lamp with a light shot from Johnson. Most enemies are invulnerable in darkness, and even when they emerge from it, have a shroud that must be dispelled with a light shot before they can be hurt. Some door triggers can only be shot from within darkness and some enemies can only be damaged while in it. This forces you to consider environments as well enemies and adds a lot of desperation to some battles.

Boss fights are generally quite exciting. You face some gruesome looking enemies and have to shoot their red spots to stun and/or kill them. Some boss battles seem really difficult at first, but changing tactics can make a big difference. It seems that the game expects you to fail, try again, and keep trying until you work out the best strategy to defeat a particular enemy.

There are a number of aspects in Shadows that you may find annoying. The camera can make life hard especially when you’re zoomed in to shoot and swarmed by enemies. Some attacks also knock you down or spin you around, which can be quite disorienting.

It can also be repetitive. At one point you’re chased by an adversary whose touch causes instant death. You must avoid this character while stopping to shoot obstacles out of the way. This character makes several further appearances in the game and each time poses the same danger and frustration.

In the middle of the game a side scrolling level makes an out-of-place appearance. You are rendered, along with the backgrounds and enemies, as 2D paper cut-outs and the level scrolls automatically. If you can’t keep up with the action, you’re squashed against the edge of the screen. These levels pop up two more times. You may also encounter the odd graphics glitch, such as transparent walls or a lowered floor that prevents you from leaving a room.

Overall, though, Shadows of the Damned is a stylish and atmospheric adult action adventure that should appeal to fans of games such as Resident Evil and Dead Space.