ShadowSide is publisher/developer AdroVGames' second release; their first being Investigator. Without deviating from his original format too much, this one-man operation has crafted yet another exploration-based release that puts players into the shoes of an authority figure; this time a policeman named Alex Carter. Early on, Alex finds himself in a pretty serious car accident and in need of medical assistance, and that's when he realizes that he's not alone in his own head.

For all intents and purposes, ShadowSide is a walking simulator; more accurately, a running simulator as walking is far too slow. Players will spend their time exploring the mostly linear landscapes in search of various treasure collectibles and the few documents that are scattered about. Despite the store page stating that "the main hero can inspect practically every object", gamers are actually pretty limited as to what they can inspect and it's an inconsistent feature; some desks can be searched while a lot can't, and the same goes for lockers, boxes, and a few other assets. Objects can't actually be picked up like in other titles.

For an indie game, this release looks fairly stunning; that's always the power of CryEngine. The developer did a great job with optimization, as it's completely stable, rendering at a constant 60+ FPS with no crashes, bugs, or glitches... at least in my experience. There's a good amount of textures, assets, and models used, and there are a decent variety of environments to wander through during the 3 hour, 15 chapter adventure. Many of the levels do involve snow, but players will experience cities, woodlands, and mountains in the cold, winter weather. Now would also be a good time to mention that the entire game is in Russian, but there are English subtitles that are surprisingly well translated.

The ultimate problem with ShadowSide is that it's an amalgamation of several stories, all shoved into one release. It feels as though the developer couldn't settle on what he actually wanted to put out into the world. The story starts out taking a paranormal tone that slowly morphs into a mental disorder, then the protagonist becomes hunted by every type of law enforcement known to man, and suddenly an alien invasion is happening. It just keeps changing, and none of the plot elements meld together; the story is needlessly convoluted, and it's all frustratingly difficult to understand. There are also many areas where you receive an "ending" to the game, yet the game keeps going until it overstays its welcome by two or three chapters.

While this game does have its fair share of mostly plot-related problems, it does offer some captivating moments as well. There is a bit of replay value given the multiple endings that can be found all throughout the game, though be prepared to do a lot of running as many of the later chapters prefer long treks in lieu of story building. ShadowSide isn't an essential must-play, but if you can grab it on sale for a buck or two it's well worth sinking some hours in; that said, definitely don't grab it at full price.

The Horror Network Curator | Group Click for Gore

ShadowSide is publisher/developer AdroVGames' second release; their first being Investigator. Without deviating from his original format too much, this one-man operation has crafted yet another exploration-based release that puts players into the shoes of an authority figure; this time a policeman named Alex Carter. Early on, Alex finds himself in a pretty serious car accident and in need of medical assistance, and that's when he realizes that he's not alone in his own head. For all intents and purposes, ShadowSide is a walking simulator; more accurately, a running simulator as walking is far too slow. Players will spend their time exploring the mostly linear landscapes in search of various treasure collectibles and the few documents that are scattered about. Despite the store page stating that "the main hero can inspect practically every object", gamers are actually pretty limited as to what they can inspect and it's an inconsistent feature; some desks can be searched while a lot can't, and the same goes for lockers, boxes, and a few other assets. Objects can't actually be picked up like in other titles. For an indie game, this release looks fairly stunning; that's always the power of CryEngine. The developer did a great job with optimization, as it's completely stable, rendering at a constant 60+ FPS with no crashes, bugs, or glitches... at least in my experience. There's a good amount of textures, assets, and models used, and there are a decent variety of environments to wander through during the 3 hour, 15 chapter adventure. Many of the levels do involve snow, but players will experience cities, woodlands, and mountains in the cold, winter weather. Now would also be a good time to mention that the entire game is in Russian, but there are English subtitles that are surprisingly well translated. The ultimate problem with ShadowSide is that it's an amalgamation of several stories, all shoved into one release. It feels as though the developer couldn't settle on what he actually wanted to put out into the world. The story starts out taking a paranormal tone that slowly morphs into a mental disorder, then the protagonist becomes hunted by every type of law enforcement known to man, and suddenly an alien invasion is happening. It just keeps changing, and none of the plot elements meld together; the story is needlessly convoluted, and it's all frustratingly difficult to understand. There are also many areas where you receive an "ending" to the game, yet the game keeps going until it overstays its welcome by two or three chapters. While this game does have its fair share of mostly plot-related problems, it does offer some captivating moments as well. There is a bit of replay value given the multiple endings that can be found all throughout the game, though be prepared to do a lot of running as many of the later chapters prefer long treks in lieu of story building. ShadowSide isn't an essential must-play, but if you can grab it on sale for a buck or two it's well worth sinking some hours in; that said, definitely don't grab it at full price. [h1]Rating: 2.5/5.0 - It's not awful, but it's not great.[/h1] The Horror Network [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/28221963/]Curator[/url] | [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thehorrornetwork]Group[/url] Click for Gore