Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered review

There are a decent number of big name video game directors that get people excited for upcoming games, but few are as off the wall as Suda 51. Alongside studio Grasshopper Interactive, Suda has had a hand in all sorts of weird and wonderful games – from the No More Heroes series to Killer7. It’s hard to really define what makes his games special, though. A sort of bizarre mix of over the top characters, abject silliness, and a whole lot of dick jokes combine to create a baffling library of titles that I’ve for the most part enjoyed. One of my favourites now has a modern remake too, but is Shadows of the Damned Hella Remastered still worth playing in 2024?

Our hero in this hellacious game is Garcia Hotspur, a Mexican demon hunter with an exaggerated badass attitude. When his beloved girlfriend is kidnapped by a demon he chases them down to the underworld to try and save her, but with a whole host of terrible monsters waiting it won’t be easy. Thankfully his friend/gun Johnson is with him to help blast holes in enemies and make penis-based comments, because how could you possibly play through an action game without those?

It’s rather jarring to jump back into a game like Shadows of the Damned, because it’s absolutely the most 2011 video game that ever existed. A linear third person action game that lasts about 10-12 hours, features some fun set pieces, and then ends just when you’re ready for it to. It’s like a bizarre time capsule that feels far more alien than it has any right to, but admittedly is a hell of a good time (pun intended, Suda would be proud).

Shadows of the Damned is essentially a third-person shooter, with three bone-based weapons you’ll use to take down enemies. The Boner (yes, really) is a pistol that fires bones, The Teether is a tooth firing machine gun and the Monocussioner is a shotgun that also fires a massive skull. Using them against enemies is really entertaining, and because you’ve only got three of them and will get limited ammo for each, you’re forced to really get to know them.

As you progress through hell you’ll find special demon gems that can be used to upgrade your guns, increasing various stats to make them better in battle. It’s not an overly complex system but is one that rewards you for searching environments thoroughly, and is immediately noticeable when fighting enemies or massive swearing bosses.

One of the main mechanics of Shadows of the Damned Hella Remastered is darkness and light. In the opening moments of the game you’re introduced to a light shot power you can use to stun enemies, but before long you’ll enter an area completely flooded with darkness that damages you over time. Only by finding a goat head and blasting it with light will you be able to get rid of this dangerous hazard, but sometimes that’s easier said than done.

As fun as shooting monsters and finding bleating animal heads is, it’d probably get boring eventually. You don’t have to worry about this in Shadows of the Damned though, as variety is the name of the game. There’s always some sort of weird and usually wonderful set piece coming around the corner, and while some are simple but effective like a side scrolling section others are more outlandish. My main memory of Shadows of the Damned before replaying the game for this review was wielding a particularly large gun against massive enemies as Garcia shouts “taste my big boner”, and all these years of maturing later… it’s still fantastic.

Sadly, Shadows of the Damned Hella Remastered is not the most impressive of remasters we’ve seen in recent memory. The game definitely looks better than it did back in 2011 (and now features a new game plus mode) but with some seriously muddy textures that haven’t been suitably upgraded, and dodgy character models it’s definitely showing its age. Some of the crassness of the game does feel a bit grubbier in this modern age too, like how every time you encounter your beloved damsel in distress she’s wearing less clothing. The whole game is a sort of bizarre teen boy fever dream, which weirdly has its charm but occasionally did make me feel like I needed to jump in the shower and clean myself.

For better or worse they simply don’t make games like Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered anymore, and because of that it’s a rather refreshing experience. Not everyone will appreciate its dedication to dick jokes and scantily clad babes, but as far as shooty action games go it’s a blast to play with a whole lot of variety.