Shadowgrounds Review Summary

Fun, addictive top-down shooting with great music and satisfying weapon upgrades, though its predictable story and limited auto-save hold it back.

Weapon Upgrade System Praised: Many players highlight the weapon upgrade system as a standout feature, allowing customization and enhancement of weapons. This system is frequently described as great, with multiple upgrade paths and options per weapon.

Weapon Variety and Customization: Players commend the variety of weapons with distinct characteristics and upgrade paths. Multiple weapon types, often with three upgrades each, add depth to customization.

Simple and Addictive Gameplay: The gameplay is simple, friendly, and easy to learn, yet addictive. It appeals to a wide audience.

Fun Top-Down Shooter: The game is widely enjoyed as a top-down shooter with responsive controls and a good weapon arsenal. Players appreciate its retro feel and fast, linear action.

Excellent Music and Soundtrack: The music and soundtrack are highly regarded, with ambient and battle tracks enhancing the experience. Industrial metal tracks during combat are particularly noted.

Simple and predictable story: Many players find the story simplistic, predictable, and full of clichés. The plot lacks depth and interesting developments.

Limited auto-save system: The game only autosaves at the beginning of each level, so exiting mid-level means restarting the level. This forces players to complete the current level or lose progress.

Strange and disappointing ending: The ending feels strange and anticlimactic, leaving some players unsatisfied. It could have been executed differently.

Monotonous and boring gameplay: The gameplay becomes monotonous and boring fairly quickly. Players find it repetitive and lacking engagement.

Annoying and unhelpful NPCs: NPCs treat the player like an errand boy, yell at them, and send them on suicide missions. They often get in the way and cause deaths.

Weapon upgrade system praised: A weapon upgrade system is frequently mentioned, with weapons upgradable multiple times using points or tokens dropped by enemies. Upgrades can include damage boosts, new fire modes, and other improvements.

Top-down shooter perspective: Many reviewers describe the game as a top-down or isometric shooter, often comparing it to Alien Shooter. Some note a fixed camera or a perspective similar to Doom 3.

Flashlight mechanics add tension: A flashlight with limited battery is needed in dark areas and can be toggled off to recharge. It also scares away smaller enemies, adding a tactical element.

Variety of weapons available: Players highlight a diverse arsenal including pistols, shotguns, flamethrowers, rocket launchers, railguns, and more. The number of weapons is often noted as around ten.

Co-op multiplayer supported: The game offers co-op play, including local split-screen and Remote Play Together for up to four players. Some reviews mention only local co-op.

Frequent crashes and stability issues: Players report crashes to desktop, especially after the second mission or randomly during gameplay. The game also fails to find Steam in many runs. These stability problems severely impact the experience.

Poor optimization on modern hardware: The game runs poorly on modern devices and lacks optimization for large resolutions. Performance is generally stable for the genre but overall optimization is bad, though mods can fix it.

Installation and startup difficulties: Getting the game to run is a pain, with some users experiencing errors like 'Failed to find Steam' frequently. However, some manage to run it on Linux with specific Proton versions.

Resolution and display problems: Players cannot set proper resolution, the window stretches to full screen, and windowed mode is broken. There is also no native V-Sync, causing high PC temperatures.

Cutscene loading and collision bugs: Cutscenes sometimes fail to load, causing infinite loading screens, and players can get stuck inside objects. These bugs disrupt progression.

Deeply discounted, high value: Many reviewers highlight that the game is almost free, especially during sales. They consider it a solid buy at a reduced price and frequently recommend waiting for a discount.

Fun but not exceptional: The game is enjoyable but not outstanding, often described as a good way to pass time or a 5-7/10 experience. It is recommended with reservations and not as a must-play.

Recommend for top-down shooter fans: Players recommend this game to fans of top-down shooters, especially those who enjoy old-school style and don't mind dated graphics. It is often compared to Alien Shooter and Alien Breed.

Positive general recommendations: Many users give a straightforward recommendation, calling it a fun game that is easy to recommend. Some highly recommend it as an A+ game or an astonishing achievement.

Appeals to sci-fi and horror fans: The game's dark sci-fi atmosphere and horror elements attract fans of genres like Dead Space or Alien. It balances tension, action, and suspense, making it appealing to those who enjoy a space horror vibe.

Community fair range: $3.99 - $7.99.

Game completion: 6.0h.

Story completion: 6.0h.

Session length: 1.0h.

Shadowgrounds tends to deliver fun early or in mid-game, especially with co-op and weapon/enemy variety, but many players report it turns repetitive and boring after a few hours, with the ending described as a slog. The dominant profile is fun then drops.

Friction: Limited enemy variety and simplistic enemy behaviors; Repetitive encounters and heavy reliance on combat sequences; Controls can bother depending on setup; No mid-game saving; Difficult startup / pain to get running; Not optimized for large resolutions.

Unlock drivers: Steady introduction of new enemies and guns; Constant mix of foes requiring weapon alternation; Great pacing of weapon unlocks; Local co-op with a friend; Endgame twist that one player enjoyed; Responsive controls and relevant mechanics.

Old-School Shooter Nostalgist: Run-and-shoot top-down combat with keyboard/mouse or controller, embracing dark sci-fi atmosphere. Motivation: Relive classic arcade and Amiga-era top-down shooting action. Stance: sale.

Local Co-op Socializer: Local co-op with a friend, using Remote Play Together or same-screen, often competing over resources. Motivation: Social bonding through local cooperative play. Stance: buy.

Budget Deal Hunter: Casual play, often waiting for sales and not investing heavily in completion. Motivation: Cheap entertainment and low-risk purchase. Stance: deep sale.

Steam Deck: The game exhibits significant friction on Steam Deck due to controller compatibility issues and the need for Proton tinkering on Linux. Multiple users report that controller support is either broken or poorly implemented, especially for local co-op, making the game difficult to play with a gamepad. On Linux, the game requires a specific Proton version to run, as the native port is no longer available. While some users find mouse and keyboard controls satisfactory, the overall experience is not seamless.

Linux and Proton: The available Linux-relevant feedback comes from a single review reporting that the Steam version runs more or less fine under Ubuntu 18.04 with Proton 6.3-5 on a laptop with Intel HD Graphics 4400. The review also notes that the historical GNU/Linux port was not carried over to Steam, but no launch failures, crashes, anti-cheat blockers, or required workarounds are reported. Overall, the game appears to work well through Proton.

Alien Shooter Comparisons: Some reviews compare this game to Alien Shooter, often unfavorably, calling it a poor man's version or noting similarities. Others describe it as a mix of Alien Shooter and Doom 3.

Old Game with Glitches: Multiple reviews point out that the game is old and may have glitches or bugs when run on modern machines. Its age is a common observation.

Alien Breed Comparison Common: Many reviews compare this game to the Alien Breed trilogy by Team17, often describing it as a clone or a newer alternative. This highlights its strong inspiration from the classic top-down shooter.

Developed by Frozenbyte: The game is consistently noted as being developed by Frozenbyte, with some mentioning it as their first title. This establishes the studio's early work.

Frozenbyte Known for Trine: Reviews frequently mention Frozenbyte's later success with the Trine series to contextualize this game. This association helps identify the developer's pedigree.