While the No More Heroes IP is left in the hands of publisher Marvelous for any future installments, it is cemented in that other properties are available for developer Grasshopper Manufacture. Especially after the recent buyout by NetEase Games in 2021, that was certainly put under scrutiny how much freedom the Japanese game studio would actually face.
In a development previously, it was revealed that Grasshopper Manufacture would attain the rights to select IPs including The Silver Case, Shadow of the Damned, and even select characters from Fire Pro Wrestling. Among the list of games, one of the team’s first projects after being acquired is the 2011 psychological horror shooter. Last summer, Grasshopper Manufacture revealed that Shadow of the Damned will be receiving a remastered release.
Fast forward to PAX East this March, developer Grasshopper Manufacture attended the convention alongside publisher NetEase Games with said title. Now coined ‘Shadow of the Damned: Hella Remastered’, Rectify Gaming managed to sample the playable demo available on the show floor. And it’s a welcomed return!
“Join the crass Garcia Hotspur and his boney buddy, Johnson, as they traverse the depths of the Underworld to steal back Garcia’s kidnapped lover, Paula, from the clutches of Fleming, the Lord of the Underworld. Let the soul of rock ‘n’ roll run loose in the heart of the twisted hellscape that is the Underworld,” the Steam description gives for the game’s plot.
Answering the comparison to the original 2011 game, the ‘Hella Remastered’ version available does show to be an improvement. Of course, the biggest take away is the visuals. Although it might not appear graphically demanding compared to titles of this age, Shadow of the Damned: Hella Remastered does feature updated texture work that were certainly inserted over the original release.
Another major note for Shadow of the Damned: Hella Remastered is the improved performance. As expected, the original Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3 title only offered an output of 30hz. But from our time with the build at the ‘Grasshopbar’, the game now supports 60 frames per second. As the demo progressed, larger set pieces and boss battles were not overwhelmed thanks to the snappier response with the control scheme and gunplay.
Of course, elements of the original release do persist in Shadow of the Damned: Hella Remastered. Aspects including the crude humor, dialogue, and the overall atmosphere remains which paints the game as a throwback to the early 2010s. That’s as expected. Furthermore, the gameplay remains fairly the same as well. How Garcia is controlled with his bursts of sprinting and reticle-free aiming is also a callback to the time period which comes with its own charm.
Although I cannot answer on the full game, I did play the first full chapter available at the station. Concluding with a boss fight did come full circle with the basic tutorials and exposition dumping that made the experience a breeze once the title card appeared. Howbeit, this is note-to-note of the original game, it really does show promise with the modern improvements done to this version for Shadow of the Damned.
Currently, the game is said to ship sometime in 2024. Alongside Shadow of the Damned: Hella Remastered, another Grasshopper Manufacture remastered title is on the way as well. In that, Lollipop Chainsaw Repop is underway for a summer 2024 release in collaboration with Dragami Games. You can read the full report by heading here.
Shadow of the Damned: Hella Remastered is listed to release in 2024 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
