Shadow Man Remastered A dark world worth getting lost in

Michael LeRoi carries a voodoo mask in his chest and a job older than him: as the latest Shadow Man, he walks between Liveside, where the living are, and Deadside, where everyone goes when they die. A prophecy puts a voodoo priestess on the trail of five serial killers being gathered to bring about the apocalypse. In Liveside, Michael is just a man, and the killers are immortal. So the hunt runs through Deadside: collect dark souls, grow your shadow powers, and unlock the gates and artifacts that make the five mortal. The story is told with files, diaries and dialogue, and it takes its time. The opening file on the murderers alone is ten minutes of reading, and it is worth every one.

Deadside is a strange, cruel, often beautiful place: blood rivers, brutalist corridors, an asylum built by Jack the Ripper, a cathedral of pain. Over twenty sprawling levels each have their own look, enemies and puzzles, and they connect like a metroidvania: new powers open paths you walked past hours earlier. That sounds like a complaint, and for some players it will be. But the level design is the game's highlight, and getting lost in it is half the point. Collecting dark souls raises your shadow level, which unlocks new areas, weapons and abilities, so every detour makes you stronger.