Shades: Shadow Fight Roguelike

About

Shades: Shadow Fight Roguelike is a fighting game with an intriguing story and good gameplay, featuring fabulous visuals and masterful music. However, it has lots of grinding, is poorly optimized with annoying ads, and is full of bugs. As advertised, "Legendary Shadow fighting returns" in this roguelike game, but the player experience can be hindered by these issues.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Shades: Shadow Fight Roguelike screenshot

63%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,460 reviews

story94 positive mentions

monetization87 negative mentions

The game brings back the nostalgia of Shadow Fight 2 with improved graphics and gameplay.
The new shades mechanic adds an interesting layer to combat, allowing for varied strategies.
The storyline continues the legacy of Shadow Fight 2, making it engaging for long-time fans.

The game suffers from frequent crashes and lag, especially at the start of battles.
The controls can be unresponsive, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
Progression feels slow and heavily reliant on luck due to the gacha-style weapon and upgrade system.

story
233 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
53%
7%
The story of the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its continuation of the Shadow Fight 2 narrative and the improved graphics and storytelling elements. However, some critiques highlight that the gameplay mechanics and controls detract from the overall experience, with issues like lag and unresponsive controls impacting enjoyment. While the storyline is praised for its depth and nostalgia, players express a desire for more diverse gameplay modes and better optimization to enhance the overall experience.
- “The story is really impressive and nice.”
- “I am glad that Shadow Fight 2 legacy is finally returning, and the story continues.”
- “I'm absolutely stunned with the story and the feeling I go through every time I deep dive into the story.... truly I missed 'May and Shadow' so much that it's a dream come true moment the story is being continued where I left off.”
- “Overall, this is nothing but a sad cash-grab with a story stickered onto it.”
- “The gameplay is mediocre and repetitive, and the story is underwhelming in my opinion.”
- “Is it a prequel to Shadow Fight 2 or what? There is nothing in it except story; no proper lobby, no training room, no map, no survival mode, no night mode, no weapon store, can't buy weapons or armor, no use of gems, even no intro, just a base story that is continuing by speaking... Shadow Fight 2 is a top-rated game; if this is a continuation of it, then it must be far better than it, but it's like a cheap copy.”
graphics
199 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
54%
2%
The graphics of the game have received a mixed reception, with many praising the improved visuals and nostalgic art style reminiscent of Shadow Fight 2. However, several users reported issues such as lag, low frame rates, and graphical glitches, which detracted from the overall experience. While the aesthetics and animations are generally well-received, there are calls for further optimization and enhancements to fully realize the game's potential.
- “The graphics are incredible, the gameplay is smooth and the user interface is seamless.”
- “Beautiful graphics as always and interesting storyline continuation.”
- “The graphics and movements of the fights are so smooth.”
- “Except for a few new artworks, everything seemed like it has been brought directly from the old game and slapped onto this one.”
- “The graphics lack the intricate details that once captivated players.”
- “Too many crashes, and low-res recycled graphics.”
gameplay
181 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
45%
13%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players praising the nostalgic elements and mechanics reminiscent of Shadow Fight 2, while others criticize it for being unresponsive, buggy, and overly grindy. Issues such as lag, hitbox problems, and unbalanced enemy mechanics detract from the overall experience, leading to frustration among players. Despite these drawbacks, some find the roguelike aspects and new mechanics engaging, suggesting that with further optimization and bug fixes, the gameplay could improve significantly.
- “The gameplay loop is fun and challenging.”
- “The gameplay is faster, more accurate, and an improvement over Shadow Fight 2.”
- “Overall, the concept and gameplay experience is very good.”
- “The gameplay is disappointing, with opponents attacking faster than the player, making it difficult to execute combos.”
- “The control seems to be unresponsive and the gameplay feels too rushed.”
- “Game is filled with bugs and lags, controls are unresponsive, crashes during a fight and resets your progress, story is boring, gameplay is the same as the second, there is literally nothing good about this game, it feels like bonus content for the second shadow fight, absolutely terrible game.”
monetization
110 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
17%
79%
The monetization strategy of the game has drawn mixed reviews, with many players criticizing it as overly aggressive and reminiscent of a cash grab. While there are no forced ads, players feel pressured to watch ads for rewards and progress, and the reliance on in-app purchases for essential content has led to frustration over the game's grindiness and perceived pay-to-win mechanics. Overall, the monetization approach is seen as a significant drawback, overshadowing the game's potential enjoyment.
- “In-app purchases are a bit pushy, but nothing compared to most mobile games.”
- “Thankfully there are no ads unless you decide to watch it for a reward, which is pretty nice.”
- “Also, monetization is not aggressive.”
- “This is just a quick cash grab preying on nostalgia.”
- “The game is very great in terms of combat and the ads aren't that much, but at the start of the round it lags a bit so the enemy can attack you first.”
- “Do not download this game unless you plan to spend a decent amount of money on it, as this game relies heavily on in-game purchases and ad watching to make itself something it once was with the older games.”
stability
101 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with frequent crashes, freezes at the start of matches, and unresponsive controls reported by users. Many players experience interruptions that allow opponents to attack before they can react, leading to frustration during gameplay. Overall, the game is described as highly buggy, requiring urgent optimization and fixes to enhance the user experience.
- “The game freezes for a split second as soon as the round starts, so you have no choice but to block.”
- “Game keeps permanently freezing way too often, during act 1 it was still manageable, but after act 2 it randomly freezes way too often in between fights on the same screen, with music playing in the background the whole time. The only way to fix this is closing the game and running it again, but then it would freeze in the middle of fights again and the incomplete run can't be continued anymore.”
- “The game freezes mid-fight, need to relaunch it to continue playing.”
music
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
55%
7%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the nostalgic remixes of the original Shadow Fight 2 soundtrack, while others criticize the lack of variety and repetitiveness in the battle themes. Some users noted that the background music enhances the overall experience, but there are calls for more original compositions and improvements to the audio quality. Overall, while the music evokes fond memories for some, it falls short for others who desire a more diverse and engaging auditory experience.
- “The music, the enemies and old allies, all freshened up with better graphics and a new storyline.”
- “Superb game with extremely cool fighting experience and cool backgrounds, art style, soundtracks and character, one of my favorite games.”
- “The graphics, music and 2D playstyle brings back so many memories; Nekki made the childhood for several million people around the globe.”
- “This game is mid, it lacks many features which were expected of it, the attack speed is too low, the music is just remixes of the OST of Shadow Fight 2.”
- “The game is very good but the music is kind of bad and the controls are loose and when I try to move the game won't let me.”
- “Oh and please make it possible to choose the battle soundtrack, I'm sick of hearing the same battle soundtrack over and over again; it's too repetitive.”
optimization
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
53%
35%
The game's optimization has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with players reporting frequent crashes, lag, and low frame rates even on high-end devices. Many users express frustration over the game's performance issues, stating that it feels unpolished compared to its predecessor, Shadow Fight 2, and calling for urgent improvements to enhance gameplay smoothness and stability. Overall, the consensus is that significant optimization work is needed to address these critical performance problems.
- “If the optimization and lag problems are fixed, then I would give it at least a 4 star.”
- “It's a nice game, it blew me away on how optimized it is and it's like a mix of SF2 and SF3 but better.”
- “Love the game, brings back old memories from Shadow Fight 2 and nice storyline as well but could use a little more optimization because it's a bit laggy.”
- “A mostly good and interesting game brought down by awful game balance, numerous bugs, bad optimization, frankly baffling game design decisions, and blatant lack of care for the player.”
- “I've been a huge fan of Shadow Fight 2 and was happy to see that the fighting style and shadow were brought back with this one. Sadly, this game has horrible optimization and constantly crashes even on devices more than capable of running it. I have been playing for two weeks and attempted the legendary duel twice, with it crashing twice within the first round, and it never gives me a third try. I will not recommend this game to anyone.”
- “Extremely bad optimization and game mechanics: 1.”
grinding
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews consistently highlight that the game is excessively grindy, requiring players to repeatedly engage in battles to acquire weapons and upgrades, often leading to frustration. Many users express dissatisfaction with the lack of a shop, reliance on ads, and the tedious nature of grinding, which detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game. While some appreciate certain gameplay elements, the overwhelming sentiment is that the grinding mechanics are a significant drawback, making progress feel tedious and unrewarding.
- “The game is insanely grindy and they try to shove ads all the time.”
- “Good luck grinding the same fight for the 100th time to get a slightly better helmet.”
- “This game is an insanely tedious grind for items that you aren't guaranteed and you are forced to constantly have to swap and relearn weapons even in the same chapter.”
emotional
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
88%
38%
Players express mixed emotions regarding the game's mechanics, with frustrations stemming from hitbox inaccuracies and control issues that detract from the overall experience. Despite these challenges, some users appreciate the game's story and character abilities, which evoke strong feelings, highlighting a blend of enjoyment and disappointment. Overall, the emotional response is influenced by both the narrative elements and the gameplay frustrations.
- “I liked the game story; it's also pretty good. It made me emotional!!!”
- “Shadow Fight 2 was already a great game, and this one just gives it more improvements, especially the abilities you get after each round, some of which made me feel like a boss.”
- “However, it's so unfair that the enemy is clearly not touching me but is still hitting me.”
- “The storyline was incredibly boring and failed to evoke any emotional response.”
- “I found the emotional depth lacking; it felt more like a chore than an engaging experience.”
- “The characters were one-dimensional, making it hard to connect with their emotional journeys.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Character development in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the preservation of old character designs and fighting styles, while others criticize the lack of innovation, noting the reuse of character designs and animations. The introduction of random shades as a replacement for enchantments is seen as a positive change, but overall, there is a call for more distinct character differentiation and improved design.
- “I like how it preserved the old character designs and the fighting style.”
- “I think the character design could be improved; every opponent seems too similar, with only minor changes and different weapons.”
- “The character development feels shallow, lacking depth and meaningful progression throughout the game.”
- “I was disappointed by the lack of unique traits and backstories for the characters; they all blend together.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
Reviewers note that "Shadow Fight Arena" offers a fresh and replayable experience, particularly due to its engaging story mode and inherent difficulty, which encourages players to revisit the game for new challenges.
- “The inclusion of elements from Shadow Fight Arena's story mode keeps the game fresh and highly replayable, especially with its inherent difficulty.”
- “The variety of challenges and modes available ensures that every playthrough feels unique and engaging.”
- “With multiple character builds and strategies to explore, the game offers endless replayability that keeps players coming back for more.”
- “The game lacks significant content updates, making it hard to find reasons to replay after the initial run.”
- “Once you complete the main story, there isn't much incentive to dive back in; the replay value feels almost nonexistent.”
- “While there are some interesting elements, the overall experience doesn't offer enough variety to warrant multiple playthroughs.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The humor in the game is derived from its frustrating AI opponents, which often outpace player inputs, creating a comedic contrast that resonates with the rage-inducing gameplay typical of many titles from the 2020s.
- “The humor in this game is top-notch, with clever writing and hilarious character interactions that keep you laughing throughout.”
- “I love how the game uses absurd situations to create comedy; it never takes itself too seriously, which makes for a fun experience.”
- “The witty dialogue and unexpected scenarios had me chuckling from start to finish; it's a refreshing take on the genre.”