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Shadow Burglar

Shadow Burglar Game Cover
97%Game Brain Score
gameplay, story
stability, grinding
97% User Score Based on 577 reviews

Platforms

PCWindows
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Shadow Burglar Game Cover

About

Shadow Burglar is a single player action game with a historical theme. It was developed by Ghostly Productions and was released on March 1, 2022. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

In Shadow Burglar, you will be playing as Jean, a thief with the mystical power of morphing with the shadows. Creating yourself an improbable path in the dark and carefully dealing with guards in the light, you will try to steal back your deceased brother’s paintings, who were stolen by a secret criminal organization. Do you have what it takes to avenge his legacy?

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Shadow Burglar screenshot
Shadow Burglar screenshot
Shadow Burglar screenshot
Shadow Burglar screenshot
Shadow Burglar screenshot
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97%
Audience ScoreBased on 577 reviews
gameplay92 positive mentions
stability5 negative mentions
  • Unique and interesting stealth gameplay mechanics involving morphing into shadows and teleportation, providing satisfying and creative puzzle-solving experiences.
  • Beautiful art style with effective noir atmosphere, complemented by a fitting soundtrack and a charming story centered on sibling bonds and revenge.
  • Smooth controls and polished gameplay for a student project, with a generally bug-free experience and enjoyable character interactions and voice acting.
  • Extremely short game length, often completed in under 30 minutes, leaving players wanting more content, levels, and story development.
  • Lack of save feature requiring players to complete the game in one sitting, which can be frustrating especially during longer sessions or if interrupted.
  • Some minor technical and design issues such as occasionally finicky teleport mechanics, inconsistent enemy AI, and subpar or inconsistent voice acting.
  • gameplay
    158 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is widely praised for its innovative and enjoyable stealth mechanics centered around shadow traversal and blending, drawing comparisons to games like Aragami and Dishonored. It is described as smooth, creative, and satisfying, though some mention occasional bugs, janky controls, and a desire for more complexity and variety. While the current short length limits depth, players express strong interest in a full-length game that expands these solid, easy-to-learn mechanics.

    • “Had a great short story, the gameplay mechanics are great; being able to use shadows to take down and blink to other areas felt amazing.”
    • “The graphics and animations are clean and pleasant to look at, the sound design is a fantastic complement to the overall retro-noir experience, the controls feel good, and the shadow mechanics are original and a lot of fun to learn and apply creatively.”
    • “The gameplay is great and the mechanics are absolutely amazing.”
    • “This started off as a negative review after my first gameplay ended with me falling through a void because of a bug, where at the start of the second level you get stuck and fall off the map (literally), and the whole thing felt full of glitches.”
    • “Unfortunately, one of the core mechanics in the game worked inconsistently for me and really detracted from my experience.”
    • “The "blink-between-guards" mechanic is just bad.”
  • story
    139 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story is generally praised for its unique, intriguing premise involving a woman with shadow powers and her deceased brother assisting her in retrieving stolen items, wrapped in a noir atmosphere. However, it is often described as short, somewhat vague, and lacking depth or explanation for certain elements, leaving many players eager for a longer, more fleshed-out narrative. Overall, it is considered a charming, concise tale with strong potential for expansion.

    • “You're playing as a woman who, for some unknown reason, can possess shadows, shapeshift into a shadow and speak with ghosts. Your mission is simple: find stuff that was stolen from her dead brother, who speaks with her through the whole game from the afterlife (who I assume got murdered by the mafia that stole his goods in the first place).”
    • “The graphics and animations are clean and pleasant to look at, the sound design is a fantastic complement to the overall retro-noir experience, the controls feel good and the shadow mechanics are original and a lot of fun to learn and apply creatively, the interaction between the two main characters is charming, and the story does its job by being simple but interesting and coherent.”
    • “I absolutely loved everything else about this game: the characters, the noir jazz music, the gameplay, the 'PS2 game' vibe, and how original the story is. It's all peak cinema.”
    • “The story doesn't really make that much sense.”
    • “Since the game is short, the story is a bit vague and the reasoning why (other than generic vendetta) everything happens isn't explained at all.”
    • “No real story other than the little bit at the start, and it's hard to want to bother to finish it (and I'm sure I never will finish it or play it again).”
  • graphics
    59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics are widely praised for their unique, stylish art style that effectively sets a film noir and retro-noir mood, with clean visuals and smooth animations enhancing the atmosphere. Though not AAA-level quality and featuring some low-poly 3D elements and minor inconsistencies, the visuals are considered a standout strength, especially given the game's student project origins. Overall, the graphics complement the gameplay and soundtrack well, creating an engaging and charming aesthetic despite some minor flaws.

    • “The graphics, the soundtrack and the art style really get the job done in setting that film noir mood.”
    • “The graphics and animations are clean and pleasant to look at, the sound design is a fantastic complement to the overall retro-noir experience.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful (with the exception of the opening cut-scene, but the rest of the game is so good it makes up for it).”
    • “In terms of visuals, this features fairly low quality low poly 3D visuals which will deter a lot of gamers, understandably.”
    • “The fps goes over 800, and the graphics card starts whining and making strange noises.”
    • “Graphics: the opening scene where the main character is by the grave looks a little bit weird but nothing to be worried about.”
  • music
    48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its excellent noir jazz soundtrack that perfectly complements the art style and atmospheric design, effectively enhancing the film noir mood. Reviewers consistently highlight the soundtrack as a standout element that elevates the overall experience, though some note that voice acting could be improved. Overall, the music is regarded as a major strength that adds depth and authenticity to the game's aesthetic.

    • “I absolutely loved everything else about this game: the characters, the noir jazz music, the gameplay, the 'PS2 game' vibe, how original the story is—it's all peak cinema.”
    • “The graphics, the soundtrack, and the art style really get the job done in setting that film noir mood.”
    • “The music was very good and really helped sell the whole old-time noir feel of the game.”
    • “This is an obvious place to fade in some new music and fade it out when it's stopping, so it's weird that this got overlooked.”
    • “The jazzy music sounds very natural and atmospheric but it would be fun to expand it by the cover version of The Rasmus 'In the Shadows', don't you think?”
    • “-music and sound are also perfectly attributing the atmosphere.”
  • atmosphere
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game’s atmosphere is widely praised for its fitting art style, relaxing and immersive vibe, and excellent music that complements the neo-noir theme. While the mood and depth are compelling, the voice acting receives mixed feedback, with some finding it detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the atmosphere is considered one of the game's strongest aspects, enhanced by smooth game flow and engaging visuals.

    • “The in-game art style is fitting and the atmosphere is just chef's kiss.”
    • “Very relaxing atmosphere, could be a neo-noir movie.”
    • “The game design, the comic cutscenes in between, and especially the music captured the atmosphere pretty well.”
    • “But I didn't like the voice acting that much... the emotions and the atmosphere were not captured that well, but that can be fixed by attending some drama classes to gain a better understanding of the characters, for example.”
  • stability
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game exhibits several bugs and glitches, including falling through the map and AI issues, which affect its overall polish but are not game-breaking. While initial playthroughs highlight stability problems, subsequent sessions reveal fewer issues, suggesting some improvement or familiarity reduces their impact.

    • “This started off as a negative review after my first gameplay ended with me falling through a void because of a bug, where at the start of the second level you get stuck and fall off the map (literally), and the whole thing felt full of glitches.”
    • “The game lacks general polish, with issues like poor animations, bad AI, and buggy nature, though nothing game breaking.”
    • “The bad: can be buggy at times.”
  • humor
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is generally well-received, featuring witty dialogue, amusing voice lines, and clever Easter eggs that enhance the overall noir comic book tone. While not consistently hilarious, the humor adds charm and complements the game's interesting concept and style.

    • “The easter egg loading screen is absolutely fabulous and made me laugh <3”
    • “I like the overall tone, noir comic book style with a bit of humor in dialog, and the mechanic have potential, although they could use some polish.”
    • “I like the characters; the humor wasn't that bad and the game was neat and well made.”
  • grinding
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in the game is considered tedious due to guard obstacles that hinder exploration, and players often need multiple attempts or "second lives" to progress effectively.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Guards make proper exploration tedious.”
  • emotional
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is generally praised for its heartwarming and touching story, though some feel it could benefit from a darker, more complex theme. Overall, it delivers a charming and memorable experience that resonates with players.

    • “Short and heartwarming, though I had trouble getting my controller to work in the game.”
    • “The story is heart-wrenching.”
    • “A short, touching, and fun game that holds the charm of Sly Cooper mixed with its own unique mechanic.”
  • optimization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is generally well optimized, running smoothly even on low-spec systems, which is a significant positive. However, some users experience frame drops in windowed fullscreen mode, indicating room for improvement in that area.

    • “Huge plus to the performance of the game.”
    • “The game is also really well optimized, although it drops frames on me in windowed fullscreen mode, so please fix that.”
    • “It runs smoothly on a low spec.”
  • character development
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users praise the character development primarily through the strong and appealing character designs, noting them as a standout aspect alongside the game's setting.

    • “I loved the character design a lot.”
    • “Overall, I really liked the game, the setting design, and the character designs.”
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Frequently Asked Questions

Shadow Burglar is a action game with historical theme.

Shadow Burglar is available on PC and Windows.

Shadow Burglar was released on March 1, 2022.

Shadow Burglar was developed by Ghostly Productions.

Shadow Burglar has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Shadow Burglar for its gameplay but disliked it for its stability.

Shadow Burglar is a single player game.

Similar games include Project Exhibited, Absolute Tenebra, Parasight: Chlorophyll worms, Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow, Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream and others.