Shadow of the Depth

About

"Shadow of the Depth is a top-down, action roguelike game with hand-drawn visuals, offering five distinct characters to play as. Explore an ever-changing labyrinth and engage in immersive combat, experimenting with various abilities and tools. Each character, such as the melee warrior Arthur or the agile assassin Arya, brings unique strengths to the battlefield."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

87%

Audience ScoreBased on 103 reviews

gameplay12 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game features a variety of characters and playstyles, making each run feel unique and engaging.
Combat is fast-paced and satisfying, with a solid combo system and responsive controls that enhance the gameplay experience.
The art style and design of the dungeons are visually appealing, contributing to an enjoyable atmosphere.

The game suffers from balance issues, particularly with certain characters feeling underpowered or overpowered, leading to inconsistent gameplay experiences.
There are bugs and performance issues, especially during intense battles, which can detract from the overall enjoyment.
The meta progression system lacks depth, with limited upgrades and rewards that do not significantly enhance the gameplay.

gameplay
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
46%
11%
The gameplay is characterized by a slow start where players gradually become more powerful through randomized loot collection, leading to a satisfying core loop reminiscent of classic gauntlet-style games. While the combat mechanics are engaging and offer depth through various character builds and a combo system, issues like input lag and balancing in later stages can detract from the experience. Overall, the game is praised for its polished mechanics, enjoyable combat, and a rewarding progression system, making it a fun action RPG despite some drawbacks.
- “The feel of gameplay is awesome; I can compare it only to the Hades series, but I found SOTD to be much deeper and more satisfying in combat.”
- “The game itself is quite fun and shows a lot of competency and consideration on the part of the developer in regards to game mechanics and good 'game feel.' This includes being able to animation-cancel via dodges and blocks, well-executed feedback on attacks and abilities, and a myriad of satisfying sounds for breaking objects, guzzling down potions, and vacuuming up jewels and coins that tickle the brain in just the way one looks for from these sorts of gauntlet-adjacent games.”
- “This is a top-down hack n' slash dungeon crawler with simple but satisfying combat mechanics and cool bosses.”
- “However, I'd venture to guess that the reason people aren't playing it is because there is some wicked input lag that is so counterintuitive to the gameplay loop that it just gets... annoying to try to play.”
- “I've had many encounters where I stun-lock the boss and I'm sitting there just wailing away at it for ages waiting for its HP bar to go down and wonder... if this wasn't stun-locked, would I really want to fight this thing for this long and dodge mechanics?”
- “The game has a combo system so that each character has different ways of attacking when using your basic attack, and the names for them aren't immediately obvious, which makes for bad gameplay when you find a skill and have no clue what it's even supposed to be enhancing.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
25%
13%
The graphics of the game have received mixed feedback, with many players praising the art style and overall aesthetic, particularly the character selection screen and dark, detailed artwork. However, some users expressed concerns about visibility issues with projectiles, suggesting that improvements are needed for a more enjoyable experience. Overall, while the graphics are appealing, players anticipate further enhancements as the game continues to develop in early access.
- “This is just what the doctor ordered, no nonsense action RPG with pleasing graphics and engaging gameplay.”
- “The graphics and overall aesthetic are nice and I particularly enjoyed looking at the striking character selection screen art.”
- “I found a happy medium that lets me enjoy the detail in the dark, beautiful artwork while also helping me not run face first into enemies.”
- “Graphics: this was the first thing that turned me off. I think all projectile enemies should have some kind of indicator, including arrows and spikes. It doesn't feel good getting hit by something you can't see (example stage 2).”
story
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The story has been criticized for being poorly executed and conventional, with many players finding it unengaging or laughable. While some expected unique character narratives, they were disappointed by the lack of depth and the rapid pace of cutscenes, which hindered comprehension. Overall, the narrative seems to take a backseat to gameplay, with players more focused on action than story development.
- “I didn't think a top-down game could have fast-paced control, excellent art, strong story, and great level design all in a single package.”
- “I assumed each character would offer a unique story gameplay experience, including within the dungeons.”
- “Music is fairly standard, and the story is laughably bad.”
- “No story going on... there was a cutscene I got to, but the text went by faster than my ability to read all of it.”
- “[b]Story:[/b] conventional background story, but I don't care; I just want to slaughter the monster in the dungeon.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Overall, the game offers high replayability due to its diverse characters and engaging stories, though some players feel that the replay value could be enhanced with additional playable characters.
- “The variety of characters and stories adds intrigue, offering plenty of potential for replayability.”
- “High replayability.”
- “Just not much replay value here.”
- “More playable characters, please!”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
50%
The music in the game is generally described as decent and fitting for its genre, with some players appreciating it alongside the art style. While it may not stand out significantly, it contributes positively to the overall experience, despite some criticisms regarding the game's content and performance.
- “Love the art style and music.”
- “Music and sound effects are decent enough for this type of game.”
- “The music is good; it just needs more content and some balance and performance patches.”
- “Music is fairly standard, and the story is laughably bad.”
- “Music/SFX: decent enough for this type of game.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players note that while there is a reroll mechanic for skillbook and upgrade pickups after some grinding, the overall experience feels excessively grindy, which may detract from the enjoyment typical of roguelite games.
- “I get that it's a roguelite, but it is feeling a bit grindy.”
- “There is a reroll mechanic later on after some grinding, but only on skill book/upgrade pickups.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
100%
The optimization of the game is criticized, particularly in the last biome, which suffers from poor performance on lower-end hardware like an i5 with Intel Iris graphics. Despite these issues, players still enjoy the solid combat, engaging bosses, and overall artistic quality, indicating that performance improvements and additional content could enhance the experience further.
- “Despite these problems, I've been having a great time. The combat is really solid, the bosses are fun, the artwork is good, and the music is great. It just needs more content and some balance and performance patches.”
- “The last biome has very poor performance on my i5 Intel Iris laptop.”
- “Despite these problems, I've been having a great time. The combat is really solid, the bosses were fun, the artwork is good, the music is good; it just needs more content and some balance and performance patches.”