Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms

About

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is a single player role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Games Farm and was released on November 20, 2014. It received neutral reviews from players.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is the next chapter in the Heretic Kingdoms saga and takes place 20 years after the events of Kult: Heretic Kingdoms. It’s an epic adventure with challenging gameplay, a gripping storyline and enchanting graphics. In this isometric action RPG, the player takes on the role of the Devourer, a demon that swallows the souls of the dead and then brings them back into the morta…

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Play Modes

Single-Player

+14

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56%

Audience ScoreBased on 208 reviews

story41 positive mentions

stability15 negative mentions

The game features a unique mechanic that allows players to switch between the physical world and a shadow realm, enhancing exploration and combat.
The narrative is engaging, with well-written dialogues and a morally ambiguous protagonist that adds depth to the story.
Visually, the game is appealing with strong environmental design and a moody aesthetic that fits its dark fantasy theme.

The game suffers from technical issues, including crashes to desktop and performance hitches that disrupt gameplay.
Combat can feel sluggish and unresponsive, with inconsistent hit detection and movement that detracts from the overall experience.
The pacing of the game is uneven, with mid-to-late game content becoming repetitive and side quests lacking variety.

story
142 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
64%
7%
The story of "Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms" presents a unique premise where players control a demon manipulating events rather than a traditional hero, featuring diverse heroes with rich backstories. While the narrative is intriguing and enhanced by strong voice acting and sound design, it suffers from incomplete quests, a lack of clarity in progression, and a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion, leaving players feeling that the story is unfinished. Overall, the game offers a compelling narrative experience, but its execution is marred by bugs and gameplay issues that detract from the storytelling.
- “What gives the story an edge is its premise: instead of being a hero destined to save the world, you are a demon who manipulates events from behind the scenes.”
- “The game has plenty of points where decisions affect the story, and playing through with different characters and choices adds a ton of replay value.”
- “The story is strong and has great depth, which is helped along by the detailed characters, who are excellently voice acted.”
- “The story never manages to seem much more than a lore dump, and another hunt for a magical macguffin.”
- “The game was full of interesting ideas, but suffered from awful level design, confusing quests, and poor story.”
- “Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the complete story as I encountered a save file bug 7 hours in that froze my character in place whenever I loaded the file, preventing me from advancing any further, and I was not compelled by the story at that point to bother replaying it.”
gameplay
80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
65%
9%
The gameplay of the game is marked by a unique mechanic that allows players to shift between the physical world and a shadow realm, enhancing exploration and combat. While the initial chapters are engaging and introduce interesting mechanics, the mid-to-late game suffers from repetition and underdeveloped systems, such as crafting and inventory management, which detract from the overall experience. Despite its creative foundation and appealing narrative, many players find the combat mechanics tedious and lacking depth, leading to mixed feelings about the game's long-term enjoyment.
- “Instead of copying the formula, the game introduces a distinctive mechanic: the ability to shift between the physical world and a shadow realm, with each plane affecting both exploration and combat.”
- “While it stumbles in execution, particularly in combat fluidity and system depth, it leaves an impression through its world-building, atmospheric design, and creative gameplay foundation.”
- “It's a fun and engaging mechanic that makes me want to keep coming back to find new and useful combinations, and it definitely holds this game up.”
- “There are also some underdeveloped systems, such as crafting and inventory management, which feel tacked on rather than integrated into the core gameplay loop.”
- “In many cases, the mechanic feels more like a gimmick than a fully realized game-changing feature.”
- “The gameplay is nothing new.”
graphics
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
40%
6%
The game's graphics receive a mixed reception, with many praising the strong environmental design, moody aesthetic, and overall visual appeal, particularly for an indie title. However, some users express frustration with performance issues and crashes related to graphical settings, suggesting that while the art style is commendable, it is marred by technical shortcomings. Overall, the graphics are described as beautiful and immersive, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere, but they are not without their flaws.
- “Visually, the game holds its own with strong environmental design and a moody aesthetic that fits its grim tone.”
- “The graphics are stunning, and the audio is impressive in every sense.”
- “The graphics are very detailed and realistic.”
- “But trying to guess which combination of graphical settings and party members will prevent the game from crashing?”
- “It's not worth buying; it's better to buy 'Shadows: Awakening' - the same game with better graphics. It includes 'Shadows: Heretic Kingdom' story and gives much more.”
- “It shouldn't be released with known crashes or unfinished graphical features (like vsync).”
music
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
35%
9%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its orchestral quality and immersive nature, often highlighting the contributions of the Budapest Scoring Symphonic Orchestra. The soundtrack effectively enhances the game's atmosphere, adapting to different environments and character transitions, which adds depth to the overall experience. While some critiques focus on gameplay issues, the music remains a standout feature that many players recommend, even suggesting the purchase of the soundtrack separately.
- “Sound design also complements the visual storytelling well, with an ambient soundtrack that enhances the game’s sense of mystery and foreboding.”
- “The music, however, is very well done (performed by the Budapest Scoring Symphonic Orchestra) and I would highly recommend picking up the DLC because of this.”
- “The graphics or art is amazing and totally immersive when mixed with the terrific musical score.”
- “The game is fun but I can’t recommend purchasing it or giving it a positive review as it has been superseded by Shadows: Awakening, and for the same price you get the complete game (not just the first 3 chapters) with a newer game engine, more quests, reworked music, and a more polished experience.”
- “It's really too bad because I like the art style, the music, and the idea of switching between characters at will, but those good things are buried under a pile of bad game designs.”
- “Everything else from graphics to story to soundtrack is top-notch.”
stability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
94%
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting frequent bugs and glitches, particularly in the combat system and character interactions. While some users experienced smooth gameplay without issues, the overall consensus highlights significant stability problems that detract from the experience, leading to frustration among players.
- “I tested this game at 2560x1440, and it looks and runs great.”
- “The game maintains a steady frame rate, even during intense action scenes.”
- “I've experienced no crashes or bugs, making for a smooth gaming experience.”
- “A buggy piece of crap.”
- “Don't buy this buggy, boring, half-finished crap!”
- “This game is so buggy - keys not being where they are meant to be, characters getting stuck - don't buy it, I was stung!”
atmosphere
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
9%
27%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its distinct regions, rich environments, and immersive world-building, enhanced by a pleasant graphic style and a fitting soundtrack. While some voice acting may be inconsistent, the overall ambiance draws players in, creating a relaxing experience that captivates them with its lore and character interactions. Despite some execution flaws in gameplay mechanics, the atmospheric design remains a standout feature.
- “While it stumbles in execution, particularly in combat fluidity and system depth, it leaves an impression through its world-building, atmospheric design, and creative gameplay foundation.”
- “In terms of this game, I really like the atmosphere, the rich environments and the lore.”
- “Cool characters, many skill variations, tough gameplay, cool graphics, great atmosphere and storyline!”
- “The way the NPCs spoke fit right in and pulled me into the atmosphere of the game.”
- “I feel relaxed while playing this, like just getting sucked into the story and game's atmosphere, not noticing how much time has passed.”
- “This game has atmosphere!”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game's optimization is a significant concern, with users reporting performance issues such as frequent stuttering, low frame rates, and long loading times, even on capable hardware. While the overall experience is enjoyable, many recommend a more powerful rig for smoother gameplay, as current settings offer limited options for adjusting graphics to improve performance.
- “The UI, the character inventory, the crafting, the voice acting, the graphics, the writing, and game performance are all just great.”
- “Only the performance could be better; my quad-core is running only a single thread for it.”
- “Performance can suffer hiccups.”
- “While the game isn't riddled with game-breaking bugs, it does have performance hitches, occasional crashes, and long loading times between zones.”
- “It's not without its problems though - performance is abysmal (fx8350/390x/16gigs DDR3 RAM) and the game would get stuck at 20-40 fps, when the hardware is more than enough to maintain 60+ at all times.”
- “As is, I would recommend having a decent rig for playing, since there are currently no options to 'tune down' any of the graphic settings besides resolution to work well for lower-end machines, and even on my high-mid machine it chugs like a beast due to lack of optimization (that will surely come much later).”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, primarily due to the cumbersome management of equipment across multiple characters and a cluttered user interface. While some innovative features are appreciated, the overall experience is marred by frustrating gameplay mechanics and a hit-or-miss combat system, leading to a sense of monotony. Despite these issues, some players acknowledge improvements over time, though the grind remains a significant drawback.
- “Managing equipment between multiple characters becomes tedious, especially when combined with a cluttered user interface that doesn’t scale well with complexity.”
- “But too many bad gameplay designs and an annoying hit-and-miss combat system make this game tedious.”
- “'Tis a fun ARPG, really innovative in some ways (like the shadow world and the whole soul-eating thing), but at the same time it feels even more tedious than most because of that same feature.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms offers significant replayability through its intricate story arcs, diverse character choices, and a dynamic skill system that encourages multiple playthroughs. Players can experience different outcomes based on their decisions and character selections, enhancing the game's longevity despite some criticisms of its combat mechanics. Overall, the game provides a rich variety of gameplay experiences that keep players engaged.
- “The game has plenty of points where decisions affect the story, and playing through with different characters and different decisions adds a ton of replay value.”
- “The fact that your characters have their very own story adds a huge amount of replayability to the game, which is really nice.”
- “That means a lot, a lot of replay value in this one just from that, not even counting the completely different storylines from when you make your first choice of champion.”
- “The game has plenty of points where decisions affect the story, and playing through with different puppets and different decisions adds a ton of replay value.”
- “That means a lot of replay value in this one, just from that, not even counting the completely different storylines that emerge from your first choice of champion.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by well-written dialogues that blend deeper lore with surprising comedic moments, particularly in the romance quest with Zaar. Despite being from a small studio and having some bugs, the unique and funny environment, characters, and story contribute to an enjoyable experience that many players find worth the price.
- “Dialogues are generally well-written, often hinting at deeper lore, and occasionally surprise with humor or introspective insight.”
- “The romance quest you can undertake with Zaar has some humorous dialogue if you fulfill the conditions.”
- “It was not mainstream, from a small studio, with occasional bugs but funny as hell.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Players emphasize the importance of meaningful character development that reflects progression and story unfolding, expressing frustration with filler content and repetitive grinding that fails to introduce new game mechanics.
- “You want to feel your progression, your character development, and the story unfolding, rather than suddenly dealing with fillers and routine grind with no new expansion of a game mechanic.”
- “The character development is incredibly immersive, allowing players to truly connect with their characters and witness their growth throughout the game.”
- “I love how the game allows for meaningful choices that impact character development, making each decision feel significant and rewarding.”
- “You want to feel your progression, your character development, and the story unfolding, not suddenly deal with fillers and routine grind with no new expansion of a game mechanic.”
- “The character development feels shallow and uninspired, leaving players wanting more depth and meaningful choices.”
- “I expected a rich narrative with character growth, but instead, I was met with predictable arcs and a lack of emotional investment.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The voice acting in the game generally succeeds in conveying character personality and emotional tone, especially during pivotal scenes involving the devourer and his heroes, though the quality may vary.
- “The voice acting, while varying in quality, generally does a decent job of conveying character personality and emotional tone, particularly in scenes involving the Devourer and the heroes he controls.”