Camera angles were notoriously bad in hack & slash games of the time and Shade is no exception here. Platforming is almost synonymous with the action-adventure genre at this point, and I feel like most players don’t’ want it to be. The combat in Wrath of Angels is what kept me entertained throughout, when the story got a little convoluted and complicated, I knew that the combat would keep me on my toes and keep me pushing through to get to the end, and I never got bored of it. You need to wait for an opening whilst blocking and dodging, and then choosing where to hit your enemy is key. Enemies block well and you must really think before striking, or risk sustaining a hefty amount of damage. The majority of the combat in Shade involves engaging in swordfights. The enemy types change throughout these chapters, which helps the game feel varied and small puzzles litter the levels and keep you thinking as you mow down enemy after enemy in Shade’s fantastic combat.
Each of the games 4 overarching chapters are set within different realms, initially the player is thrust into the medieval world, in which they must battle skeletons, zombies and knights – the environments here are reminiscent of some of the early levels in Painkiller, and the latter chapters in the Egyptian realm and the Shadowlands are closer to Serious Sam and Silent Hill respectively. Each heart is divided into three pieces, and each piece inhabits a new level, with the game boasting 30 hours of gameplay, though realistically this can be breezed through in around 10.