Game

#Darque Legacy with Clinton McCleary

Darque Legacy with Clinton McCleary

The upside of Deadside

Reviewing Nightdive’s incredible port of 1999’s Shadow Man again in (checks watch) 2021 was a reasonably enjoyable expertise for me. I missed it again when it was first launched, and whereas I noticed it round a complete bunch on N64 rental cabinets, I by no means actually sat all the way down to strive it. I missed out! It’s not the best recreation, but it surely’s positively a memorable one.

As for 2002’s Shadowman: 2econd Coming, I ought to in all probability get round to making an attempt that out.
Acclaim wasn’t a very good writer. They’re greatest remembered for mid arcade ports and sometimes horrible licensed video games, however shopping for Valiant Comics was one of many few issues they did that benefited video games. It led to video games like Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and, in fact, Shadow Man. After they went bust as a result of making good choices wasn’t their power,  Valiant Comics refused to remain down with them. Valiant Leisure rose from the ashes. Shadow Man was rebooted as Shadowman, but it surely’s taken this lengthy to get a brand new recreation based mostly on the sequence.

Clinton McCleary from Blowfish Studios, the developer of the upcoming Shadowman: Darque Legacy, agreed to speak to me in regards to the recreation. Not a lot is thought about it past a teaser trailer and a few atmosphere photographs. To be sincere, we nonetheless don’t know a lot, so we’re going to should allow them to paint an image for us.

Robust cues

Within the unique Shadow Man run of comics, the function of Shadow Man was truly handed by way of a bunch of characters. Within the reboot sequence that began in 2012, it’s been the identical character the entire time: Jack Boniface. I requested if this may be the case for Shadowman: Darque Legacy.
“Sure! In Darque Legacy, we be a part of Jack early on in his journey as Shadowman, whereas he’s nonetheless studying the function and combating the obligations,” McCleary stated. “Though we’re barely altering the timeline, we’re taking sturdy cues from the Jack Boniface of the 2012 revival. That stated, he nonetheless has a lot to be taught and gained’t have the identical stage of competency as you see within the comedian sequence. Not but!”

“Whereas we’re drawing heavy inspiration from an present timeline inside the Shadowman IP, we’re telling a separate story with its personal timeline,” McCleary explains.
Oh! That feels like a wiz thought. Personally, I haven’t learn any of the Shadowman comics… ever. So, there was at all times a danger that I wouldn’t know what was occurring.

“The Shadowman comedian launched on Free Comedian E-book Day is a prequel to our narrative,” McCleary says. “However it gained’t be required studying to know the story we’re telling.”

Darque Legacy Environment Shot 2
Picture through Blowfish Studios

Clear slate

What sort of recreation will or not it’s? “It is going to be a narrative-driven, third-person action-horror title with some lite RPG parts,” McCleary tells me. “There will likely be a heavy emphasis on fight, with difficult boss fights in opposition to horrifying creatures from the depths of the Deadside. The sport will function linear however explorable ranges, with attention-grabbing rewards scattered all through to encourage participant curiosity. We need to guarantee gamers will examine each nook and cranny, at all times on the sting of their seat, by no means understanding what lies across the subsequent nook.”
Exploration was one thing that 1999’s Shadow Man had a whole lot of, because it had a whole lot of gated development. I’m personally relieved to listen to that Shadowman: Darque Legacy will likely be drawing from that. 1999 was a very long time in the past, particularly when it comes to video video games, so it might be simple to discard the successes of these video games and simply begin over. That doesn’t sound like what’s taking place right here.

“It goes with out saying that we’re vastly impressed by the OG Shadowman video games. We’re not making a sequel to these video games, however their legacy and ambiance are legendary,” McCleary stated. “Going slightly deeper, one of many core parts of our title could be very intentional fight that feels rewarding however easy to grasp. The current Star Wars Jedi sequence has been an inspiration right here, in addition to Bloodborne, with fight that encourages the participant to be on the offensive slightly than protection. Naughty Canine’ Uncharted sequence has additionally been a supply of inspiration for the way in which gamers will traverse our environments.”
McCleary goes on to say, “The ambiance and exploration facets from the earlier titles have been vastly inspirational – however it is a fully clear begin. We need to respect the lineage of the Shadowman whereas doing one thing new with it. Bringing Shadowman to this era of {hardware} provides us the chance to do some new and thrilling issues with the IP.”

Shadowman Darque Legacy environment
Picture through Blowfish Studios

Wait and see

There’s nonetheless rather a lot to be confirmed by Shadowman: Darque Legacy. Nevertheless, my dialog with Clinton McCleary definitely demonstrates a ardour for the undertaking and a reverence for what has come earlier than. That goes a great distance.

For now, we’ll simply should see what Blowfish Studios comes up with. As I stated again on the hop, 1999’s Shadow Man wasn’t a nice recreation, but it surely had rather a lot going for it. You don’t should be distinctive to have worth, and Shadow Man was a novel title. If Shadowman: Darkish Legacy can faucet into what made it nice, polish among the tough edges, and perhaps prop up these bones, it might truly be nice.

Zoey Handley

Employees Author – Zoey is a gaming gadabout. She bought her begin running a blog with the neighborhood in 2018 and hit the entrance web page quickly after. Usually discovered exploring indie experiments and retro libraries, she does her greatest to stay chronically uncool.

Extra Tales by Zoey Handley

Supply

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button