Original Developer: Acclaim Studios
Remaster Developer: Nightdive Studios
Released: January 17, 2022
Video game remasters can provide new life to older games revising gameplay for a modern audience. Remasters can also preserve the original game with a graphical update. Shadow Man: Remastered is the latter. Nightdive Studios’ remaster provides preservation to a 1999 game that remains very much a product of its’ time. This is wonderful for game preservation and a blessing to those with fond memories of the original.
Unfortunately, Shadow Man: Remastered is difficult to recommend for new players without a frame of reference. This is not a criticism of the game. Furthermore, it is not a knock on the excellent work Nightdive Studios did to clean up the graphics and movement. Players familiar with late `90’s action adventure games will be transported back to basements, bedrooms, dorms, or wherever Playstation and N64 games were played. This was a time when developers were just beginning to explore expansive 3D worlds.
Historical Setting
Shadow Man was released in August 1999 alongside Playstation games Syphon Filter and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. That fall Jet Force Gemini and Donkey Kong 64 released on the N64. This was the year after Ocarina of Time and Metal Gear Solid shifted 3D development and gave players a taste of vast 3D worlds and complex storytelling. Shadow Man fell into these contemporaries with a large world, dark narrative, and questionable gun combat. Consequently, Shadow Man suffered from much of the empty worlds and foggy graphics as was the norm at the time.
While the Dreamcast release cleaned the graphics in relative terms. Nightdive’s work here gives the graphics a crisp and clean appearance while retaining the low polygon models of the originals. Shadow Man: Remastered adds back in some previous cut content with new bosses, animations, and unused voicework. The improved lighting and anti-aliasing make the game look crisper than ever. Fortunately, Nightdive also updated the controls to increase the accessibility for modern players.
All this loving restoration for a game that remains true to its’ original core. There remains a lot of exploration in empty atmospheric levels. Collectibles that needed a Gamefaqs .txt file in 1999 still require backtracking and help to locate. This is an excellent remastering of a game from a transitional time in video game history.
Shadow Man’s story remains a strong point. This dark narrative is rooted in the comic book creation of a character who can walk between the world of death and life and battles against evil. While the dialog feels stiff by modern standards, the storytelling done in the game was significant in 1999. Additionally, the haunting metal soundtrack was relevant at release and continues to provide the game a sense of style today.
Shadow Man: Remastered A Game of two worlds
Shadow Man: Remastered is much like the main character that lives in two worlds. Nightdive made a quality restoration of a game from a darker period of game development. Shadow Man was a mature exploration game set alongside the brighter younger audience for Rare’s N64 games. But in the light of modern game design, it feels dated as a 22 year old game.
Players with memories of the original or a reference point for late 1990’s games have skillful return to a period piece. Nightdive Studios continues their successful work of bringing older games back to modern platforms.