It's kinda bizarre, the dynamic lighting and ambient occlusion, combined with high res textures on low poly models make the game actually look like the fake screenshots and promo renders we used to get in gaming magazines back then.
Both the writing and the delivery are wonderful, I'd love to see more, like in a "gothic horror"-styled game. Reminds me a lot of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
"Rooms without purpose" In videogames were such a novel concept to me back in the day. A room that does not provide a path forward or hold a fight or a powerup, it only exists to make the world feel more real. Nowadays I feel they're very hit or miss, but, a colectathon game makes them work well. And, It feels like Shadowman's world has been built with a decent degree of care. Also I have to assume that SGF is intentionally dancing around...The implications of this area, to some degree. With that 'shackle chair' and the 'horned skull'. I wonder how those textures look in the original.
Well, I mean, the inhabitants of the asylum are the souls of the most depraved murderers and criminals, and they are quite obviously violating the flesh and soul of their victims even in death already. They're harvesting the other inhabitants, degrading them by putting them into cages, then torturing them, carving up their bodies while still "alive" so they can sculpt their meat into deranged shapes. They are already treating everybody that's not them as cattle, only existing to be consumed in the process of fulfilling their "needs". Most disturbingly, that's likely how they viewed them in life as well. The fact that there's a sexual component to it is almost par for the course, even if it's just strongly hinted at rather than spelled out. It's just extremely surprising how this must have gone over everybody's head back then, otherwise it would have caused another moral outrage. The only thing that tells me is that the game must have flown under a lot of people's radar. As for the level design, that was around the time when level designers figured out how to make realistic looking 3D areas rather than abstract videogame levels. Just look at how the "city" maps in Doom 2 barely resemble anything than an empty random collection of shapes, yet just 2 years later Duke Nukem 3D would feature interactive realistic environments filled with props. i think it's underappreciated just how much pioneer work must have gone on back then, and just how well many games turned out for such a fledgling medium.
Although the experimentation rooms are the largest and most maze-like, the playrooms still hold as the most disturbing/gorey yet interesting level. Not to mention the most disturbing soundtrack as well, which perfectly fits this level for sure. Thank you for revisiting this old gem 👍
The music in the Playrooms, particularly the piece by Brahms, is one of the most haunting and evocative parts of this game's soundtrack. (It really puts a new face on it when you encounter the piece elsewhere afterward.) It creates a decadent Victorian feeling that makes the obviously-heinous uses of the Playroom stand out.
This game shares so much programming DNA with Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. I really think you'd enjoy that game a lot. Plenty of exploration, lots of world jumping back and forth, some fun voice acting.
i haven't played shadowman, but from watching SGF play it I get the feeling they are very neatly complimentary, or maybe opposites: Soul Reaver has a terrific story with a compelling cast and an interesting world, but the actual platforming, block pushing and combat always struck me as a little worse than what they should be. While this game seems actually quite well put together as far as the running around and doing stuff is concerned, and while the story isn't bad it certainly isn't comparable to Soul Reaver which is always pulling the player forwards towards new mysteries and revelations. (for the record I agree it would be neat to see SGF play Soul Reaver, it is very in-line with the general taste of this channel, and is a great game!)
@@brobzoid I dunno, I did like that Soul Reaver messed with the geometry some even if it did occasionally make things kinda jank. Plus, you know, environmental death everywhere lol! But yeah, it has a great story.
For some reason this game always feels like it's going farther than I would expect, and I'm not sure why. I mean, Harvester already existed, so the idea of games having very adult content isn't that remarkable, but something about Shadow Man being a collectathon platformer means that explicit stuff like the dog-people (and many other things in this area) always catches me off guard.
I've only ever played a bit of Shadowman, so I had no idea the game was this long... I'm honestly quite pleased with how big this horrific collect-a-thon of serial killers is; horror games from the 90's/00's just feel better and more accessible to me, too.
I may be mistaken, but it looked to me that all three times the Flambeau failed to throw for you this video, your voodoo power was practically empty (not literally empty, since the Flambeau's light would've gone out, but damn near as). I guess the tossing simply won't trigger if you don't have the requisite voodoo juice needed, but the animation still plays so you can still melee some enemies in a pinch?
I wonder if some of the cells are oblique references to things, like maybe parts of the comic or other media, or just the level designers having some fun coming up with unique bits. That single-use music track does seem mysterious. I do love the Toy Story-ish clouds in that one room.
One cell has Milton's serial killer symbol drawn in blood on the walls. The letters on the blocks in the baby room spell 'HELL'. That room always creeped me out.
So of course this soundtrack stays with the player. But I thought it was just that, a Shadow Man soundtrack. Until the day I was watching some series in which there was a short wedding scene. The melody was being played on the piano as people waltzed on the dance floor and I was sitting there, getting flashbacks of "BLOOOOOOD" and trueforms and power tool and squeaky toy noises.
Just so you know, at 5:35 and 51:30 the reason the Flambeau wasn't working was because you were out of voodoo. The flame stays on which can make it confusing. I don't remember if in the original the flame went out when you ran out of voodoo.
Shadow Man is the very best videogame of all time. The most gloomy, creepy and involving the most complex exploration of all time that I played in a videogame world.
The ledge/slope that blocks Shadow Man from the Level 6 gate at the start of the Wasteland area can be climbed by simply side-rolling up it. You have to beat the roll button a bit to do it but...it's a time saver.
I think the reason the Flambeau isn't working is I think the developers made it you can still use it as a torch regardless of voodoo power, but it won't attack if there is no voodoo power (obviously).
46:35 A part of me thinks that the reason why those pick ups are locked up is because it might be possible that at some point in development they may have meant to be ammo expansions for the Violator, but something happened along the way and that feature got cut.
I can still remember your comment in one of the rooms. It said “I’ve been a very bad boy” and you replied “he must have also been a very neat boy” because of how tidy the room was lol You turned a very disturbing moment into a funny one.
The playrooms is a good level but I find that its also probably the best example i can find of how games audio direction can get very iffy and having EVERYTHING make noises will drive you nuts as a player especially if the music soundtrack is sample noise heavy. obviosly the game is very old, and the soundtrack is great mostly but hoo boy , back with the og gun noise it was rough.
You also seem to lose voodoo energy when you have your Flambeau out, I was watching the meter when you had it out with energy and not using it. That's unfortunate.
Everyone always says this game makes them think of Dark Souls. Having not played any of those games, it does not do that for me. But especially in the last video it made me think of Silent Hill. Not that other areas like the Assylum don't as well.
