Shadow Corridor Review
Release Date: October 26th, 2021, March 8th, 2019 (PC)
Developer: Regista, KazukiShiroma
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (Reviewed), PC
Price: $14.99 (Switch), $7.99 (PC)
For as long as I live, I will always love Japanese folklore, architecture, and history, and for as long as I live, games will constantly get me to be almost instantaneously interested in them when they touch upon the topics of the youkai and more as someone who loves all of that blended in with horror gameplay. Due to this, however, I have been let down on many occasions with those exploiting the topics and environments by pairing them with shallow gameplay that's disguised as something deep due to either its difficulty, replayability, or mechanics that seem like it's standing out among others within their respective genres. Horror games on the Switch, on the other hand, haven't had the best history and it's been a mystery as to why this is something that consistently happens on the platform. I've played tons across all platforms and you have to help but wonder if it’s the portability that doesn't translate well for these games or if, even in TV mode, the lack of technical prowess compared to others causes a horror game to diminish its value and terror because of performance woes. Shadow Corridor on the surface seemed like it'd scratch that itch of beautifully blending a genuine traditional Japanese aesthetic with the horror of being chased by ghosts in abandoned buildings - something not far from the types of games Chilla's Art usually makes and is known for - and it had the recipe to be a nice blend of something like Fatal Frame, Aka Manto, Yuki Onna, Paper Dolls, or Paranormal HK, but instead all we were left with was a glorified hide and go seek gameplay that wants to pride itself on its nonsensical procedurally generated design that feels endless, exhausting, and unfair.
Shadow Corridor starts out strong with players being dropped into a rural part of Japan and walking through back alleys in a level that cleverly weaves in the tutorials as you get accustomed to its many turns in a maze-like format that will lay the foundation of the levels to come that will take you through various places and environments that attempt to tell a story on its own. While there's an overarching story, a lot of the narrative has to be uncovered through various notes placed sporadically in each level that also changes each time you re-enter a level or die, which leads to one of its many frustrations that does the game a disservice from the moment you're in. The gameplay itself doesn't do much in the way of storytelling either, so each level becomes this repetitive routine of unlocking doors where most lead to nowhere but a small room that may or may not have something semi-useful in it (if anything at all), and running away from a few spirits that really just don't like you. It's a shame that everything in Shadow Corridor ultimately feels like a shallow attempt at doing another hide-and-seek type game that we've seen many times over (and they're usually not well received for the same quality of life issues that plague almost every game within the genre), because a lot of Shadow Corridor's design feels authentic on the surface and is clever enough that each level is memorable from each other, it's just that each level itself is stretched out what feels like almost indefinitely, and the repetition that plagues its gameplay starts to infect its level design which after a point begins to feel tedious and banal.
Despite being given multiple modes and difficulties to play with, the game remains fairly the same throughout, with the biggest differences coming from the fact that easy mode has a mini-map that can give you a better idea of your surroundings, as well as the ability to keep your magatama, which are stones you'll need to complete a level and are lost upon death. That's right, it's not just one thing to simply find an exit in an already gigantic maze, but you need to spend a decent chunk of time playing hide-and-go-seek with items that are randomly placed each time too. Some are in key locations, but for the most part you'll be wandering around checking every drawer, shelf, room, corridor, and area for items that you'll need to progress and others that will give you a better chance of survival. While there are items that will make your way through certain levels much less frustrating such as flashlights, glowing coins, cameras, firecrackers, compasses, lighters, mirrors, and more, talismans and charms are going to be your best friend when trying to make it through the levels that quickly overstay their welcome. These passive items help do a variety of things like repel enemies, increase stamina/run time, reduce noise, teleport you to other areas when you've been hit, and much more, giving a brief second chance when you find yourself cornered and at the mercy of one of the spirits roaming around. Especially with a few different types as well, you'll have to get used to what works with who as these items will be more tuned for better defense on some more than others. The various designs that you'll see of the dangers haunting you at every corner are certainly creepy, however, and the game does well to make you feel uncomfortable especially once you've made eye contact with one of the disturbed spirits roaming around before the frustrations inevitably kick in though.
It honestly pains me that Shadow Corridor is a game I found myself upset with because I wanted so badly to like it and gave it many chances - hours among hours - running through each level I could possibly get through and being chased seemingly to no end, and while it's not the worst of these sorts of "run, hide, and try to escape" type games, it just has too much that works against it. Despite its single player experience, I do think something like Shadow Corridor would be better played amongst friends, though, switching off runs and seeing who can survive in the most efficient manner while also working together to find and collect all the items needed to progress. It also probably doesn't help that the Switch version of the game likely doesn't do it any favors and takes away from a lot of what *could* potentially make Shadow Corridor an appealing game, with graphics and performance leaving much more to be desired. It no doubt seems like it would be much more palatable on PC, and especially with the Switch version being almost double the asking price of what it is on Steam, even *outside* of the game there are already frustrations set in place thanks to its Switch tax. Shadow Corridor under the right team of people could easily, to me, become a Halloween favorite - and I'm sure one that will be extremely entertaining to watch content creators play through - but as someone who's a fan of the horror experience and plays a new one seemingly every few days, there's just a lot here with Shadow Corridor that just doesn't do it for me because it relies more on what feels like blind luck in a Pac-Man-esque format similar to Dark Deception or Infernium—biggest differences being that those two examples are cleverly done as such, and any frustrations are usually forgiven with an actual feeling of progress.
Shadow Corridor has elements in it that can easily make it a great game if it left its brutal design to higher difficulty levels rather than making it the default design of the game, and while the game does have an easy mode that allows for a mini-map to be displayed, it doesn't change the fact that checkpoints are few and far between with all progress essentially being lost with a few exceptions like collectibles that all leave your inventory upon death. The designs of the locations with Shadow Corridor are fine, but its massive maps feel almost endless when realistically an estate would have at least some sort of limited floorplan put into place. Instead, every map in Shadow Corridor feels like an amusement park, but one where the amusement is the last thing on anyone's mind.
PROS:
The Japanese architecture feels authentic
The Japanese folklore and inspired narrative given through notes and textboxes at certain intervals feel engrossing, even if it is a bit ambiguous
The atmosphere of the game is strong and certainly can give off a sense of claustrophobia when being hunted.
CONS:
Repetitive, uninspired, and tedious
While it doesn't run poorly, the game feels cheaply made with flat textures on almost every surface object
The Nintendo Switch, years after launch, still struggles to be a viable platform for horror titles.
A big thank you to NISA for providing us a copy of Shadow Corridor for the purposes of this review.