author: Draug & PefriX
25 Best Hack'n'slash Games - Devilishly Good List!
We're back with another TOP 25 list. This time of the best hack and slash titles. 2023 brought fresh air to the genre, so let's dive right in!
23. Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms
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The Diablo series or Titan Quest are not the only productions in the hack'n'slash genre, which the developers remembered years later. Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is a sequel to the 2004 game Kult: Heretic Kingdoms . The new installment was released ten years later by a completely different studio. Did this change make the game better? It's hard to answer that, because the sequel doesn't resemble the original.
The events of Shadows take place 20 years after the first installment of the series. The world is on the brink of a disaster, when the souls of four of the five members of the secret order of Penta Nera were consumed by soul-devouring demons... The fifth member, wishing to save the world, summons a similar demon which the player impersonates. Becoming a demon gives us extraordinary opportunities to wander between worlds and transform into opponents whose souls we have devoured.
This last element is central to the mechanics of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms. During the gameplay, we directly control the Devourer, but nothing prevents us from using the devoured soul. From the pool of absorbed beings, we can only choose three to transform into. We can make a transformation at any time and thus gain access to the abilities of a given hero. Souls are developed separately. The ability to jump into the shadow world also looks fantastic - it allows you to surprise the enemy or avoid pitfalls.
However, the game's biggest drawback is the complete lack of dynamics during combat. Unfortunately, battles come down to clicking opponents. If it wasn't for this element, the whole thing would definitely deserve more attention.