I’ve played quite a few horror games in my time, though I may not have finished many for…reasons (lolz), but Spooky Season has finally arrived, so I’m going to be diving head-first into the Nintendo Switch port of this Japanese indie horror title…Shadow Corridor.
Developed by KazukiShiroma and published by Nippon Ichi Software, Shadow Corridor is a Japanese indie survival-horror game set in traditional Japanese locales. The game starts off in the back alleys of a local neighbourhood where you will learn the basics.
It’s Showtime!
Sprint, crouch, use item…you get the idea. Later on, the game will have you running for your life from things that can only be described as they look like they’ve just crawled out of your TV after having watched a certain VHS tape.
First, let’s get one of my least favorite things about the game out of the way. The visuals. Now, let’s be fair, they do look a lot better in certain parts. It’s just a shame those parts happen to be when it’s darker than a mine shaft, and you can’t actually see anything.
Anybody Have Any Carrots?!
Even when using the various light sources, such as matches or candles, it still doesn’t make the game any more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Secondly, the gameplay. There isn’t anything to really master when it comes to the controls themselves as it’s mostly self explanatory and nothing you probably didn’t already know from other games of the genre you may have played. It’s just lacking that finesse it really needs to make the controls less janky and tedious.
Your sprint is more like a fast walk, and you lose stamina quicker than a meth-head loses teeth. Your walk is more like a crawl. And your crouch walk is more like dragging yourself along the ground with your tongue. All of these thing really take away from the atmosphere the game is trying to create for you.
You Can’t See Me!!
Not to mention the fact that the hit marker to either pick up or combine certain objects is smaller than Warwick Davis. Coupled together with the camera movement also being obnoxiously slow and taking a second or two to register that I actually want the thing to move…again takes away some of that fear factor and leaves you wanting less.
The storyline isn’t much to write home about. Start in creepy alleys, queue start of walking simulator, insert random jump scares, run from big demon, and finish. Again, nothing that we haven’t seen already in a number of better titles (Fatal Frame, White Day: A Labyrinth Named School, Corpse Party, for example).
Well, That Was….Yeah…
And much like this review, Shadow Corridor finished quicker than it started. I finished the whole game in a little over an hour. To sum up my experience with Shadow Corridor, it was lacklustre and uninspiring, and my time would have been better spent playing Barbie Horse Adventures.
So, if you want something with that wow factor that makes you wet yourself more than R. Kelly, I recommend anything else that isn’t this “disaster-piece”.
Developer: KazukiShiroma
Publisher: Nippon Ichi Software
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: 26th October 2021
Gaming Respawn’s copy of Shadow Corridor was provided by the publisher.
