One may simply consider Shadow Complex a re-skinning of Super Metroid. They wouldn’t be entirely wrong, as even the developers admitted that they were copying a lot of the design elements that made the franchise so fun. However, it doesn’t take long until the game transforms into its own wild beast.

Sure, it takes place in one massive map that requires the player to collect items from all over to explore. Yes, there are plenty of small upgrades scattered about and hidden that boost the player’s combat prowess. Fine, you got me, even the doors and hatches are color-coded to match what weapon is required to open them. There are a lot of elements that directly imitate the Metroid franchise.

That does not mean that the games play the same. Despite both being heavy on exploration, the major difference comes in combat. While Samus Aran is known for a missile-firing arm cannon, the combat of the series has never quite been as streamlined as it has been in the Mega Man or Contra franchises. The focus has instead lied on clever map design, puzzle solving and discovery. Shadow Complex takes those same elements and matches them with modern shooter design.

The mechanic that allows much of the combat to be possible is the use of the right-thumbstick. It takes time to adjust to at first, but using it to aim allows the player to target enemies not only directly in front of them, but off to the side as well. Even though movement is restricted to a side-scroller style, enemies can position themselves in all three-dimensions. This makes finding cover and handling your foes a bit trickier than just facing forward and launching projectile weaponry while standing behind a crate. Similarly, explosive barrels and other environmental tools are placed across the world that provide an edge in combat. The only flaw is the auto-aim sometimes targets troops you don’t want to attack or, for whatever reason, can’t even find them to target.

Each of the major tools the player picks up also has value in combat. Grenades can be used to blast away multiple enemies at once or to damage heavily armored foes. The foam gun can halt enemies in their tracks, or provide a nice sticky surface for the player to plant a grenade on. Missiles wreck everything in their path and the hook shot can pull enemy shields away. There isn’t a single tool that cannot be used in combat, nor is there a single worthless item in the game.

While some of the tools in Shadow Complex seem to be directly pulled from Metroid, there are small twists that separate them. The hook is not as limited to where it can attach to, but at the same time a player cannot use it to swing from one side of a gap to another. The boots that grant hyper-speed are able to continue running along certain walls, across water and even on ceilings. These make for some very interesting puzzles that stretch even the most experienced Metroid fan’s brain.

The real success to this game is how the developers played around with how fans began playing Metroid. Speed runs to beat the game in a certain amount of time became common, but even then more and more players started to try and beat the Metroid titles with as few items as possible and even breaking the game’s intended sequence. Instead of getting a certain item granting access to an area, use other tools in the arsenal to break through obstacles and skip an objective or two.

Shadow Complex is designed to not only allow this, but also provides a few tools to help make it easier. After completing the game once, the player can restart the game at the experience level they had beaten it at and the rewards it offers. At one level the player is given the world map marking the locations of hidden items, making the journey to 100% completion easier. At another level the player is given infinite ammunition for the foam gun, allowing the possibility to avoid using the hook or thrust-boots by creating ledges with the weapon.

Of course, even if the player does not want to take advantage of these abilities, the sheer experience of starting over keeps the game fun. As the player unlocks more tools and weaponry, the way in which Shadow Complex is played begins to change. Starting over reverts back to a different manner than the player could previously play in, encouraging stealth instead of action and limiting the paths available to travel. It creates a cycle of never being bored as the play style is frequently adjusted.

Even if a player gets tired of the main adventure, there are twenty-one added challenges created for players to test their skill. Many of them prove to be challenging, but they can also teach the player new ways to play the game that might not occur during a regular playthrough.

The game does suffer from a couple glitches here and there. It is possible to get stuck on some railings when leaping or to be permanently latched onto a surface with the hook, unable to leap away or hook onto another wall or ceiling. However, these glitches are so rare that it is also possible not to experience them at all.

In the end Shadow Complex is such a deep and fulfilling experience that it feels more like a full-fledged retail title than a smaller download title off the Xbox Live Marketplace. Instead of merely being a Metroid rip-off the title took a working method of level and game design and applied it to their own ideas. In the end what you have is one of the best games not only released this year, but quite possibly this generation.

Here’s to hoping a new trend has been set.

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