![]() The game’s menu has an option to cater to Arachnophobia (‘You won’t encounter any spiders’) and Arachnophilia (‘You will encounter so many spiders’). Character perks include things like ‘Expert Sitter’ and ‘Warm Hands’. The game’s faceless narrator often pushes back on your decision to do questionable or disingenuous things in the world, to comedic effect. Reading a big book of dirty jokes will give you a bonus to your endurance against Sleaze (one of the elemental effects). Equipping different kinds of shoes serves no purpose other than to give your character a variety of silly walking animations, from high steps to riding the ground like a horse. Image: GamesHub via Asymmetricįor example, the three character classes in Shadows over Loathing are ‘Pig Skinner’, ‘Cheese Wizard’, and ‘Jazz Agent’. Puns, wordplay, absurdity, misdirection, physical comedy – it’s all thrown at the wall here, and for me, a lot of it sticks. ![]() Virtually every little mechanical or narrative element in Shadows over Loathing is some kind of gag, and if it isn’t, it’s an elaborate setup to a punchline. These structural bones aren’t exceptionally unique or remarkable in themselves, but it’s the vibrant personality slathered onto every aspect of those things, like layers of flesh, blood, and skin, that bring Shadows over Loathing to life, and make it so endearing. There are people to meet and help (or not), side quests to complete, and adventure game-style item puzzles to solve, often with multiple solutions, depending on your approach and character build. Like any good detail-oriented RPG, there are also plenty of crafty methods to avoid combat too – even outside of an overarching ‘Pacifist’ gameplay option that eliminates them completely. It’s a pleasantly forgiving system – your party completely heals after each battle, and rare occurrences of losing a fight will often see you earn beneficial perks as a result of your beatdown. Read: The Looker, The Witness, and the art of affectionate parodyĪ relatively straightforward turn-based combat system plays a big part in the game, and involves a rotating roster of companion characters, weird elemental modifiers, and even weirder unique abilities.
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