Raid: Shadow Legends

Pros

• Gorgeous graphical engine that rivals some console games
• Capturing and opening new shards is very exciting
• Unique art style that has a dark fantasy bend to it
• Engrossing narrative written by an actual fantasy author
• Resource management adds a strategic angle to the game

Cons

• Heavy reliance on loot box-like mechanics
• Leveling up your character requires a lot of grinding
• Requires many in-game upgrades to progress the story

Raid: Shadow Legends is a turn-based fantasy roleplaying game that asks players to put together their own army to storm castles and dungeons. It takes place in a complex fictional world that was developed by author Paul C. R. Monk, which gives the title a degree of believably that's relatively rare in the genre. Each player character takes on the role of a sort of deceased soldier who is brought back to life by magic in order to battle against a nebulous villain initially known only as the Dark Lord.

The realm of Teleria is a dangerous place, and it's here that players first find themselves when they start a new game of Shadow Legends. As it turns out, the Dark Lord is an incredibly powerful warrior by the name of Siroth who seeks to completely take over the planet. Since there's no way that any one player would be able to defeat Siroth's armies by themselves, they're asked to act more like a general who leads a number of other soldiers as well as magical creatures into battle.

Combat takes place across a dizzying array of different landscapes. Each individual landscape has it's own challenges as well as secrets for players to take advantage of. For instance, a player character who is in charge of a particularly well-equipped army might be able to crush a number of Siroth's forces in a desert. Those who can afford to travel more lightly might instead do better in a dank castle or dungeon. Holy temples dot the land, and these have mostly come under the power of the Dark Lord's military forces.

As soon as a player liberates one of these venues, they're able to reap some of the benefits of having an additional beacon of light magic in the world. However, most of the game's upgrades come in the form of collectible items called shards. Each shard represents a vessel that contains a soul of a deceased warrior much like the player's own character.

Four different types of shards are scattered throughout the game, which impart different benefits depending on how many a particular character is able to collect. Most people will need to get some combination of the four types in order to achieve a certain goal. They'll also need ample supplies of currency to do the same.

Money comes in two forms. Gemstones are difficult to acquire, but they can be used to acquire some very powerful upgrades. Silver is far more common, and most players will use it to purchase consumables that resemble those found in most fantasy games of this type. Regardless of how much personal wealth an individual player is able to ascertain, however, it's going to be difficult to use any of these bonuses if there isn't enough energy in the world around them.

Energy refers to what gamers might call mana, and it's extremely important for players to keep a close eye on how much they have access to. Running any kind of dungeon or campaign stage will require the expenditure of at least some amount of energy, which makes it literally impossible to progress the storyline without sufficient supplies of it. Players generally have an unlimited amount on their first in-game day, but it runs out very quickly after that. While there are several methods that players can use to farm more energy tokens, there's a good possibility that most people will find themselves continuously at a loss for this important resource.

Considering that the single-player campaign has a full twelve different levels to beat, this restriction makes Shadow Legends rather challenging to play. In spite of being a turn-based RPG, it's almost more of a real-time strategy game at heart. That should increase the appeal dramatically, since hardcore players of both genres will appreciate the concept and story.

Considering that the game's graphical engine is every bit as strong as the writing, it's likely that new players will quickly get swept up in the lore of planet Teleria. Shadow Legends genuinely rivals some console games in this respect, which makes it all the more incredible that it's essentially the PC port of a mobile game. Those who want to play the game on the road can actually link their mobile account to the Windows version, which enables them to grind up their character from almost any device.

Networking all of their various characters together is a challenge in its own right, but for many players it's definitely worth it. Every single level consists of seven different stages that can be played back at four individual difficult levels. Single-player campaign victories grant additional powers players can use in the multiplayer Arena. Success in this mood are used to decide overall international rankings, which makes having the game available at all times really worth it. This feature is also useful for those transitioning to the full-sized PC version of the game.

Those who really get into Shadow Legends might end up wanting to join special groups with other players. Clans, as they're known, help players to pool their resources together so that they can take on extremely powerful monsters known as Clan Bosses. Beating one of these brings a mess of rewards that are far greater than anything a single player could reap.

Regardless of whether a player wants to stick to the one-person campaign or explore everything the Arena has to offer, Raid: Shadow Legends should have enough replay value to keep them coming back for more.

Pros

• Gorgeous graphical engine that rivals some console games
• Capturing and opening new shards is very exciting
• Unique art style that has a dark fantasy bend to it
• Engrossing narrative written by an actual fantasy author
• Resource management adds a strategic angle to the game

Cons

• Heavy reliance on loot box-like mechanics
• Leveling up your character requires a lot of grinding
• Requires many in-game upgrades to progress the story