Ereban: Shadow Legacy is a better 3D platformer than it is a stealth game.
By Jordan Ramée on April 24, 2024 at 11:00AM PDT
In what feels like a spiritual successor to 2016’s Aragami, Ereban: Shadow Legacy transforms you into a deadly shadow that can become one with the darkness–the ultimate stealth operative. The game doesn’t quite deliver the necessary challenge to make for a successful stealth game, however, as the first trick you learn will get you through the entire game without a hitch. It does far better on the platforming front, and though its cast of characters could have used some fleshing out, the futuristic sci-fi world they inhabit is cultivated with colorful sights and intriguing snippets of lore.
As its name implies, Shadow Legacy’s main gimmick is its use of shadows. You play as Ayana, the last of the titular Ereban, a people who possess the innate ability to become one with and manipulate shadows. Using her shadow merge ability, Ayana can sink into shadows to creep past enemies, slink up walls, and dispose of bodies, encouraging you to stick to the shadows where your toolbelt is at its strongest. Alongside these shadow abilities, Ayana has an assortment of advanced gadgets–some are always useful like a recon pulse that marks enemies and items through walls, while others are more situational like mines that stun targets–which work regardless of the lighting situation.
At first, I was under the impression that Ayana’s journey would offer ample opportunities to evade foes, many of which could destroy her with a single strike. Ayana faces a diverse set of adversaries eager to diminish her–while regular enemies do not pose a significant challenge except for their beam of light that can annihilate your darkness, more proficient snipers and cloaked robots can cause serious trouble if you are not careful to detect their subtle signals. Human adversaries present a moral dilemma, rather than a strategic one – whereas you can eliminate robot-like opponents without guilt, killing human beings influences Ayana’s morality and her public image.
However, Ayana’s intrinsic capability to blend in with the shadows and navigate undetected is so robust that you don’t really need to resort to anything else. The enemies, unfortunately, aren’t quite smart, making them easy to avoid if you solely utilize shadow merging. This makes it possible to play through the whole game without being detected or resorting to violence, creating a somewhat unfulfilling stealth experience. There are no difficulty levels to enhance the intelligence or numbers of enemies either, although you can modify the quantity of directional clues present in each level.
The third chapter of Shadow Legacy teases you with a hint of its full potential, momentarily abandoning its linear paths to offer a multifaceted playground where you can accomplish tasks in any order you choose. Mistakes have larger ramifications in this open world, as your actions can create unexpected situations. Ayana’s tools and abilities are significantly more useful in this environment. However, the game does not return to this setting, leaving you longing for what could have been.
Shadow Legacy must be appreciated for the inventive platforming set pieces incorporated into the latter half of the game. There’s this one especially noteworthy section that forces and inspires you to apply everything you’ve gained so far in a swift sequence. Shadow merging can be used to get across perplexing jumps or interact with the environment to unravel simple puzzles, a system that becomes increasingly intricate as the game progresses. While it may not be an exceptional stealth game, it is definitely a decent platforming one. The complex environment casts an array of shadows that necessitate a solution to getting to that elusive platform, which is made even more challenging by the stamina bar associated with Ayana’s shadow merging ability. The task consequently becomes not just about identifying which shadows to manipulate or follow, but also about being quick.
Shadow Legacy presents an array of gaming challenges set against an interesting variety of backdrops, from desert outposts to self-governing factories. One of the most striking locations is a once bustling urban street, now patrolled solely by robotic drones. This eerily deserted city block bears witness to the consequences of a corporate takeover, and the resulting loss of individuality among its human inhabitants. Graffiti and scripts scattered around the city hint at this societal upheaval. With an engulfing shadow cloaking the street, our protagonist Ayana exploits the same to evade her pursuers. This sense of disguise cleverly juxtaposes with the city’s engineered deadness, suggesting an attempt to resist the oppressive regime.
The plot navigates through Ayana’s journey, which primarily involves combating an AI entity hellbent on manipulating her unique powers. Despite reservations, Ayana consents to assist a rebel group fighting against corporate despotism, in exchange for information about Ereban people. Although the storyline presents some intriguing themes, the game sometimes rushes through them, causing a bit of narrative dissonance.
In the third chapter of the game, Ayana faces a moral conundrum; she must avoid harming humans to negate allegations against the rebel group’s actions. This introduces a morality layer that changes the visual palette of Ayana’s character, depending on your playstyle. It, however, barely impacts the game’s finale.
Specific parts of the storyline provide opportunities for Ayana to boost her shadow powers, with the decision to lean into one of two skill trees. Each choice offers a different gaming strategy– the first tree promotes stealth, while the second enhances killing abilities. This introduces a level of replayability as both trees cannot be fully exploited in one playthrough. Mirroring this, the powerful ‘shadow merge’ ability allows easy evasion from guards, making the other abilities less critical.
Ereban: Shadow Legacy occupies a unique position in my gaming experience. Regarded as a stealth game, it didn’t pose many challenges, with the protagonist, Ayana, coming across as a one-dimensional character that consistently used the same shadow merge skill to elude any foe. However, evaluated as a platformer, Shadow Legacy boasts engaging puzzles which became progressively intricate yet gratifying to solve. Despite the narrative of Ayana’s battle against self-governing authorities threatening the existence of an entire civilization failing to resonate with me, I immensely enjoyed scaling walls and bursting forth from the shadows, synchronizing my leaps with the motion of a windmill and the oscillating shadow it cast. These thrilling moments had a lasting impact on me, overshadowing the numerous times I stealthily bypassed an oblivious droid.