The universe is under attack! At least, that is what Madfinger Games brought to the table with their 2018 release of the third installment of the Shadowgun game series, Shadowgun Legends. Following not so closely after releasing its multi-award-winning predecessors, the original Shadowgun and Shadowgun Deadzone, Madfingers’ Shadowgun Legends is a free mobile first-person shooter video game made available for Android, iOS, and TvOs.

The game consists of hundreds of single-player and co-op campaign missions and game modes. Packed chock-full with role-playing and MMO elements, the game allows its players to progress by completing given missions. The assigned missions are typically either part of the main storyline or just side quests.

Storyline

Shadowgun Legends starts as a futuristic game set in the world of a consumer-driven society called Shadowgun. If you are not familiar with the series and its previous installments, the Shadowgun universe and its games revolve around a group of mercenaries called Shadowguns. In this third installment, their lives and their world as they know it is threatened when a group of aliens known as the Torment comes from unknown parts of the galaxy. The Torment first attacks one of the Earth’s colonies and, in turn, starts an epic galactic conflict in which you are a crucial fighter.

How to Play the Game

Before it all begins, you have some preamble where you get to build your character and see a little bit of the plot playout. When it finally starts, you will find yourself chucked into the central hub. This central hub usually features several businesses in a cluster, governed by their NPC. The first thing I noticed at my initial hub dropoff was how impressive the graphics were. 

If you have played a mobile shooter before, you know what to expect, as the controls are pretty much the basics. The thumb on your left moves you about and the thumb on your right side helps you change viewpoints and look around. The default settings put in place lets you shoot whenever your aim is set on an enemy, but this is a setting you can easily change.  As the game goes on, it does get a bit violent and as expected with a shooter game, the blood starts to show up. For all its impressive detailing with graphics, Shadowgun Legends gives you pretty straightforward violence. As you complete missions and conquer levels, your numbers go up — your XP, your fame (which are essentially points that depict your global ranking), and the kind of armor and weapons you have.

Nature of Missions

After you are given a brief tutorial in which you are faced with a couple of quests to learn how the shops work, you are left to fend for yourself. Completing quests is as straightforward as it can be. When you want to get a quest, you locate an NPC with an exclamation mark, ‘!’ next to their name.

You accept the quest and open the map to drop into the mission. Typically, side quests are obtained from just any NPC, but quests contributing to the main storyline can only be gotten from Slade. (Slade is the first NPC you meet in the tutorial. He will continue to act as your channel and guide for the game’s main plot.) 

Missions play out in a generic fashion. You are met with a loading screen that gives you some backstory before you start. Most of the missions have you killing the invading aliens. As you see your fame and XP rise, you might find yourself caught up in getting more missions done. I know I did.

Game Modes Available in Shadowgun Legends

Shadowgun Legends offers multiple types of Player vs Environment gameplays that you can choose to play as a single-player or with a group. The different gameplays include missions that advance the plot of the game, side quests, short day-to-day operations, and even longer missions called dungeons. For the Player vs Player mode, you can duel with another player as a solo fighter or in a team of four. There are six different PvP options available; Duel, Ascendancy, Voltaic Fist, Bronze Arena, Blade Dancer, and Silver Arena.

Major Strengths of Shadowgun Legends

Shadowgun Legends bring a very futuristic feel to the mobile game arena. The graphics were beyond impressive and before I knew it, I found myself eager to get back to the hub and have another go at the next quest or mission. This game gives you a lot of gear to work with and not just video game aesthetics but actually practical gear.

The plot is as straightforward as it needs to be. You shoot aliens and fight for the survival of the human race in an epic interplanetary battle. Besides the epic armor you’re presented with, you can also augment your character with skills of your choosing. Every level you conquer, you are given a skill point to spend. Shadowgun Legends is certainly packed with action adventures and loot enough to tickle any game player pink.

Flaws Spotted in Shadowgun Legends

This game was riveting as it could be and everything works out like it’s supposed to. However, I started to see the extensive armory as an overwhelming experience with all the gear. I found the cosmetics to be a little too much as well and the once thankfully straightforward missions became lackluster. The auto shoot which is turned on by default was also very unsatisfactory with its inaccuracy. I eventually turned it off and worked with my aim. 

The opponents you are presented with getting boring after a while. They did come in a few varieties but mostly had no intelligence and did not even react or run from gunfire. The fame progression, the growing XP, and the level after level progression kept me coming back.

Verdict

Despite the flaws that I encountered with Shadowgun Legends, it is an overall great game to play. I still believe that the multiplayer, both cooperative and competitive were perfectly executed. The social aspects are brilliantly balanced with the conveniently non-existent energy system. In all, Shadowgun Legends is a game you would enjoy playing and would even find yourself returning to!