In 2011, developer Grasshopper Manufacture released a single-player action game called Shadows of the Damned for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Published by Electronic Arts, the game was the result of a collaboration between two designers, Goichi Suda of No More Heroes fame and Shinji Mikami, who has worked on Resident Evil games and The Evil Within.
Several years later, in July 2020, Shadows of the Damned disappeared unexpectedly from the Microsoft Store and the digital version of the game could no longer be purchased. It was speculated but never confirmed that Grasshopper Manufacture’s decade-long publishing deal with EA had ended, which resulted in the publisher having the game delisted from the storefront.
However, about a week after Shadows of the Damned was removed from the Microsoft Store, the title reappeared. It has since been available for purchase to play on Xbox One via backward compatibility and also joined the lineup of games offered on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate via EA Play.
On February 2, 2021, Microsoft announced the games that would soon be leaving Xbox Game Pass, and among them was Shadows of the Damned, which will be removed from the service on February 16. This might seem innocuous enough, since games are removed from Xbox Game Pass on a monthly basis to make room for new ones. However, a title being removed from the EA Play catalog is unusual for the service.
This has sparked rumors that the game will soon be delisted again and will therefore be completely removed from the Microsoft Store. If this is true, players likely only have until February 16 to purchase the game if they wish to own a digital copy. Of course, gamers who own a physical copy of Shadows of the Damned for PS3 or Xbox 360 will still be able to play the game.
Those who do not wish to buy Shadows of the Damned can always get in a quick playthrough before the game leaves Xbox Game Pass and the EA Play catalog. The game takes approximately 10 to 20 hours to beat. The psychological action thriller tells the story of a demon hunter named Garcia Hotspur, who enters a reimagined version of hell called the City of the Damned in order to rescue the love of his life.
Shadows of the Damned, which has garnered predominantly positive reviews from various media outlets, takes players on an over-the-top ride through psychotic imagery as Hotspur rampages his way through the underworld, solving puzzles, taking on grotesque bosses, and using the power of light to take down enemies.
Shadows of the Damned is available on PS3, Xbox 360, and Xbox One through backward compatibility.
Source: Xbox Wire, Cultured Vultures