Killzone Shadow Fall is a PlayStation 4 exclusive launch title, and as such we expect it be a good representation of what the console can achieve.
Looking at screenshots and gameplay footage, we can tell it’s a gorgeous game and will likely do the PS4 hardware proud. But good visuals doesn’t a great game make.
At the time of writing, over on Metacritic, Killzone Shadow Fall has secured an average score of 74/100 based on 18 reviews. GameRankings is similar, with the game securing 75.22% based on 9 reviews.
Interestingly, the critics have had somewhat mixed opinion – with scores ranging from 90 over at the respected Destructoid, to 70 over on Eurogamer and Joystiq. It seems that there is no dispute over the graphical wow-factor, but when it comes to story and gameplay, Shadow Fall… falls short.
Below is a selection of reviews and opinion to see what the critics are saying.
A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won’t cause massive damage to what is a supreme title. Oh, and it’s beautiful. A stunner. Killzone: Shadow Fall is the game that will make you happy to own a PS4. This needs to be on your PS4 launch game list.
Killzone Shadow Fall screenshot
Killzone: Shadow Fall is an excellent way to kick off the eighth console generation. Sure, its characters may not be all that convincing, and its multiplayer is more a well-crafted distraction than a long-term destination, but the game as a whole contains plenty of unexpected surprises that make it worth your time. The open-ended missions, though not as plentiful as you might like, are made even better thanks to the awesome tools at your disposal, and its story has some powerful moments that are sure to catch you off guard. And even when it hits lulls, you’ll still have a great time shooting to your heart’s content.
Killzone: Shadow Fall loses its sheen at times, usually when pursuing moments that are cinematic but not sensible. As a shooter, it’s better at thriving on eye-catching environments and supportive combat abilities that don’t just come for free. It also can’t help but blow up its pristine cityscapes before you get to know them, but that just goes with the territory, here on the border between good and great.
Like Killzone 2 and 3 before it, Killzone: Shadow Fall should prove to be a popular multiplayer attraction.
It’s all the more frustrating that Shadow Fall fails to establish that identity, because it gets so close in its early design and themes. It sets up an open-ended tactical shooter in a cynical world of sci-fi realpolitik – and then bottles it, taking the easy escape route of another suicide mission into empty spectacle. There’s a lack of confidence here that contrasts starkly with Guerrilla’s dazzling, sure-footed command of the new hardware. It’s a game that any new PlayStation 4 owner will be proud to show off – but it won’t be one they remember by the time PS5 rolls around.
That absence of meaningful evolution might be Killzone: Shadow Fall’s biggest sin. For all the next-gen bluster of its visuals and the repeated blunt-force attempts to ram a message home, Guerrilla’s first shot on the PS4 retreads shooter cliches, and poorly. In a launch lineup crowded with shooters, Killzone: Shadow Fall sits at the bottom.
Killzone Shadow Fall takes place 30 years after the events of Killzone 3. Set in an era of interplanetary colonization, it focuses on the conflict between the Vektans and the Helghast, two rival colonist factions inhabiting a distant planet. For three decades, both factions have lived side by side, separated by an enormous security wall – but now their cold war is about to go hot.
It’s up to Lucas Kellan, a member of the military intelligence unit known as the Shadow Marshals, to try to protect the fragile peace that exists. A new warrior for a new era of war, Kellan ‘s missions will range from quiet infiltrations to all-out combat. Lucas will need to be methodical and ready to adapt, as any misstep could lead to mutually assured destruction!
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