Suda51 and his team know how to present interesting characters in their games, especially when it comes to bosses. Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered has some hilarious big baddies, with cool designs made by the mangaka Hayashida Q. Their gameplay mechanics might not be outstanding, but most still offer a good time.
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It’s worth mentioning that we will only include bosses who are attached to achievements — those with a name and some relevance to the story. Certain enemies only appear in specific sections of the story and could be considered mini-bosses, but we will only focus on the main figures here.
8
Maras Grim
Not More Than A Deadly Appetizer
The first Sister Grim is (expectably) one of the weakest bosses when it comes to its battle. You can destroy her by breaking her core each time she’s exposed, and she won’t throw projectiles at you if you’re quick enough — just a melee attack if you take your time. A fight that should be exciting ends up being a bit lackluster.
However, this doesn’t mean that Maras doesn’t have anything to praise. Her design is devilish and lovely; she’s one of the coolest Grim Reapers we have seen in video games.
7
Kauline Grim
Death Cloning Herself Is Brilliant
Kauline is the second sister of death you can find and she’s just slightly better than Maras. Their designs are similar, but Kauline gains extra points for her unique gimmick: when wrapping the arena in darkness, she will create copies of herself. You have only a few seconds to discover which one is the real deal, or she will slash you with her big scythe.
The rest of the fight is pretty barebones, but that final section with Kauline surrounding you with dozens of her copies is pretty sick-looking. What can we say, we just like the cool stuff Suda51 and his team create.
6
Justine
A Sweet And Sexy Change Of Pace
Justine’s battle is special because it’s the only one that happens in an entirely different gameplay dimension: 2D. From time to time, you’ll play some chapters that involve flying from left to right and shooting everything that moves. These are a welcome change of pace, and the designs look adorable with the paper style used as the art direction.
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The last of this series of chapters involves Justine, which is a boss waiting for you. You’ll battle her in something resembling a classic ship shooter than Shadows of the Damned, which is a nice detail.
5
Elliot
Stop Cursing Me, Big Bird!
It seems like Elliot doesn’t know more than two words in English. One starts with an “F”, and… you get the idea. After seeing a prepared soldier being slaughtered by Elliot, you’ll have to face him on a bridge in a volcanic area. The main twist is that he will turn into a giant bird, which will keep cursing you.
The battle itself isn’t spectacular, but fighting a flying enemy for once is refreshing, and his back story about why he wanted to be a bird is one of the coolest ones.
4
Giltine Grim
The Big Sister Is The Oldest One For Something
Giltine is the last Sister Grim you’ll face in your journey through hell and it’s easily the most exciting encounter. She doesn’t only add a little twist to the whole battle (you have the chance to control how long the Darkness lasts in the arena), but her design is simply the best and she has more moves to learn.
This Grim Reaper has multiple projectiles and she also likes to summon regular enemies to make your time a bit harder.
3
George (Human And Beast Form)
From Chaser To Rider
Okay, so George is kind of cheating, because he has two completely different boss fights and designs. At first, he’s a bulky stalker running toward you in a market full of obstacles, and in his devil form, he becomes a centaur and a giant goat for the last bit of the battle. It’s a good use of resources and the rules are always clear, which makes the fights fair and exciting at the same time.
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Personally, we don’t know what design we like the most. The stalker one is a sweet reference to that archetype in survival horrors and works great, with the nice touch of the change of roles in the latter half — you need to find him when the arena is wrapped in Darkness and he’s hiding with a goat head. The other two include cool attacks and a more imaginative use of Darkness.
2
Fleming
The Demon Lord Has Some Class
We won’t deny it; the battle itself with Fleming at the end of the game is a bit disappointing. Here you are, at the top of his tower after a couple of chapters climbing it, facing the source of all your troubles, and his repertoire of moves isn’t that interesting. In fact, it has some weird moments, like when he’s cut into three pieces and he starts floating with them in a circular motion, joining the pieces with lasers, waiting for you to attack the one glowing red.
However, Fleming earns this high spot for everything else: he has the most interesting design of all the enemies in Shadows of the Damned, his exchanges with Garcia are only beaten by Johnson’s lines, and he still has one of the hardest battles in the game. The fact that you can get an automatic game over when he opens his coat and shows Paula is a lovely detail, and the ability to throw you into another dimension with giant burgers on a big plate is hilarious.
1
Paula
Love Will Kill You
Similar to Fleming’s case, this isn’t the most interesting battle and there are others with better mechanics or use of the Darkness. But the presentation of this final boss, and its main concept, is unmatched. Even if you saw this coming from the beginning of the game, when you experience the false credits scene in the reunion with Paula and enter the real final arena against a demonic version of Garcia’s wife, you smile and think, “This is genius.”
Then the battle has some cool moments with the rivers of blood attack and its moving second phase, which makes you run forward all the time so you don’t end up wrapped in Darkness. The final moment after earning what looks like a victory, has Garcia hugging Paula while they both submerge themselves in the Darkness, losing their lives. You’re a romantic, Suda!
Action
Adventure
Action-Adventure
Shooter
- Released
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October 28, 2024
- Developer(s)
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Grasshopper Manufacture
, Engine Software - Publisher(s)
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Grasshopper Manufacture
, NetEase Games - ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language