Shadows of the Damned Short Stories, Q's manga and Black Knight Sword. Downloadable content updated.
The Game.
A Suda 51 Trip.
The action, survival/horror game (Road Movie) by Grasshopper Manufacture.
A brand new I.P. by (Goichi-San) Suda 51's (Punk Rock theme, who has quite a following) and Shinji Mikami-San (Psychological Action Thriller); Grasshopper Manufacturer, produced a game named Shadows of the Damned. An action (shooter), survival/horror kind of game (using the Unreal Engine) with quite a plot, and it's own sense of humor. It all takes place with a Demon Hunter, named Garcia Hotspur, whose girlfriend was attacked and taken by demons. Garcia travels to Hell to get her back, along with his companion; a demon named Johnson.
To a point, it has it's original qualities, but it certainly has a basing with some known features. So the plot in and of itself doesn't stand out too much. But it is the character development during the plot that shines the most. It is like an 8-hour adult joke. But it is entertaining. But that isn't the main focus of this article. This is mostly about the 'Short Stories' presented within the game. Almost stand alone back stories on each of the 4 key Boss Demons (not including the final Boss).
These stories were completely optional and very easy to miss. But they are interesting nonetheless. Be warned, there is profanity and some sexual content.
In no particular order. Please enjoy.
Legend of Stinky Crow video.
Man Who Never Had His Fill video.
Psychopomp & circumstance video.
The Beauty is Blind video.
Short Story Collection PDF.
Art of Shadows of the Damned.
For more of the story, there is an artbook released for Shadows of the Damned, under KURAYAMI MAGAZINE which has an original short comic spinoff by Q-Hayashida that is not present within the game itself.
Only issue is the Artbook is only in Japanese. So it'll be a bit difficult attempting to enjoy the comic. But if you still want it, want to show your support to Grasshopper Manufacture, then check out where to pick it up from. Though the stock is quite limited.
KURAYAMI MAGAZINE.
Update: The site is currently offline. So this is the only convenient location to see this book.
Q-Hayashida's short manga.
For those interested in the manga mentioned above (and featured in the KURAYAMI Magazine), I grabbed a copy and scanned it. 12 pages in total, but not of English... Nor Japanese. Best I can say is the language featured inside is the 'Demon language' used for demon communication. Brief English is shown, in slang, but that is about it. The Manga is purely interpretive outside the images in order.
I haven't seen this manga anywhere else online (that I have seen), so this should be new for any whom haven't picked up the Magazine.
If anyone has any ideas on what the language actually is, let me know. Otherwise, enjoy the .PDF manga!
Tacking on the Black Knight.
A more recent product from Suda 51 and those at Grasshopper Manufacture (and Digital Reality) is an homage side scroller game (done in the same fashion as a particular stage within Shadows of the Damned) called 'Black Knight Sword'.
All taking place on a stage, literally a theatrical stage, like it was a play (which is part of it;s set up), is a tale of a Black Knight summoned to destroy an Evil: The White Princess. It is a typical kind of story but the execution is what makes up for it. You start off as a guy who attempts to commit suicide, to be drawn in becoming the Black Knight. The Sword, the Hellebore, is an entity that accompanies you. Is your weapon, gives you a double jump (when possessing the sword) and performs Magical Attacks for you. She has an underlined role, but it is one that is hard to ignore.
Game features many similar artistic takes to demon design and story elements to that of SotD. Before each stage, there is a tale spoken by the narrator about the history of the being that is the final Boss of that particular stage. It really is fascinating.
Digital Reality has a PDF that talks a bit of the game, here it is for your reading pleasure.
