Console Obsession says: "Shadwen was developed by Frozenbyte, the team best known for the very colourful and magical Trine series. Having moved away from that series for now, Shadwen is quite a contrast in both its look and tone, with it being darker and less fairytale-like than the series that helped put the developer on the map. Shadwen is the titular sneaky assassin that you take control of in the medieval inspired world that the game takes place in. But before you get to her main task, which is to kill the king, you take control of a young girl called Lily. This section doesn’t only set up the story but it also serves as a tutorial as well. It’s not long before Shadwen and Lily meet up, and then the game becomes a gigantic escort mission. Oh joy."
Dragoon writes, "Shadwen by Frozenbyte is a great example of why more is not always better. It takes many well implemented mechanics from great games and tries to lash them all together in a airtight and cohesive package. Unfortunately what we are left with is a mess of clashing design and shoddy imitation. There are some faint hints of gold but it's obscured and tarnished by the unnecessary bulk of the complete package. There was definitely potential here but Frozenbyte missed the mark and got caught up in their own hubris."
Shadwen tries too hard to be more interesting by adding in more gimmicks, but because of how they didn't really work well together.
Shadwen is an assassin, not a babysitter, so why are you dragging a little girl through the streets whilst on the way to commit regicide?
