2019 freemium video game
2018 video game
Raid: Shadow Legends
is a mobile
role-playing game
developed and published by
Israeli
game developer
Plarium Games
, a subsidiary of the gambling company
Aristocrat Leisure
. A
port
to PC was released on January 21, 2020.
[3]
It is best known for its aggressive sponsorships, which became a subject of an internet meme. It received mixed reviews from critics.
Gameplay
[
edit
]
Raid: Shadow Legends
is a fantasy-themed,
turn-based
role-playing
gacha game
.
[4]
The game's story takes place in the fictional realm of Teleria, which has been subjugated by the Dark Lord Siroth. Players take the role of an ancient Telerian warrior resurrected to defeat the Dark Lord and restore peace and harmony to the territory. Players must assemble an army for battles in settings such as castles, dungeons, deserts and temples defended by enemies and possible allies.
[4]
Throughout the game, players accumulate
Shards
, vessels containing the souls of past warriors. Shards come in four types with different properties. The game has two forms of currency:
Silver
, which is relatively easy to come by, and
Gems
, which are a lot more difficult to acquire. There is also a cost in
Energy
for running any of the campaign and dungeon stages. Without Energy you can't progress in the campaign. It runs out quickly, and after the first day players will have to be very careful not to waste it.
The game consists primarily of story-driven single-player campaign with twelve levels, each level made up of seven stages with four levels of difficulty.
[4]
The single-player campaign is interconnected with a multiplayer component, the
Arena
, to decide player rankings. Players can also join
Clans
, through which members fight a
Clan Boss
together, which brings advanced rewards. The games slogan is "Let's Play Together."
The game's narrative was written by Paul C. R. Monk,
[4]
and the game adopts a Western art style, and settings inspired by
dark fantasy
.
Reception
[
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]
Raid: Shadow Legends
has been praised for its graphics but criticized for its aggressive monetization in the form of
microtransactions
.
Pocket Gamer
commended the "sheer graphic quality", for its "beautifully rendered and animated" characters and a "generous experience for new players".
[5]
TheGamer
heavily criticized the game, citing its lack of depth and
freemium
structure, describing it as "the epitome of pay to win".
[6]
Gamezebo
praised the game for trading "the typical
anime
-style visuals for a more realistic, dark fantasy look", going on to write about "the truly stunning experience, with some of the finest attack animations and environmental effects we've seen in the genre so far." However, the article also criticises the game's underlying monetization, pointing out that progress is difficult, "particularly if you don’t plan on spending any actual money on the various upgrades".
[7]
In its review,
BlueStacks
also praised the visuals, saying, "The animations are simply spectacular, with the quality the likes you seldom see in these games," and concluding that "players that enjoy fantasy combat with a more realistic approach?similar to
The Lord of the Rings
?will likely have a very good time with
Raid: Shadow Legends
."
[2]
South African technology website
htxt.africa
praised the graphics, but overall found it boring with too many
microtransactions
.
[8]
Droid Gamers
said it brings nothing new to the gacha RPG genre.
[9]
Sponsorships and advertising
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]
The game has received substantial attention for its aggressive advertising campaign, most notably its
sponsorships
of a number of
YouTube
,
Twitch
, and
Vimeo
content-creators, leading to it becoming an
Internet meme
.
[10]
In February 2020, two tweets from a Plarium customer support agent on
Raid
'
s
Twitter
feed, claiming that
Raid
does not sponsor but rather "cooperates" with
YouTube
creators, gained online attention for its violations of
FTC
-rules requiring payments for endorsements to be disclosed to the public. Various creators contradicted this tweet, openly-stating that they were sponsored by
Raid
or have received offers from Plarium involving
Raid
-related sponsorship-deals. Plarium later posted a tweet clarifying that its earlier tweets were referring to tutorials and
Raid
-focused videos, not its marketing campaign.
[11]
[12]
References
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]
External links
[
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]