Killzone Shadow Fall

Boxart, depicting protagonist Lucas Kellan and his drone companion OWL against the backgroup of the Wall

### Artist

Misja Baas
Jan-Bart van Beek

### Composer(s)

Tyler Bates
Lorn

### Release

NA: November 15, 2013
EU: November 29, 2013

### Mode(s)

Single-player, multiplayer

***Killzone Shadow Fall*** (also referred to as *Killzone Shadowfall*) is a 2013 first-person shooter videogame developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4 home console. It is a sequel to 2011's *Killzone 3*, and the forth main installment in the *Killzone*.

*Killzone Shadow Fall* is set in the 24th century, and chronicles the war between two factions of human races, the Vektans and the Helghast. The single-player campaign's events take place thirty years after the ending of *Killzone 3*, which saw the destruction of the Helghast' home planet, Helghan; as a result, the surviving Helghast are allowed to inhabit half of Vekta. The game's main story involves special operations agent Lucas Kallen, who investigates a rising threat in the on-going Vektan-Helghast war. Presented from a first-person perspective, players control Kallen as he performs black operations across and outside Vekta; levels are designed to allow greater freedom and tactical approach to player in tackling their objectives, including stealth mechanics. A major feature in the game is the OWL, a small drone that assists Lucas through various applications.

Development began in late 2011 following the release of *Killzone 3*. Guerrilla saw *Shadow Fall* as a chance to revitalize *Killzone*, and a major focus during production was to give players a variety of options and tools to tackle both single-player objectives and online multiplayer gameplay, while the OWL was designed to take advantage of the DuelShock 4 controller's touch pad. The game was announced in February 2013 and released in November of that year as a launch title for the PlayStation 4.

*Killzone Shadow Fall* received mixed reviews upon its release. It was praised for the visuals, art direction and multiplayer modes, but criticized for the single-player campaign's story and design, as well as several unpolished mechanics. Despite mixed reviews, *Killzone Shadow Fall* was a commercial success, selling over 2 million copies by January 2014, and was nominated for several end-year accolades. The game was notably the first title to utilize Guerrilla's Decima engine, which went to power the studio's next franchise, *Horizon*.

## Reception

### Reviews

* MetaCritic: 73/100
* Destructoid: 9/10
* Edge: 6/10
* Escapist: 3.5/5
* Eurogamer: 7/10
* Game Informer: 8/10
* Game Revolution: 3.5/5
* GamesRadar: 4/5
* GameSpot: 7/10
* GameTrailers: 8.8/10
* Giant Bomb: 3/5
* Guardian: 4/5
* IGN: 8/10
* PlayStation LifeStyle: 7.5/10
* PlayStation Official Magazine: 8/10 (UK); 8.5/10 (AU)
* PlayStation Universe: 7.5/10
* Polygon: 5/10
* Push Square: 7/10
* VideoGamer: 6/10

*Killzone Shadow Fall* received a mixed to positive critical reception, with praise directed towards its visuals and multiplayer, while criticism was focused on its single-player campaign and lack of innovation as one of the first eighth-generation videogames. It holds a score of 73/100 on MetaCritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

The visuals and art direction were critically acclaimed by critics.

The single-player campaign's was met with a polarized response.

The story and characters received mixed reactions, though the majority of critics agreed that they were better written and explored than in previous entries. GameSpot's VanOrd considered the story to be "clearly superior" to the ones in *Killzone 2* and *Killzone 3*, and praised it for its more morally ambiguous take on the Vektan-Helghast conflict. IGN's Moriarty called the game's story "muddled -- and even nonsensical at times", but enjoyed its "interesting characters". GamesRadar's Taljonick was impressed by the campaign's "humanity", but found that the game's collectibles offered more convincing narratives than the story. The Escapist's Sterling considered *Shadow Fall* to be a more complex and interesting story than its predecessors, and for portraying the Helghast in a more sympathetic manner. Conversely, Polygon's Gies disliked the story for its nihilistic tone and unlikable characters. Eurogamer's Oli Welsh appreciated the story's change of pace from the previous games' "unthinking militarism", but criticized its second half for falling into "sci-fi action cliches".

GameSpot's VanOrd admitted that he found Lucas to be underdeveloped as a protagonist, but nonetheless noticed he gave the game a more "intimate touch" that previous games lacked. GamesRader's Taljonick found both Lucas and Sinclair to be unconvincing characters and disliked their "apathetic" conversations.

The multiplayer mode received highly positive reactions from critics.