Killzone Shadow Fall [PS4 Review]

Well here we go, the first game for the Play Station 4 that I've finished. Killzone Shadow Fall is the continuation of a long running series of first person shooters that is available only on the Play Station. It is the fourth major game, and the first non-numerical game.

Single player game play.

Ping-pong ball in a dryer. That's your characters life.

The story of Shadow Fall begins shortly after the end of Killzone 3. At the end of Killzone 3 the planet of the Helghast, Helghan, lies in ruins after Stalh's cruiser filled with irradiated petrusite explodes in Helghan's atmosphere wiping out most of the life on the planet. After the credits you see an escape pod indicating that Stahl is not dead. It's like the end of Simon's Quest when Dracula's hand breaches the grave. Well not really, but I really liked Simon's Quest. That was an excellent game.

The remaining Helghast population is settled on Vekta, in half of Vekta City. A wall is constructed separating the two. The Vektan's on the Helghast side are relocated. Unfortunately the Helghast are not evicting them nicely. They are acting in their normal Helghast way, violent and aggressive. This is where chapter one begins, and I am going to spoil most of chapter one, so be forewarned.

Red eyes, it makes them monsters, does it?

- Spoiler Alert! - Spoiler Alert! -

You play as Lucas Kellen, and you begin the game as a child of roughly 8 years or so. Your father is leading you out of the Helghast controlled part of the city and across the Wall. If you make the wrong move you will die. Along the way you run into a Shadow Marshal, a Vektan soldier named Sinclair who works on secret missions undertaken on the Helghast side of the Wall. He offers to help you and your father escape. 

Sinclair and David Harewood.

During the escape the Helghast shoot and kill your father. They are in turn killed by Sinclair. He finishes helping you escape.

You enter the Shadow Marshal Academy and quickly rise through the ranks under the tutelage of Sinclair, your adoptive father. You become the youngest Shadow Marshal ever, and work directly for Sinclair who is now the head of the Shadow Marshals.

Thus your adventure begins and chapter two begins, 30 years after Killzone 3 ended.  

End of Spoilers.

Vektan City, Shadow Marshal Headquarters.

(Clicking on the images to make them larger.)


I have always liked the Killzone games, ever since the second one. I never actually owned or played the first. However, I did read up on the back story after I played the second game. I also owned and played Killzone 3, and have not completed Killzone Shadow Fall. I never played any of the side games.

Vektan City from above. It's pretty cool.

There is something about the dark gritty sci-fi universe that the Killzone games take place in that I like. Probably the dark gritty universe, as I've always like that breed of science fiction. 

Echo. I'd have liked to see her without the hood.

This one plays a lot more in the grey areas of ethics than the previous Killzone games. You are shown the terrible state that Helghast live in, you see the selfishness of the Vektans. You also see the general brutality of the Helghast, and the terror of the Vektans. Neither side comes off smelling like roses in the end. Something I also enjoy, I never like the idea that one side is good and one is bad... there is no such thing. One of the modern phrases I keep hearing that sickens me to the core is this little peice of offal, "It's US or THEM." That is how you justify genocide, that is how turn a person into an 'other.' That is how one dehumanizes another person.

That phrase is Sick. I'm glad that this game actually personifies the Helghast more. It gives them more humanity (yes, in the story they have mutated into an offshoot species.) You see the civilians of the Helghast, you meet Echo. You learn of their plight.

Lots of world details can be discovered in the game.

Is JJ Abrams involved in this game? Lens Flare!

The game play itself is not bad. It takes no time at all to get familiar with the controls, and it does highlight how nice the new PS4 trigger buttons are. It also actually takes advantage of the touch-pad on the controller. I was impressed at the ease to which that control function was integrated.

Multiplayer. It's kinda chaotic. Good.

Now, I'm not really a great FPS player by any means. I play the Killzone series, and I play Mechwarrior Online. That's about it. Killzone is more of a traditional FPS, and MWO is a cross breed with a mech-pilot simulator. It still only took me maybe 16-18 hours to complete the single player missions. That includes my many many grisly deaths. There are only ten chapters, and two of them are very short, like Chapter 1.

Kill the Ewok! Kill it!

There are however several instances of Quick-Time Events, and I hate them. The ones in Shadow Fall are not too bad, not too egregious. However they were completely unnecessary. Game designers really need to stop using QTEs. They need to ask themselves, 'is this illusion of agency worth it?' The answer is 'no.' Because they are not an illusion of agency, they are a test of reaction speed. Some of us rest when watching the movie sequences, we are not gripping the controller with the utmost urgency. Leave the movie events as movie events, stop using QTEs, please.

These stupid QTEs are not half as irritating in Shadow Fall as the falling / flying events. Those sucked. They sucked bad. Move your L3/R3 sticks and avoid dying. You won't survive on your first try (probably) and you still might not survive on your fifteenth. I stopped on of my gaming sessions because these stupid events pissed me off enough I had to stop. I just do understand what purpose these served in the game.

Thankfully neither of those exist in the multiplayer. Unfortunately you have to have a PS+ account to play multiplayer online for any PS4 title. Thankfully you get 7 days free with Killzone Shadow Fall and 3 months free with your PS4. 

Ok, time to roll out the scores!

Game Play: Solid for an FPS. The controls are easy to get a handle on, it takes full advantage of the entire PS4 controller. Combat is simple and straight forward, and you can stealth or go full-bore crazy shooting. Missions have some options on how to achieve them built in (sometimes). Unfortunately the game is short. It also loses marks for QTE's and those awful flying / falling sections.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Graphics: Very very good. Of course I am not surprised by this. The graphics for PS4 games are going to be good. I have no complaints here, well... sometimes the lens flare was a bit harsh. It's funny when that becomes a weapon.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Story: Better than previous Killzone games. This one is actually an individual story. Motivations and reasons for characters are laid out, both sides are shown, conflict rises and falls. Is it the best story? No, its a simple story. I'm not going to lay out which of the plots it is, as that will give away too much.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Music / Sound FX: No complaints. No accolades. Guns sounded different depending on what you were using. Boot steps changed depending on speed of movement. Everything melded well into the game, and perhaps that is the best part. Nothing was out of place. 

3 out of 5 stars

Overall: I've yet to give up on the Killzone series, if there is another one I'll get it too. I'm still using my seven days of PS+ to play Warzone (the multiplayer part of the game). The honest truth of the game is that it is neither terrible nor is it great. It's a very average game. It is better, I will claim, than either Killzone 2 or Killzone 3.

3.5 out of 5 stars

I was torn between 3 and 3.5 stars. I've chosen to go a touch high. If this was a ten point scale, the game would get a solid 6.5, so you can think of it as that if you want. Is it great? No. Is is bad, also no. It's fun enough while you are playing, for the most part, and that is what games are (for the most part) meant to be. Fun. I therefore recommend this game, it passes. It's fun. It will never blow you away, but that is not what it is meant to do.