Buried underneath layers of erraticness and occasionally messy storytelling, Shadow Hearts: Covenant has an underlying core of conviction and passion that extends to every facet of the game, from the sometimes cheesy but incredibly endearing dialogue and interactions between its lovable characters, to the intense gameplay backed by a fantastic soundtrack, this game simply pulls no punches and delivers one of the most charming and entertaining games I've had the pleasure of playing. As a sequel Covenant aims to carve out its own identity by foregoing the horror and heavy gothic atmospheres that its predecessors, both Koudelka and Shadow Hearts, thrived on in favour of a grander, yet more light-hearted story that continues the blend between cosmic horror and alternate history.
First and foremost, the Judgment Ring maintains itself as one of the most engaging and inventive ideas for a combat system to revolve around, and one that I had a blast using again. It acts as an anchor to the games combat, with its presence extending into almost every other mechanic the game has to offer, and the way the new features in Covenant complement the ring just works so well. Extensive ring customisation is available for each party member, altering risk and reward, a combo system is introduced that allows you to chain attacks to deal more damage at the risk of losing your characters turns and crests store a variety of spells that characters gain access to by equipping them. In addition, the grid system has been changed to now encompass the entire stage fights play out on, with positioning taking a dynamic approach as almost every attack and hit taken will shift you or your opponent's position, keeping the fights constantly moving and fast-paced. With all of these changes, every fight in the game is exciting, intense and hectic aided by the soundtrack in battles designed to evoke those same feelings, it all just comes together so well and the only thing I could wish for is the game having a higher difficulty.
In parallel to its predecessor, the story of Covenant once again takes place in the continental area of Eurasia, as you'll be tasked with navigating through many towns and cities across the story. Where Shadow Hearts began with the entities operating in its world shrouded in mystery and our cast progressing one step at a time, slowly unravelling the truths behind it all, Covenant establishes clear villains and ideals in its opening hours, and raises the stakes to otherworldly levels much faster throughout its narrative. Antagonists are better explored with stronger motivations, both Europe and Asia are given equal focus with story elements centered around their unique culture that is mixed with the overarching plot, the addition of consistent voice acting in the in-game and FMV cutscenes, that are of much greater quantity, and a more meaningful approach to the games themes really raises the story.
The continued interweaving of history with Covenants own lore and topics allows for unique What Ifs? to be proposed and explored, providing some really interesting story concepts to be executed with villains and party members that are so distinctive that you simply will not find anything like them anywhere else. Covenant also continues to explore topics that Koudelka and Shadow Hearts brought to the table, such as the pervasive unjust cruelty of the Vatican found in every corner of the story, execution, torture, lies and deceit that underpin several major events throughout the games and imperialism is also touched upon on again in a far more impactful way. Many themes from the beginning of the series are also present, such as self-sacrifice, overcoming trauma, and not stagnating by moving on from the past.
"The future I want is the one that I create for myself. Even if it costs me my own soul.”
Where I think the narrative is at its apex though is in the more personal, grounded and poignant scenes that delve into the characters, particularly Yuri and Karin, which allow for the game to put its aforementioned themes on full display. What sets the cast of Covenant apart from other games for me is how they’re able to bring together a group of characters with such rich individuality while simultaneously creating an incredibly charming group dynamic, and it was really surprising how much I ended up liking all of them. Yuri remains a standout character who embraces many of the games themes, his transition from stagnation through fixation on the past shifting towards looking to the future through the support system Karin provides is simply fantastic, and the continued use of the graveyard and usage of monsters souls for his fusion to do good juxtaposes nicely with the games cruel world. The individuality of each character extends beyond personality and into gameplay as Covenant has some of the most diverse and varied gimmicks between its characters, all of which are well thought out and make switching between party members both super worthwhile and fun, as they are all so unique to begin with.
Shadow Hearts: Covenant has no right being as good as it is, and yet it exceeds expectations and genuinely has one of the biggest leaps in both technical and visual quality I’ve ever seen from a sequel. I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface of the game, the music is utterly divine (shout out to Ladder to Heaven, The 3 Karma and Deep in Coma), dungeons can range from utilizing intuitive puzzles to just being borderline mazes, various towns and cities bathe in warm colours and lighting that when intertwined with the peaceful music create such a very soothing vibe in these downtime moments… it's all just surreal even despite how messy it can get there is still so much heart in this game. Such a rewarding experience in spite of its occasional offensiveness and shortcomings, as Covenant is much more than the sum of its parts and something that will stick with me for a long time.
First and foremost, the Judgment Ring maintains itself as one of the most engaging and inventive ideas for a combat system to revolve around, and one that I had a blast using again. It acts as an anchor to the games combat, with its presence extending into almost every other mechanic the game has to offer, and the way the new features in Covenant complement the ring just works so well. Extensive ring customisation is available for each party member, altering risk and reward, a combo system is introduced that allows you to chain attacks to deal more damage at the risk of losing your characters turns and crests store a variety of spells that characters gain access to by equipping them. In addition, the grid system has been changed to now encompass the entire stage fights play out on, with positioning taking a dynamic approach as almost every attack and hit taken will shift you or your opponent's position, keeping the fights constantly moving and fast-paced. With all of these changes, every fight in the game is exciting, intense and hectic aided by the soundtrack in battles designed to evoke those same feelings, it all just comes together so well and the only thing I could wish for is the game having a higher difficulty.
In parallel to its predecessor, the story of Covenant once again takes place in the continental area of Eurasia, as you'll be tasked with navigating through many towns and cities across the story. Where Shadow Hearts began with the entities operating in its world shrouded in mystery and our cast progressing one step at a time, slowly unravelling the truths behind it all, Covenant establishes clear villains and ideals in its opening hours, and raises the stakes to otherworldly levels much faster throughout its narrative. Antagonists are better explored with stronger motivations, both Europe and Asia are given equal focus with story elements centered around their unique culture that is mixed with the overarching plot, the addition of consistent voice acting in the in-game and FMV cutscenes, that are of much greater quantity, and a more meaningful approach to the games themes really raises the story.
The continued interweaving of history with Covenants own lore and topics allows for unique What Ifs? to be proposed and explored, providing some really interesting story concepts to be executed with villains and party members that are so distinctive that you simply will not find anything like them anywhere else. Covenant also continues to explore topics that Koudelka and Shadow Hearts brought to the table, such as the pervasive unjust cruelty of the Vatican found in every corner of the story, execution, torture, lies and deceit that underpin several major events throughout the games and imperialism is also touched upon on again in a far more impactful way. Many themes from the beginning of the series are also present, such as self-sacrifice, overcoming trauma, and not stagnating by moving on from the past.
"The future I want is the one that I create for myself. Even if it costs me my own soul.”
Where I think the narrative is at its apex though is in the more personal, grounded and poignant scenes that delve into the characters, particularly Yuri and Karin, which allow for the game to put its aforementioned themes on full display. What sets the cast of Covenant apart from other games for me is how they’re able to bring together a group of characters with such rich individuality while simultaneously creating an incredibly charming group dynamic, and it was really surprising how much I ended up liking all of them. Yuri remains a standout character who embraces many of the games themes, his transition from stagnation through fixation on the past shifting towards looking to the future through the support system Karin provides is simply fantastic, and the continued use of the graveyard and usage of monsters souls for his fusion to do good juxtaposes nicely with the games cruel world. The individuality of each character extends beyond personality and into gameplay as Covenant has some of the most diverse and varied gimmicks between its characters, all of which are well thought out and make switching between party members both super worthwhile and fun, as they are all so unique to begin with.
Shadow Hearts: Covenant has no right being as good as it is, and yet it exceeds expectations and genuinely has one of the biggest leaps in both technical and visual quality I’ve ever seen from a sequel. I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface of the game, the music is utterly divine (shout out to Ladder to Heaven, The 3 Karma and Deep in Coma), dungeons can range from utilizing intuitive puzzles to just being borderline mazes, various towns and cities bathe in warm colours and lighting that when intertwined with the peaceful music create such a very soothing vibe in these downtime moments… it's all just surreal even despite how messy it can get there is still so much heart in this game. Such a rewarding experience in spite of its occasional offensiveness and shortcomings, as Covenant is much more than the sum of its parts and something that will stick with me for a long time.
Szanel
1 month ago