So I just beat Shadow Lords on Normal after getting rekkted on Challenging difficulty. Normal is definitely the way to go initially if you’re a casual player, but for the more skilled should start with Challenging. This game mode is definitely a good use for all that KI Gold people may have bought over the years as it will allow them to even the odds against the harder 3-character gauntlets like triple Arias/Fulgores, or Mimic Thunder, Hisako, Omen teams. It definitely adds RPG-elements to KI and I think it would be a great mode if it had launched with Season One. As I see it, its a good start for a potentially bigger version in a Season 4 or a KI4.
Here’s my pros: The game has microtransactions which allows you to cut corners with KIGold to get the better artifacts for your characters, but just playing the game will allow you to avoid paying money. Its a great compromise that many games already do and I’m glad KI gives you the option. The story itself seems pretty good, and if you can avoid corruption long enough, it extends the story greatly, allowing you to acquire more dossiers, artifacts, and materials to level up your characters. Its quite challenging for even the best KI players as the Omens are quite difficult with their status buffs. The game seems to vary a lot on each playthrough so its never quite the same which allows for replayability. Requiring a complete playthrough including beating Gargos to unlock the Astral Plane stage is a good way to get people to play it at least once. I love deploying Characters to a fight to win without having to play as I lost to Shadow Jago (my greatest nemesis) on Challenging difficulty. He game over-ed me and I could’ve easily won had I just deployed Kim Wu. Going to the barracks and applying the right artifacts to your characters greatly increase your odds throughout each fight and I can’t wait to see how the daily rewards will add to your assortment of materials and artifacts. There’s a ton of information to unlock, but the only problem is the random encounters may make it difficult to collect all the dossiers.
Cons: While Shadow Lords is quite in depth on the surface, I feel it probably would’ve been better to include a Season 2-like story mode or a typical Arcade Mode than Shadow Lords. Not every studio has the budget for a full story mode like MK9/X/SFV, but I feel KI would’ve been better served with that and the information included in the KI Novella (which I haven’t read yet, but I will). A typical Arcade mode (and no Survival doesn’t count) is just a faster way to beat the game sometimes and that’s what I would’ve preferred. When playing SF4, I often went through arcade mode just to play for five minutes, beat the boss, and watch the cutscene ending. And really, who wouldn’t like a ladder with the flaming background where Spinal, Fulgore, Aria, Eyedol, and Gargos sit at the top with a hidden Shadow Jago fight from KI S1 (if that’s still in the game)? Shadow Lords doesn’t allow for a quick in and out because the RPG elements make it a bit more involved. Speaking of that, its going to take a lot of playthroughs for people without KIGold to amass good artifacts that’ll help them through the more challenging difficulties. Anytime a game allows people to pay to shortcut the more difficult aspects of a game is good, but it also costs more money. For long time players that paid for the Ultra/combo seasons, that might be off-putting, but for the newcomers purchasing the Definitive Edition it may be welcome. I wish there was more content to be unlocked through Shadow Lords rather than just the Astral Plane stage and dossiers, like more stages, ultimates, or costumes, but that’s just wishful thinking. All in all, I think this mode would’ve been a lot better if it launched with Season1 than at the end of KI3’s life, if this is the end.
Sorry for my long post, I write novels in my spare time which explains my elaborate explanation. But I give the mode a first-impressions score of 7/10.