Raid: Shadow Legends
Developer(s)Plarium Games
Publisher(s)Plarium Games
Writer(s)Paul C. R. Monk
Composer(s)Paul C. R. Monk
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Android, iOS, iPadOS, Microsoft Windows, MacOS
ReleaseFebruary 28, 2019
Genre(s)RPG, gacha[1]

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.[2] It is best known for its aggressive sponsorships, which became a subject of an internet meme. It received mixed reviews from critics.

Gameplay

Screenshot of gameplay

Raid: Shadow Legends is a fantasy-themed, turn-based role-playing gacha game.[3] 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.[3] 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.[3] 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,[3] and the game adopts a Western art style, and settings inspired by dark fantasy.

Reception

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".[4] TheGamer heavily criticized the game, citing its lack of depth and freemium structure, describing it as "the epitome of pay to win".[5] 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".[6] 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."[1] South African technology website htxt.africa praised the graphics, but overall found it boring with too many microtransactions.[7] Droid Gamers said it brings nothing new to the gacha RPG genre.[8]

Internet meme

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.[9]

Sponsorships and advertising

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.[10][11]

References

  1. 1 2 "RAID: Shadow Legends—a grittier and realistic twist to traditional gacha games". BlueStacks. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  2. ↑ "Plarium Releases Acclaimed Collection RPG 'RAID: Shadow Legends' on PC". www.businesswire.com. 2020-01-21. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Takahashi, Dean (28 February 2019). "Plarium's Raid: Shadow Legends takes collectible RPGs into mobile". VentureBeat. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  4. ↑ Jordan, Jon (25 March 2019). "How does Raid: Shadow Legends engage, retain and monetise?". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  5. ↑ "Raid: Shadow Legends Is Absolute Trash And We're Not Afraid To Say It". TheGamer. 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  6. ↑ Fox, Glen (1 March 2019). "Raid: Shadow Legends Guide – Tips, Cheats and Strategies". Gamezebo. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  7. ↑ Lotz, Brendyn (13 August 2019). "We played Raid: Shadow Legends so you don't have to". HTXT. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  8. ↑ Mayhew, Ash (3 March 2019). "Raid: Shadow Legends Review – The gacha RPG to rule them all?". Droid Gamers. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  9. ↑ Roque, Jack (27 December 2019). "Plarium's Aggressive Marketing of RAID: Shadow Legends Pays Off". Gamer Empire. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  10. ↑ "Raid Shadow Legends Twitter Account Claims They Do Not Sponsor Anyone *Updated* | Gameverse". gameverse.com. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  11. ↑ Worrall, William (2020-02-28). "Raid: Shadow Legends Just Got Caught in the Stupidest Lie Imaginable". CCN.com. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
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