Left-to-right: Talon, Curtis, Kellan and Asrael.
Shadows of Adam tells the story of Kellan and Asreal, two inhabitants of the secluded Village of Adam, who decided to go on a journey to find their missing father after coming in contact with a mysterious book during a monster extermination mission.The game is a retro Eastern RPG developed by SomethingClassic (whose dev team includes Lun Calsari, creator of the classic RPG Maker title The Way). It was funded
on Kickstarter on February 19th, 2016, and was released on the Windows and Linux PCs on February 23rd, 2017. A Nintendo Switch version was also released on May 3rd, 2019. Its official website is here.
Shadows of Adam provides examples of:
- Abandoned Mine: The Passageway, under the Haunted Swamp. Overlaps with Minecart Madness, because of the puzzles.
- Abhorrent Admirer: Prince Malvil is hopelessly infatuated with Asrael. She absolutely does not reciprocate does to his villainous nature.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Asrael isn't treated well in Adam Village because of her magic powers.
- Archnemesis Dad: Orazio is the Greater-Scope Villain and Final Boss of the game.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Prince Malvil whats to use the power of magic to usurp the throne from his brother.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Curtis fights hand-to-hand with claw weapons.
- The Big Guy: Curtis, the oldest party member, is a physically imposing monk.
- Black Magician Girl: Downplayed. Asrael (the only party member who can use magic) is cold and sarcastic woman, contrasting Kellan and Talon.
- Block Puzzle: Some puzzles are about moving purple orbs and statues (that are Frictionless Ice) on Pressure Plate to unlock passages.
- Bubblegloop Swamp: The Haunted Swamp that leads to the Water Shrine.
- The Cameo: Traziun and Lexus from The Way (RPG Maker) are NPCs found in Dradora, as Luke Wacholtz/Lun Calsari is this game's writer and level designer. Likely for the same reason, a prominent moderator/member from The Way's fan community from back in its day initiates one of the late-game sidequests.
- Deadpan Snarker: Asrael often makes sarcastic remarks, usually because of Kellan.
- Death Dealer: Talon's "Draw Card" ability. It deals elemental damage to all enemies.
- Disappeared Dad: Orazio, Kellan and Asrael's father, disappeared 10 years before the game events.
- Disc-One Final Boss: Prince Malvil.
- Elemental Weapon: Each character can obtain at least one weapon that deals elemental damage.
- Floorboard Failure: The Wind Tower has some of these; usually it leads to secret passages in the floor bellow.
- Goldfish Poop Gang: Zak and Nik: Prince Malvil's henchmen and Recurring Bosses who are never taken seriously.
- Headbutting Heroes: Kellan and Talon are constantly making childish insults and jabs at each other.
- The Hedge of Thorns: The Tangle, the game's first dungeon, is a maze of thorny vines and brambles.
- Heel–Face Turn: After pursuing the party for most of the game, Zak and Nik board your airship as friendly shopkeepers.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: Kellan, the main character, uses swords.
- Hidden Remote Village: The village of Adam, hidden by the Misty Woods.
- It's All Upstairs From Here: The Wind Tower east of Dradora.
- Laughably Evil: Malvil is a corrupt, narcissistic prince, but has a humorous obsession with Asrael's "sparkles" and misfires his newfound magic powers.
- Lethal Lava Land: The Magma Sanctum is a dungeon within a volcano. Enemies are all fire-themed, jets of flame block your path until you solve puzzles, and streams of hot air can carry you upwards.
- The Lost Woods: Misty Woods, a dark forest full of monsters that hides Adam Village from the rest of the world.
- Magic Is Evil: Magic is seen as a taboo because of the Wraith War.
- Magic Staff: Asrael's primary weapon is a staff which she uses to cast her spells.
- Meditation Powerup: During battles, characters can use their turn to recover more AP and gain certain benefits. For example, Asarel's Channel boosts the magic power of her next magic attack, while Curtis Meditate does the same for his physical ones.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: Prince Malvil becomes more dangerous and powerful after learning magic.
- Point of No Return:
- Exaggerated. The last dungeon has many of these, usually after riding a minecart, but the game always warns you beforehand.
- Subverted in the "V 1.1.1 patch", as it added a two way teleporter (right before the final boss) that can warp you back to the entrance.
- Red Mage: Asrael is a mage who uses a combination of offensive spells like Lightning and Flare, and supportive ones like Soothe and Remedy.
- Shifting Sand Land: There is an optional desert area that can be visited after obtaining the airship.
- Status Effects: Poison, Blindness, Silence, Berserk etc.
- Stealth-Based Mission: There is one mission where the party infiltrates a Port Town and takes a ship to other continent.
- Superboss: Near the end of the game, you'll be able to go on side-quests that will have you fight powerful enemies who drop the strongest gear in the game.
- The Disaster Cake, found in the Candy Cave whose existence is hinted at by Lorabeth after completing the Candy Dress sidequest, is able to severely hinder your party by inflicting them with Status Effects. Defeating him earns you Asrael's Candy Cane.
- Pendragos, a legendary dragon, is encountered in an island that's been burned into desert. Defeating him grants you the Fae's Lament, an accessory that greatly increases luck, and blesses your party with good luck, allowing you to get some of Talon's best equipment.
- Temple of Doom: The Water Shrine is a ruined watery temple.
- Unintentionally Unwinnable: In the last dungeon, right after the first save point, there is a puzzle where the Puzzle Reset button can be blocked by placing a pillar and the purple orb between it. Since the game can be saved anywhere, it can make the game unwinnable.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Malvil gains powerful magic, but during his boss fight, his inexperience in casting causes him to damage his own soldiers.
- Wham Line: During a flashback scene from Curtis' point of view, we learn that his friend Rone, who fled their village after being caught using magic, is not just a random NPC...Rone: If you ever come looking for me, don't ask for Rone. Ask for Orazio.
