Shadow Complex is a 2.5D action-platformer developed by ChAIR Entertainment Group, released in 2009 for Xbox 360 and later remastered for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The game world is fully three-dimensional, but player movement is restricted to a side-scrolling plane, while enemies can move in any direction; an auto-aim system handles targets both within and outside that plane, with the right stick available for manual laser-sight aiming. Heavily inspired by Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the design follows a Metroidvania structure: players explore a large interconnected environment, defeat enemies using varied weapons, and unlock new abilities and gear that open previously inaccessible areas. Defeating enemies and completing objectives earns experience points, which raise character attributes such as accuracy and damage resistance. A separate set of challenge stages called Proving Grounds tasks players with reaching an exit using restricted loadouts, with completion times and scores tracked through online leaderboards.
