Go To Hell With Shadows of the Damned This Summer

Shinji Mikami and Goichi “Suda 51,” the creators behind demon-slaying action adventure Shadows of the Damned, will bring their next adventure to consoles on June 7, EA revealed today.

The developers said during an onstage presentation that their work is heavily influenced by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s direction in the 2007 exploitation double feature Grindhouse. Shadows of the Damned will feature light versus darkness gameplay, with protagonist Garcia Hotspur’s weapon, a shapeshifting ex-demon named Johnson, launching bursts of light at hellspawn. Johnson’s various weapon forms—which include pistols, rifles and torches—can be upgraded with a gem-collection system.

EA and Grasshopper Manufacture promise that light-dark gameplay will “forever change the way gamers perceive puzzles, combat, and action.”

Mikami and Suda also confirmed that Shadows of the Damned’s health system is alcohol based—when Garcia Hotspur is short of health, a shot of alcohol (“the elixir of life in Hell”) will give him a boost. To commemorate that, Mikami and Suda each took a slug of whiskey.

Shadows of the Damned hits June 7—one week before EA’s Alice: Madness Returns—for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.