Fun, skill-based melee combat
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 positive reviews
“it's like a Nioh PvP with awesome mechanics, with PvE elements to farm for items and to make your own build to become stronger”
Steam review · 2.5 h played ↗
Shadow Arena
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Mixed · 54%Mixed · 54%Pearl Abyss2020Battle Royale · Action · Strategy
The verdict
A free Black Desert-based melee battle royale with fun combat, but the playerbase is gone, matches are mostly bots, and reports say it was shut down. Skip it unless bot matches appeal.
Great for
Black Desert combat fans wanting a quick melee brawler against bots or in custom matches with friends
Main risk
The game is dead or shut down: bots, long queues, or it won't launch at all
What players love
Beautiful graphics and varied heroes
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 positive reviews
“This game is absolutely gorgeous! Textures are clear and crisp”
Steam review · 4.8 h played ↗
Free with no pay-to-win
Mentioned in ~1 in 17 positive reviews
“I'm thankful that f2p players can also get cool skins.”
Steam review · 413 h played ↗
Fun with friends in custom matches
Mentioned in ~1 in 50 positive reviews
“My friends and I enjoy playing custom matches against each other in Battle Royale or Death Match with some AI for fun.”
Steam review · 7.5 h played ↗
What players complain about
Dead playerbase, matches full of bots
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews
“there are 4 people active in the game. It is sadly a dead game.”
Steam review · 6.9 h played ↗
Updates ruined it: solo removed, MOBA shop
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“they really ruined the game when they took away solo play and forced everyone to join a 3v3 team”
Steam review · 45.9 h played ↗
Stun-lock and class imbalance
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“Getting hit with knockdown attacks over and over again, which basically describes combat in Shadow Arena.”
Steam review · 1 h played ↗
Pay-to-win heroes and expensive unlocks
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 negative reviews
“you need to pay $50+ just to unlock the heroes?”
Steam review · 14.2 h played ↗
Desync, lag and no regional servers
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 negative reviews
“Lag is absolutely terrible half the time.”
Steam review · 25.4 h played ↗
Better as a mode in Black Desert
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 negative reviews
“Never should have been a stand alone. It should have stayed as a mode in Black Desert.”
Steam review · 19.5 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: Unsupported20 GB
Minimum
OSWindows 7/8/10 64-bit
ProcessorIntel Core i3 / AMD Ryzen 3
Memory4 GB RAM
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce GT 440 / AMD Radeon 5450 / Intel HD Graphics 4000(Ivy Bridge)
Storage20 GB available space
Recommended
OSWindows 10 64-bit
ProcessorIntel Core i5 / AMD Ryzen 5 1600
Memory8 GB RAM
GraphicsNDVIA GTX 970 / AMD RX 480
Storage20 GB available space
OSWindows 7/8/10 64-bit
ProcessorIntel Core i3 / AMD Ryzen 3
Memory4 GB RAM
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce GT 440 / AMD Radeon 5450 / Intel HD Graphics 4000(Ivy Bridge)
Storage20 GB available space
More games to check
Other games we’ve read the reviews for
Knightfall: A Daring Journey
Very Positive · 90%
+ Fun, goofy concept
− Dead player base, lobbies don't fill
analyzed 8 d ago
Immortal Soul: Black Survival
Very Positive · 82%
+ Unique concept unlike any other game
− Ping disadvantage without international servers
analyzed 9 d ago
Cyber Hunter
Mostly Positive · 72%
+ Fun, fast gameplay with traversal
− Rampant cheaters and weak anti-cheat
analyzed 9 d ago
MY HERO ULTRA RUMBLE
Mixed · 46%
+ Fun, addictive core gameplay
− Predatory gacha locks characters
analyzed 11 d ago
Weekly digest
Fresh games worth a look, in your inbox
The most interesting games we’ve just analyzed, once a week.Once a week we send the most interesting games we’ve just analyzed: the verdict, top pros and cons, and what changed. No spam.
One email a week · unsubscribe in one click