The ESRB has dropped a rating for Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered.
It should come as no surprise that the ESRB gave Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered an M for Mature 17+ rating. The original game was filled with violent and sexualized content, and Grasshopper Manufacture promised that this remaster would keep that intact.
What is surprising is that the game rating is listed only for PlayStation 5. But the ESRB edits their ratings all the time, and this may change later. What likely happened is that Grasshopper Manufacture provided the PlayStation 5 version to the ratings board to clear initial review immediately, and depending on what the ESRB requires, they may send over copies of the game on other platforms for review after.
If you were curious, we’ll share the rating summary from the ESRB rating below. This rating makes it clear that profanity, alongside the over-the-top violence, will be kept intact in this remaster.
Here’s what the ESRB rating summary says:
“This is an action-adventure game in which players assume the role of a demon hunter on a mission to kill the emperor of an underworld. Players interact with characters, solve puzzles, and engage in combat against demonic enemies. Players use pistols, shotguns, machine guns, and torches to attack and kill enemies. Shooting enemies results in blood-splatter effects, dismemberment, and/or decapitation.
Cutscenes also depict additional instances of violence and blood/gore: a character splitting themselves open; demons getting decapitated, resulting in fountain-like sprays of blood; demons eating severed human body parts. Some environments depict large bloodstains, limbs, and severed heads.
The game contains a fantasy red-light district, with themed neon signs and billboards (e.g., “Sex Paradise”; “Peep Show”; “Strippers”; “XXX”). While traversing this area, players can encounter a giant female with exposed breasts; players are able to walk across the giant’s breasts.
The dialogue also references sexual material (e.g., “They all try to get inside the prettiest girl”; “Why don’t you go j*ck off to some bird porn?”). The words “f**k” and “c*nt” appear in the game.”
That’s certainly as glowing an endorsement of this remaster as you can get from any ratings board anywhere in the world.
Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered was announced to release in 2024, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Windows via Steam. As for now, we don’t know if the game will be verified for the Steam Deck.
