Soon after I encountered the first combat scenario when I dropped into a room with several guards. There were boxes I ducked behind for cover, and then I unleashed my gunfire. The shooting was handled with the right analogue stick and very precision-based, and it gave the combat the stop-and-pop feel of a 3D shooter – say, for example, like Uncharted. After taking out a few guards with my gun, I got the chance to test out the melee combat, and it proved to be quite spectacular. As I laid waste to my enemies it was all portrayed in full 3D, although it was a little jarring at first when it switched back into 2D, given that I now knew about the hidden third dimension just waiting to pounce again, but this is in no way a bad thing; it just took a little getting used to after decades of 2D gaming that stayed strictly 2D.

The Metroid formula is a classic, and it’s gone a long way towards reinvigorating the Castlevania franchise, so it’s surprising that developers haven’t tried to borrow from it more often. By combining 2D gameplay with a 3D aesthetic and other aspects of 3D shooters, Shadow Complex is the embodiment of a “I can’t believe no-one thought of it before” idea that makes the world take notice. On the other hand, an exploration-heavy game like Shadow Complex will live or die based on its level design, something that was hard to gage from a meager eight-minute demo, especially when the full game is estimated to be between 10 and 14 hours long. Nonetheless, based on my time with it, Shadow Complex has all the assets to be one of the biggest surprise hits of the year.

We’ll find out for sure when it releases later this summer on Xbox Live Arcade.