Shadow

Shadow
Location
Spawns in the Hideout at night
Behavior	Aggressive
Attack type	Melee
Drops	None
Health	very low but can only be killed with direct light
Running Speed	Fast
Stamina	Unlimited
View Distance	Unlimited
Damage	Low
Notes	Appears along with short-circuited lamps.
Release	Initial release

Shadows are aggressive creatures in Darkwood. They only appear in the Shadows night events, which can happen once the negative trait Shadows is gained, or in the late game - even if a player did not choose the trait.

They manifest as a swarm of dark ghostly apparitions swirling around the Protagonist, signalled by a whispering sound that gradually becomes louder until they appear in the vicinity.

If the Protagonist is not in a well lit area during the event, he will get attacked by the Shadows and lose health very quickly.

Shadows can appear multiple times per night. They cannot damage barricade, set off any trap or be killed.

Night Event

In the beginning of the Shadows event, strange whispering is heard, and the Shadows flit around in unlit areas of the hideout, followed by all but one lamp shorting out and ceasing to work, the working lamp is chosen randomly

Torches, Lanterns and the light from the Oven will stop working as well, but Flashlights, Military Flashlights and the Flares will work just fine. Shadows can be neutralized by lighting up the dark parts of the Hideout with these items.

After around one minute, or two hours in-game - all electric lamps will function again. Note that the event can re-occur several times per night, the Shadows will dissipate and the whispering will cease if the event ends. Otherwise, another round of short circuit will occur. During each short circuit, the lamp that stays on is again randomly selected.

In the Swamp Hideout, the Shadows may manifest before, alongside, or after a Banshee.

Strategy

As soon as the whispering sound is heard, it is important to reach the working electric lamp or create a light source with Flares.

If the Protagonist doesn't have any of the functional light sources at hand, he will be forced to run to the lone working electric lamp while taking damage all the way. Thus, it is prudent to place electric lamps within a short distance and easily accessible as which will be functional is random.

Flares work the best as a substitute for a working electric lamp, as they produce a full circle of powerful light while the tight cone of light from both kinds of flashlights makes using them risky.

In the Swamp Hideout, the Growths can be very useful in this event. Its light cannot be short circuit by the Shadows and can be fairly reliable as long as it is triggered by walking near the eye of the Growths.

Bugs

• In PC version 1.3, despite not being able to deal any actual damage to door and barricade, Shadows, on their way to attack, when passing door or barricade, can trigger the sound of 'destroying a barricade'.
• Shadows may clip through the wall and damage the Protagonist even if he's close to a light source.
• All of the lamps may be short circuited, leaving the Protagonist to a certain doom without certain handheld light source.

Gallery

A shadow spawning.