The game was known for its graphics, with many colours on screen and up to twelve levels of parallax scrolling backdrops, and for its atmospheric score composed by David Whittaker that used high-quality instrument samples.

The player guides Aarbron through the world, fighting monsters of varying frequency with a small variety of attacks, which is slowly improved over the course of the game.

Aarbron starts the game by punching enemies, eventually using attacks like fireballs and even a laser gun, each with their own set of basic pros and cons.

The gameplay alternates between traversing vast expanses of mostly flat terrain accompanied by a wide range of scenery, and fighting groups of hostile monsters, similar to a beat-em-up game.

A man named Aarbron is kidnapped as a child and corrupted through magic into a monstrous warrior-servant for the evil beast lord Maletoth.

Edmondson and Howarth described it as their "most ambitious project to date", and stated that they wanted the game to push both the Amiga and Atari ST to their technical limits.

Apart from how many colours and layers of parallax and monsters we could squeeze on screen, no thought went into it whatsoever", and furthermore called Shadow of the Beast a "graphics showcase".

[20] The Mega Drive and Super CD-ROM² versions of Shadow of the Beast were released in Japan by Victor Musical Industries on 27 March 1992.

[21][22][23] The FM Towns and Super CD-ROM² versions feature a soundtrack arranged by Chris Howlett and Ian Henderson of DC Productions.

[16] In a retrospective article for Digital Spy, Mark Langshaw remarked that Shadow of the Beast "will always be remembered as one of many jewels in the crown of Studio Liverpool."