![]() Cyber Shadow Wears its Gameplay HeadBand Proudly When it comes to gameplay it’s time to get serious! ![]() I was consistently impressed with all the visuals, the enemy designs, and the sheer amount of creativity that is jam-packed in. When you enter the Cyber Scape is when the game kicks it into high gear! Think of Ghost of Tsushima style of cutscenes and you’ve got a solid comparison. The cutscenes are nothing to gloss over either as they all come in letterbox style like an old samurai movie. When you’re cutscenes remind you of retro Ninja Gaiden you know you’ve got a winner Looking at the cherry blossoms falling from the sky to the way every character has a specific look and unique dialog the world feels lived in. When you travel dimensions everything comes withĪt 4:20 I meditated for the first time in the game which I didn’t realize would transport me to a completely new area.īut this is a prime location to talk about just how incredible Cyber Shadow looks with its art style and SNES feel. Now the thing is I’m not entirely sure if music like this could have been created back then but knowing Yacht Club Games I guess that it totally could. It feels as if this music would have been another game’s soundtrack back in 1990. The music is so good, it sounds like it was ripped right from the SNES and enhanced to be in this era.Įvery area has a different tone, every boss has an epic battle song and the sound effects have the perfect amount of compression that just sounds right. The graphics, the music, and everything come together to make a real impression and hit on all the nostalgia fronts. Largely, we have 2014’s Shovel Knight to thank for that, a crowdfunded indie platformer that managed to combine all the best bits of NES-era platformers, resulting in something that felt fresh and unique.Įven as we’ve entered a new generation of console hardware, the 8-bit aesthetics of yesteryear continue to remain in vogue.Join me as we dawn our Ninja Headbands, sharpen those Shuriken’s and jump into Cyber Shadow to see if it’s amazing! Cyber Shadow feels like a SNES game lost to time The first thing you notice is the incredible soundtrack! It’s also been something of a cash cow for developer Yacht Club Games, who followed it up with a number of expansions while its eponymous knight crossed over into every other indie game. In danger of getting stale then, they’ve wisely embarked on publishing to give other 8-bit-inspired developers their chance to shine.Ĭyber Shadow. The game is the work of a solo developer at Mechanical Head Games, taking a heavy dose of inspiration from NES ninja platformers like Ninja Gaiden and Shadow Of The Ninja. Nonetheless, the emphasis on authentic 8-bit presentation with a modern touch makes Yacht Club Games a perfect partner.īut while Cyber Shadow has the smoother and tighter action of a modern game, it’s less interested in the jokey postmodern breaking-the-fourth-wall antics of its contemporaries, playing its story fairly serious with a dark aesthetic. Set in a cyberpunk future in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion, you play as cyborg ninja Shadow who’s been revived to traverse the ruins of Meka City in order to rescue members of your ancient clan whose mystical powers are being harvested by an evil synthetic army led by a mad scientist. It makes for a straightforward yarn, occasionally punctuated with classic pixel-art cut scenes reminiscent of Ninja Gaiden or interacting with the environment for tidbits of lore. But those don’t get in the way of what most of you are here for: old-school hardcore ninja action and platforming with a bad-ass boss to take on at the end of each level. Things start off pretty basic as you just have a button for jumping or slashing enemies with your katana, but as you free your clan allies, or occasionally take a challenge in a completely different realm, you gradually unlock a whole suite of ninja skills that put it a cut above its ’80s inspirations. While it would’ve been preferable to have more abilities to start off with – surely double-jumping and wall-sliding should be mandatory for all ninjas – it balances out when you can also learn to parry and deflect enemy projectiles or perform a drop attack that can also be used to bounce off enemies and objects. ![]() Be aware, however, it differs slightly from the similar move in Shovel Knight, giving you an extra bounce that can throw your trajectory off. The standout ability is the cross-slash where you’re not only able to sprint but slash through enemies while also traversing huge distances in the blink of an eye. ![]() Because it also resets, you can effectively chain cross-slashes into consecutive enemies and objects. While doing this renders earlier levels a bit of a joke at just how fast you can zip through them, the level design appropriately ups the stakes to match your new tools.
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