Cyber Shadow is a side-scrolling action-platform video game created by Finnish indie developer Mechanical Head Studios and published by Yacht Club Games. Featuring an 8-bit aesthetic, it follows a cybernetic ninja named Shadow who sets out to rescue his clan in a world overrun by machines.
The game is being mostly developed by Aarne Hunziker, who is the sole member of Mechanical Head Studios. It was first shown at PAX East 2019, having been in development from years before and silently announced before that event. It contains stated inspirations from other platform video games such as Ninja Gaiden.
Fact Sheet
Game Name: Cyber Shadow
Developer: Aarne “MekaSkull” Hunziker – Mechanical Head Games
Publisher: Yacht Club Games
Release Date: January 26th, 2021
Platforms: Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PS5, Xbox One
Price: $19.99
ESRB: E10+
Website: CyberShadowGame.com
Press Contact: media@yachtclubgames.com
Twitter: @MekaSkull , @yachtclubgames
Facebook: Yacht Club Games
Description
The world has been taken over by the evil Dr. Progen and his merciless synthetic army. A desperate plea for help sets Shadow, the sole survivor of his clan, on one last mission to uncover what started the path to perpetual ruin. Your robotic companion, L-Gion, is your only guide through the ruins of Mekacity. How far will Shadow go to protect his clan and the one he loves? Is there more to their bond than meets the eye? Only you can unlock the secrets to your clan’s ancient powers. Hurry before you run out of time! The road to redemption awaits in Cyber Shadow, the quintessential Ninja Action game.
Gameplay
Cyber Shadow is a side-scrolling platforming game in which players control a ninja character who battles enemies with a sword and various special abilities acquired as subweapons. It features an 8-bit aesthetic which shares similarities to Shatterhand and contains several gameplay elements of Ninja Gaiden, Mega Man, Castlevania and similar games, which include snaking paths and occasional backtracking. Several bosses are present
The game's story is told primarily through cinematic cutscenes, though in-engine ones are used as well.
Features
- Experience sharply honed ninja platforming action! Dash, slice, and leap your way through the depths of Mekacity as you explore claustrophobic factories, corrupted research labs, fortified coastlines, vast skyscapes, and more!
- Authentic 8-bit presentation with handcrafted sprites, a detailed pixel aesthetic, and perfect controls. Modern touches like fluid animation, multilayered parallax backgrounds, and evolved game design.
- Powered by the lost souls of the ninja clan, Dr. Progen’s army mercilessly hunted down all life forms. As the sole survivor, you must take down more than a dozen apocalyptic bosses, ranging from enormous war machines to your synthetically-enhanced clan rivals.
- Rescue your clan to unlock permanent Ninjutsu skills and abilities. Attack from afar with shurikens and kunai, or get closer by using your double jump, cross slash, or wall slide techniques. Summon fire, charge slashes, parries and much more to realize your true potential.
- Experience a gripping story– told both in-game and through animated cinematic story scenes between the action. Shadow returns from oblivion, hurtling through Mekacity on borrowed time for what will surely be his last mission. It’s unclear what transpired before he met his fate, but his clan was betrayed. What has become of the Clan’s master? Who can be trusted when nothing is as it seems?
- Pulse-pounding soundtrack by Enrique Martin.
The Verdict:
In terms of difficulty, this game definitely lives up to the Ninja Gaiden (NES) comparisons. I can't say that it's as cheap and downright brutal in terms of the randomness that's involved with a lot of that game, but there's sections of this game that truly test your tolerance for these types of platformers with checkpoints far and few with the instant kill hazards. This game also sports that annoying as hell "knockback" (think classic series Mega Man) from suffering any type of damage. Hell, there's even some enemies that can juggle you or hit your hurtbox so many times during active frames that the damage multiplies per hit. That's insane for that to even occur when there's already enemies that deal 2-3 points of damage per hit then hazards that deal 4-5 points of damage in the tail end of the game.
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| Get ready for some Battletoads Turbo Tunnel PTSD flashbacks... |
In-game "feats" are tied to unlockable trophies/achievements in this game that I'm sure will warrant a few replays of the game, such as completing the entire game in less than three hours, beating a specific boss with only your sword or merely the shuriken, or even a challenge where you take no damage throughout your entire journey to the first boss. Completionists will have their hands full trying to platinum this game. Some of those feats I read in the menu and flat out said fuck that noise when I saw them.
I can't call this game a Metroidvania in a traditional sense as you really don't backtrack to all of the levels in a traditional sense. Later in the game, you have the means to fast travel back to the levels that you have completed for health and mana upgrades that you have missed. There's a few optional bosses that can be bested for bragging rights as well. These optional bosses are at the end of "alternate" pathways through some of the levels that are reminiscent of classic Castlevania titles.
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| This boss wasn't too hard but the biggest challenge was NOT hitting the fire pillars confining you into the area that instantly kill you if you manage to touch them. That's pretty hard to do if you're trying to make the most of out hitting him with Dash Strikes repeatedly before he can recover/self-repair. |
I thought the bosses were the highlight of this game with each one standing out over the one before it. They always test your mastery of new abilities or applications of a combination of techniques learned throughout the game. Struggling against a boss usually comes down to you not using one of Shadow's many skills/special moves to the best of your abilities. Like previously mentioned, there's some pretty gnarly feats/challenges tied to some of these battles for those looking for an additional challenge.
I really hope that a boss rush mode is in the pipeline for a possible future update/expansion. This game has far too many fun boss fights to not have a means for you to revisit those encounters without having to replay the game in its entirety.
Special Items
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| Special items can be found around Mekacity or purchased from service pods. They have 3 health which is depleted if you take damage. |
Power-ups, or rather sub-weapons reminiscent to the Ninja Gaiden series, can be found sparse throughout the game. If you find a power-up or can manufacture them via spending collected essence at the save points/checkpoints, then you are able to further enhance Shadow's offensive capabilities. These power-ups last until you take three hits and are removed until either you regain them upon death or purchase another from that particular checkpoint.
Gives your blade some extra reach. Accumulates on top of blade upgrades for some truly epic swings!
A rotating contraption that destroys everything in its path. Strike it with your sword and it will swing forward (or upward if using rising fire).
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| Another special item that can be acquired throughout the game. |
And more! Using each special item to its fullest will significantly increase your firepower. Experiment with which one suits you best and try and hold onto it! Can you find all of them?
My personal favorite out of the bunch was the Swag Blade, but you definitely don't get to use that subweapon as often as one would like.
Skills and Abilities
Speaking of his unique skills it should be noted of what each of them do to enhance Shadow's abilities throughout the game.
Shuriken / Kunai (Up + Attack)
This is one of the first abilities that you will acquire in the game. Throughout the game, you will find uses for Shurikens here and there, but when you get the powered up versions of all of your abilities, the Kunai will be your go-to option over the Shuriken over the duration of the game. Your Kunai explode after a few seconds and deal considerable damage. It's a much safer option than jumping up and slashing most airborne enemies, especially in the tail end of the game.
Airstrike / Charged Airstrike (Down + Attack, while airborne)
Think of this like your pogo jump of sorts, much like Scrooge McDuck's trademark attack of the same name from the classic NES DuckTales games or like Shovel Knight's main method of attack. Bouncing off enemies with this attack allows you to jump higher and allows you to do this attack again in succession. By the end of the game, you are highly encouraged to have full mastery of this technique to the fullest. While charged, this attack simply deals more damage.
I like this move but it definitely has some flaws, with the biggest being that once you execute it, you MUST commit to that animation until you hit the enemy below or the ground. You can easily pummel to your death into a bottomless pit or pit of spikes by misjudging the distance with this attack. The upside of this attack is that it allows Shadow to bounce off several enemies or a single enemy multiple times in succession with proper placement. This makes dealing with airborne foes much, much easier.
Rising Fire / Charged Rising Fire (Down + Attack, while standing)
This attack simply fires three fireballs above your head. This is useful for dealing with enemies closing in directly above you, but it should be noted that this attack deals massive damage to foes in close range as well if they are hit by all three projectiles at once. The charged version sends three homing firebirds at a target above you, dealing much more damage than the normal version. In my opinion, this move is VERY slow upon execution and I don't recommend it as a last resort - mainly because you have to remain stationary to use it. That being said, it's a great, safe opinion to use against the final boss.
Parry / Homing Parry (Tap Forward towards an incoming projectile)
This is arguably one of the most finicky abilities in the game. Sometimes it works like a charm, others, it doesn't work at all and you're stuck getting juggled for multiple hits by the incoming volley of projectiles. When it's performed properly, a blue orb appears in front of Shadow that you can slash with your sword to fire back at your attacker, dealing massive damage. The charged version doesn't simply fires a projectile back at your attacker. Instead, the orb(s) home into your attacker from any location they are on the screen. This technique is another ace in the hole for dealing with airborne and highly mobile threats towards the tail end of the game. It should be noted that perfectly timed parries will recover a portion of your SP gauge.
Sliding down walls / Double Jump
Right off the bat, this game feels a little off that you don't have one of these two abilities at the beginning. In that sense, it reminds me a little of the start of the original Metroid game where you had to acquire the Power Grip ability before you could hang onto ledges.
L2 Sword / Charged Strike
Your basic attack gets two upgrades over the course of the game. The first being a more powerful slash attack and then finally the ability to charge this attack for an even more powerful strike. This is going to be your go-to option against 90% of what you encounter in this game, so you might as well get comfortable with it.
Sprint (tap Forward twice/R1 button mapped in options) / Dash Strike / Charged Dash Strike
I dare say that this is your powerful attack option in the game, especially with the charged version that sends your "after image/shadow" with an additional attack dealing more damage that allows you to repeat the attack multiple times in succession as long as you connect with another Dash Strike. Visually, it reminds me of Ryu Hayabusa's Flying Swallow technique, but ironically has some of the same applications to some of the hazards and challenges in the tail end of the game. The Dash Strike is going to be another staple trick up your sleeve, especially during the final hours of the game. If you want to transverse the locales at high speed, then this is what you're looking for in terms of movement options. If you connect with the charged version onto an enemy, you're allowed to jump/double jump again and repeat the attack as many times as desired as long as you make contact with any enemy. It's another means to continuously attack foes without touching the ground. This skill takes a bit to master though as it's easy to sprint into lethal hazards throughout the levels.
It should be noted that the game doesn't tell you this, but the input for this ability can be mapped to a singular button in the Option settings instead of double tapping forward in any direction while on the ground. I wasn't aware of this until I happened to stumble onto one of the developers' comments on reddit following a few players' complaints about the input for this skill. By that point, I was already on the final level of the game, but I did appreciate having an easier option to use this technique with, along with the ability to disable that double tapping input altogether.
Play It or Don't Bother?
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| Don't worry, Shadow. I have nothing but love for this game. |
For fans of NES era Ninja Gaiden goodness or fans of Yacht Games' work on Shovel Knight and its many expansions, then this is easily a no-brainer to check out. For everyone else, I could see this game being a tough sell for $14.99 to $19.99 at launch, especially given the fact that this is easily a 6-10+ hour adventure on your first casual playthrough. The length of the game is dependent on how much you struggle or decide to backtrack for all of the collectibles for 100% completion. A lot of the frustratingly cheap deaths and platforming for this throwback to NES era gaming may be a turn-off for many as well. For those that stick with this for the long haul will be rewarded with an exciting experience that serves simultaneously as a homage to the games of the past that inspired it while establishing a legacy of its own.
My biggest gripe with this game is that there's no sort of New Game+ nor post-game content outside of reloading your save and using the teleporter(s) to revisit previously completed stages, but even that is a bummer when you can't face defeated bosses over again nor can you access certain areas once they are closed off due to completion. This in turn forces players to restart the game completely with a brand new save if they missed a particular secret/feats tied to those areas (fortunately, they aren't tied to the 100% item acquisition) or wanted to attempt the feats tied to besting various bosses with a handicap or with an additional challenge. Not everyone would be content with a one-and-done affair for a game like this. There are additional higher difficulty settings for those looking to challenge themselves even further after completing the game on the initial Normal difficulty.
The developers have gone on record and said they have only used a fraction of the lore and content for this game, so it's safe to assume that they have more in store for this new IP. I personally have my fingers crossed for a wealth of expansions to this game like they did with Shovel Knight throughout it's shelf life.
