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Cyber Shadow From Shovel Knight Creators Gives Platformers A Spin

Yacht Club Games, the studio behind the phenomenal Shovel Knight, is set to turn the indie game scene upside down again with the ninja action game Cyber Shadow.

The Shovel Knight creators didn’t fail to impress audiences with their phenomenal hit. Fans praise Shovel Knight for its attention to detail, and its nostalgic old school mechanics. Yacht Club Games takes this up a notch in what appears to be a game that takes us back to old Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden days. In fact, Cyber Shadow does exhibit a retro vibe throughout its many elements.

In Cyber Shadow, the world has been taken over by synthetic lifeforms. And when all seemed lost, a cry for help didn’t fall into deaf ears. Shadow finds himself on a journey to uncover what started the path to this perpetual ruin. The “cyber ninja” finds himself slashing through techno hordes and leaping past traps in the ruins of Mekacity. As the player, you need to help Shadow navigate his way in the ruins of this once-technological marvel.

Only you can unlock the secrets to your clan’s ancient powers in Cyber Shadow, the quintessential Ninja Action game.

Cyber Shadow is a Return to Form in Old School Platformers

Cyber Shadow permeates retro and classic gaming all throughout its aesthetic. It features an authentic 8-bit presentation – pixels and sprites and all. In fact, the game has hand-crafted sprites, extremely detailed pixels, and a very nostalgic approach to animation. Fans of retro platformers can thank Aarne “MEKASKULL” Hunziker of Mechanical Head Games for this attention to detail. In fact, it’s MEKASKULL that actually designed and developed the art for the game.

Players can also notice modern touches such as fluid animation, multi-layered parallax backgrounds, and an evolved game design. These tiny elements don’t seem to “scream” a “modern” twist at first glance. However, fans of platformers and classic games can definitely feel the difference while playing the game.

Cyber Shadow impresses in this regard. The trailer alone showcases quite an impressive approach to its creative direction, overall. Elements such as sprites and visual effects mesh together in this quasi-modern “look.” Fans can definitely feel like they’re playing a classic game. Yet, modern mechanics do add a more “evolved” take on the mechanics. Jumping feels crisp, and attacks feel more fluid.

And with animation taking the helm in providing players with a fighting chance against foes, you’ll surely have fun slicing and dicing through opponents.

Get Your Groove With Old School Difficulty

You can dash, slice, and leap through masterfully designed levels filled with sharply honed ninja platforming action. This gives you both the flexibility of games such as Castlevania, and the intense action from games like Ninja Gaiden. You can walk, run, and dash your way past opponents. Shadow can also leap past attacks, and perform complex maneuvers against enemies.

And if you’re a ninja dispatching robot minions and robot dragons, well, what’s not to love?

Shadow also has an arsenal of different skills and abilities at his disposal. Mekacity holds a lot of Shadow’s fellow clan members, all of whom Shadow needs to rescue. This can be motivation to players, as rescuing them does give Shadow new Ninjutsu skills and abilities. With this in mind, it’s also up to players to mix and match these skills to their advantage.

This also implies the game allows you to explore and find secrets in the game’ post-apocalyptic setting. You can find upgrades, items, and supplies in nooks and crannies around the map – another staple in classic platformers.

Gluttons for old-school game difficulty can take on more than a dozen apocalyptic bosses, from enormous war machines to your synthetic clan rivals.

Retro Rocks, But A Spice Of Modern Challenge Makes It Killer!

Just because it’s old school game design doesn’t mean it’s stuck in the past. However, this does means you can relive the authenticity of classic 8-bit challenges or experience it for the first time… with an added convenience or two.

Cyber Shadow proves this by making sure it appeals to both casual fans and hardcore enthusiasts of platformers. The game appears appealing enough for newbies to give it a shot. However, it does present that tempting and challenging look that enthusiasts can take for a challenge.

After all, Shadow has a ton of skills he can use to dispatch various enemies. And in a game where special effects and special attacks are common-place, players with an arsenal can definitely play around with skills and play styles. Cyber Shadow appears to tease this kind of depth in terms of mechanics, and this can surely excite fans.

Although they don’t have a launch date yet, publisher Yacht Club Games will be targeting Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 with a suggested retail price of $14.99.

Learn more about Cyber Shadow at their website atCyberShadowGame.com

Ade Magnaye

Ade is a bassist who blogs way too much about Doctor Who and Batman. Check out his blog at Noisy Noisy Man and follow him on Twitter: @AdeMagnaye

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