![]() Most enemies will die in a few hits but all enemies seem to have a nasty knockback ability. Your patience can start to wear thin from failing just before reaching one to the point of messing up some areas that you easily flew through a mere 20 seconds prior. Some of these checkpoints feel too far apart. As you progress through the levels, you will reach checkpoints that completely restore your health and create a savepoint. You do not have to pause between every jump or attack but precision is key. Is it too difficult? Perhaps but not in the way you would immediately think. In a true homage to its inspirations, the game is a tough challenge even for the most seasoned of platformers. Speaking of easy, Cyber Shadow is anything but. Was the dash just a reward for reaching this point of the game? The dash makes traversal significantly easier but you also have very little game remaining. Towards the end of the game, you unlock the dash ability. I did find that the abilities like the downward slash worked even with the bar empty but without the extra oomph behind the attack. Enemies will drop items that restore the bar so you usually do not have to wait long. Once the meter is depleted, you can no longer throw shurikens. Special abilities like the shuriken or upward slash are governed in the same manner as in Mega Man. Eventually, you gain the ability to throw shurikens, slash upwards which launches projectiles, and cling to walls. Cyber starts the game with only the ability to jump and slash. The gameplay is the star of the show here. While using any of these mechanics is nothing new compared to the dozens of similarly styled games, Cyber Shadow makes these things its own. Metroid ties it all together with the backtracking (albeit through a level select versus actually running back to old areas) and exploring using those newfound powers. The Mega Man likeness presents in the form of tightly timed platforming plus learning new abilities from the bosses. The comparisons to Ninja Gaiden are immediately apparent. This bodes very well for future content and/or games as there is much more to be told. In an interview on the podcast, Nxpress Nintendo Podcast, Yacht Club Games’ marketing manager, Celia Schilling, explained that what players will see in Cyber Shadow is only about 25% of what Aarne Hunziker actually wrote of Cyber and the game world. ![]() The story is serviceable and works but what is interesting is what is not seen in-game. As you save clanmates, they offer you essence (translated: new moves, more health, etc.). Cyber had been asleep and awakens in a strange world where his clan is dead or captured and their essence being drained. Most of the story here is told through a combination of short cutscenes and dialogue after boss fights. Published by Yacht Club Games (Shovel Knight), Cyber Shadow, “the retro-rooted, ninja-jumping, robot-slashing action platformer” (source: PlayStation.Blog), tells the story of Shadow, a cyborg ninja as he attempts to rescue his clan before they are all harvested for their power. ![]() Don’t tell Aarne Hunziker, the one man behind Mechanical Head Studios, developer of Cyber Shadow. One would think that creating a game influenced by Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden, and Metroid would be a massive undertaking.
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