The game’s most challenging, and most satisfying mechanic is its parry. By the end you need to juggle tight combat with hair-pulling platforming sections. Cyber Shadow feels tightly tuned and stripped of all the fat, with every movement filled with intent and purpose, much like a real Ninja I would imagine! Protect Ya NeckĬyber Shadow evolves in a really interesting way as you progress through the 11 chapters. Too often in games mechanics are easily ignored. This has the benefit of ensuring every piece of the move set is utilised fully. These gradually expand the ways in which you can approach problems, but the level design is clever in that each is designed to rely on the most recent power you gained. Shadow gains the ability to use a downward strike like a certain shovel-toting mascot and also gains the ability to sprint and utilise a dash attack which renders him invulnerable and instantly launches him across the screen, badly damaging any enemies caught on the way. These gradually change the feel of the gameplay from that of an 8-bit Castlevania to something more akin to a violent version of Celeste. Choose the Ball…Īs well as providing some interesting combat mechanics, Cyber Shadow expands the range of movement options as the game progresses. I’m not usually a fan of this type of combat, as I’m terrible at reading tells, but Cyber Shadow’s enemies are much easier to read and in turn more fun to fight as a result.Īs you progress in the game you unlock the ability to charge your attacks resulting in stronger sword strikes and exploding shuriken, which makes traversal and combat a lot easier. Enemies hit hard and have interesting attack patterns, so a big part of the challenge comes from learning these patterns and getting down the muscle memory needed to survive during some of the hairier moments. The combat is simple, with a sword swipe that can only be directed in front, but most basic enemies can be dispatched with one or two swift cuts. The approach to level design gives the flow of a Metroidvania whilst avoiding the sensation of constantly being lost, which was a bugbear of mine when playing Hollow Knight (forgive the pun).
#THE MESSENGER VS CYBER SHADOW UPGRADE#
One or two chapters drag a bit (I’m looking at you Chapter 8) but for the most part, between concise levels and zippy gameplay, the experience flies by! The 10 chapters took me about 7 1/2 hours to finish, with roughly 70% completion.You often find yourself battling through a section before unlocking a new upgrade and bursting through a locked door or crumbling wall to emerge in a previous area ready to smash the foes that previously troubled you, using your newly found powers. Cyber Shadow is lengthier than I thought it would be, but ends before wearing out its welcome. I love indie games that are “quality over quantity”, such as the spectacular Coffee Talk. Oh, wear headphones while you play if you can. I think my favorite piece was in Chapter 7: The theme to the first stage alone should sell you on the game if you weren’t already there! I found the music helpful in pushing me to try again and again in harder sections. The soundtrack of Cyber Shadow might actually be favorite thing about the game! It was composed by newcomer Enrique Martin and Jake Kaufman (of Shovel Knight fame), and simply put, ROCKS HARD. You’re going to need some better headphones Things escalated pretty quickly during this boss fight. Again, with checkpoints I found everything tolerable (like in Kaze and the Wild Masks), but your skills will certainly be tested! My final death count was 252. The dreaded (or classic, depending on how you look at it) knock back is also present, as are numerous flying enemies and projectiles near instant death pits or spikes. Generally the game stays balanced in the middle, but does veer (sometimes quite precariously) toward the “tough” side! At no point did I feel I was on the verge of rage quitting, but checkpoints are often spaced pretty far apart, sometimes enough to truly frustrate you if die just short of one. Imagine Cyber Shadow walking a tight rope with “tough” on side and “fair” on the other. Without the option to change them, some moves never quite felt intuitive to me, even by the end of the game. In theory, it’s a fun throwback, but in reality, the usage of more buttons would have helped make the robust move set easier to execute! There are some options to remap basic commands, but special moves require two buttons.
Everything was designed to emulate the original NES controller, which had two main buttons. Of course there has to be an “elevator ride of doom”.
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