Cyber Shadow was first announced in 2019 as a new sidescrolling action-platformer to be published by Yacht Club Games, the team behind the juggernaut indie title, Shovel Knight. However, Cyber Shadow isn’t developed by the Shovel Knight devs; it’s developed by Mechanical Head Games’ Aarne Hunziker. And for a title that was mostly created by one man and one man only, the quality of it all is absolutely astounding, taking inspiration from many classic franchises like Mega Man, Metroid, and Ninja Gaiden.
Cyber Shadow sees players taking on the role of a robot ninja on a quest to save his clan, and like the other franchises that were mentioned prior, the majority of the game is spent traversing through linear 2D stages with a variety of robot enemies and a couple of bosses to take down. The main character, Shadow, has a blade for his basic slash attacks, and can run, jump, and not much else, at least at the beginning of the game.
As players progress deeper into it all, new abilities will unlock and these powers are crucial to surviving in Cyber Shadow’s world. One of the first abilities allows Shadow to throw shurikens at far away enemies, clearing a path for the player without having to take any damage. There’s another one that allows Shadow to down thrust on enemies, causing him to bounce in the air to reach high areas. As these powers are unlocked over the 10-hour story, the combat opens up so much more and provides players with more freedom. By combining these powers together, the game can feel like a power fantasy at times with Shadow being able to slice and dice enemies without even touching the ground. It’s going to be wild to see how speedrunners approach Cyber Shadow.
These moves do take up Shadow’s SP, but players can replenish the bar by breaking open chests or defeating enemies. It helps to balance the powers to make sure that players aren’t abusing them to defeat bosses easily or anything like that. Cyber Shadow always makes sure that players have exactly what they need to complete objectives, and while the game can be extremely difficult at certain points, it never feels like it punishes you for making mistakes. The checkpoint system is not the most generous, but starting over certain sections will only take players a short amount of time to get back to the point where they died at.
Cyber Shadow is not a game for the faint of heart. Depending on the player’s experience with games like this, death will come often. For example, someone dying about 400 times in a single playthrough is very much possible in this game, and it will probably happen to many players. Enemies will appear all over the screen, with them shooting projectiles at players while the floor is electrified and spikes are on the walls. Cyber Shadow puts players into some sticky situations, but it never feels impossible.
Cyber Shadow doesn’t have any sort of upgrade or equipment system, or stats or anything like that, but at pretty much every single save point in the game, players can choose to spend their currency to heal Shadow, recover their SP, or get an item that helps in combat, like a blade extender for example or an item that turns enemy bullets into SP, which is one of the best ones.
The item that is given to players seems to be random, and it adds an extra layer of surprise to keep things fresh. Players won’t be stuck with the same item over and over again, and each one is as good as the next. These items can also be very useful for the boss fights in the game because they are very challenging but also incredibly enjoyable. Each fight is so different from the last and each one has its own attack patterns and always switches things up when you least expect it. Players should also be prepared for multiple phases because it’ll happen a few times.
Throughout each encounter, it’s difficult not to compare the fights to something out of Mega Man or Metroid, but even though the game wears its inspiration on its sleeve, Cyber Shadow manages to live a life of its own and doesn’t feel like something rehashed or made to please a specific audience. It certainly kicks up some nostalgia for fans of the NES and SNES, but it’s accessible for anyone that wants an exciting action game to keep them occupied for a weekend.
The chiptune soundtrack mixes superbly well with the fast-paced gameplay, it runs perfectly on the PS5 via backward compatibility, and it’s a memorable experience of hardships and rage, but also satisfaction and accomplishment. One second, players will be smacking their controllers after dying on the same section for the 30th time, but then once they figure it out and make their way through, the incredible feeling of surpassing that obstacle is a delight.
Cyber Shadow is an indie title that will be remembered for quite some time and only adds to Yacht Club Games’ growing library of retro-inspired classics. Any fan of Metroid, Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden, Contra, and even The Messenger should have this game in their sights. It’s an astonishing, action-packed ninja adventure that should not be missed out on.
Cyber Shadow releases January 26 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, and Xbox One. Game Rant was provided a PS4/PS5 code for this review.
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