#CYBER SHADOW RELEASE DATE TRIAL#

The sprite work and environments still look gorgeous, but the areas are often stuck in the similar box of being caves, sewers, abandoned labs, or abandoned buildings all locations that don't stand out too much from each other. Due to each area needing to believably connect to the next, the visual variety between chapters is fairly limited. On a grander scale, every single chapter is tied together and takes place in one large interconnected place a world map exists for easy warping to previous locales, but beyond that, it's essentially one giant level.Īs cool as the idea of an interconnected world is, it does lead to one of the weaker aspects of the Cyber Shadow. Areas often wrap around themselves and interconnect, still leading players in a single direction, but in a way that keeps the world cohesive. Several nooks and crannies are hidden throughout, hiding items, upgrades, and shortcuts. While mostly a linear experience, the level design does have its unique elements. These additional elements provide nice options for players who want to adjust the challenge level. Essence collected from defeating enemies can be spent at these checkpoints to refill health and SP, or to give useful temporary power-ups. Checkpoints are spread evenly throughout each area, just rare enough for death to matter, but just common enough to not reset too much progress upon losing. There's no life system at all, so each challenge can be tried as many times as needed. At any given moment, you almost always have a path toward survival it's just up to you to be skilled and patient enough to carry it out. Enemies swarm through the stage in chaotic ways, but rarely are they unmanageable. The original Ninja Gaiden is infamous for its rather unfair later levels, and while Cyber Shadow is certainly difficult, it almost always feels fair. While the feel of the game is excellent, that only matters if the level design itself is adequate as well. Levels are designed to promote usage of Shadow's whole arsenal, so properly managing SP is essential. Using these abilities drains Shadow's SP, which can then be recollected by defeating enemies. Every popular ninja trope is here, from throwing ninja stars to reflecting bullets to dashing through the air, and each of these moves feel great to perform.

His only initial manoeuvres are a jump and a sword slash, but playing through each chapter will quickly unlock a variety of other abilities. Like any good ninja, Shadow is fast and nimble, allowing for extremely precise movement. It's a real shame since the story and world are quite cool.One of the most important aspects of any difficult platformer is the controls, and fortunately, Cyber Shadow feels as smooth as butter. I had very high hopes for this being one of the standout indie titles of 2021 but it doesn't seem overly memorable.

#CYBER SHADOW RELEASE DATE TRIAL#

Even some of the fun sections like the motorbike part felt trial and error. If I rush I might trip a security laser and get swarmed by enemies for example. I end up moving incredibly carefully because it seems like the only way to make it to the next checkpoint. It never feels like a fast pace ninja adventure. I'm currently about 70% of the way through and the overall experience is good but there are moments when I feel like I hate this game. Personally I found tricky enemy placement and weak platforming made the experience very frustrating at times. It can be fun replaying sequences again and again to master them. There's roughly 4 hours of content here but due to the high difficulty and the spacing between checkpoints most people will put double into it. The main issue this game has is its trial and error nature. As you progress you unlock new abilities which make traversal easier but i feel like platforming in particular is a bit of a nightmare at times. The combat is enjoyable, the boss fights in particular but mobility feels limited. The bosses and character models are great too although the stages feel a bit generic at times. The cutscenes in particular look phenomenal. The bosses and character models are great too although Cyber shadow has an excellent art style.

Cyber shadow release date