WOW, do I have a lot to say on this game...not even sure where to begin. Well, I was destined to play this game eventually since Inti Creates was publishing in Japan, but I'm so glad I decided to buy it at launch to experience it myself first-hand, spoiler free. Simply put, this is one of my new all-time faves.
And I say that, despite having a lot of issues with the game. The main one being that you spend a solid half of the game's chapters without the Dash, arguably the most fundamental movement option in the game and what elevates it above most platformers to soaring heights of octane.
I understand what the intent was, I really do. Get the player accustomed to how basic platforming feels and introduce one ability at a time, to then make the player integrate all abilities into their playstyle. To that end, they definitely succeeded. All the upgrades you get somehow manage to feel substantial and worthwhile, which is a rare occurance in these types of games. They begin with covering your main weaknesses for attacking (Long-range, anti-air, landing option) and then start handing out movement additions. Its a system that no doubt works well but left me in a bit of a rut in the first hour or so of playing due to just how...basic the game felt. Even a game like Ninja Gaiden on NES gave you a walljump to start off with, wheras with this game I couldn't help but feel they perhaps left the player feeling a bit too bare at the start.
I need to stress however that this was only for the first ~1-2 hours or so of game time, because with each upgrade the game gradually opens up more and more. Unlike several other games with upgrade systems I've gone through, this game feels carefully crafted around each upgrade. You will never reach a point of, "oh well I have so many upgrades now that this is just a cakewalk", like say your average Mega Man X game eventually becomes. When you get stronger, the game gets meaner. This is the aspect where a linear upgrade system SHINES and the latter half of the game is brutal perfection because of it. With all your abilities in tow, the game begins to feel like the biggest challenge is to get through a section in the coolest way possible, rather than just getting through. At every room it can the game is teasing you with using your risky arsenal for stupid stunts. Its a feeling I couldnt get enough of and I'd often restart a section on purpose just to be able to do it 'the way I wanted to'.
What I'm trying to say is that the movement is really fucking fun and gives you plenty of options without making those options risk-free. Shadow doesn't bounce high into the sky from his pogo bounce like Shovel Knight, he can't airdash whenever he wants to like Copen. He's mobile and lethal yet immenesly fragile and requires careful yet confident play to not get hurt with. Needless to say, a perfect "Ninja" playstyle.
Helping this feeling is the absolutely godlike OST that I haven't been able to get out of my head. Not limiting himself to FamiTracker was the best decision the composer could've possibly made and it gives the game its own style far removed from so many other NES-like games. Its biggest strength really is how well it suits the mood and tone of each area in the game, and on that note the game genuinely is one of the most beautiful games of its ilk I can think of. I've always had a bit of a beef with NES-inspired visuals and I'm sure many others do too. You know what I mean, games that claim to be NES faithful, then look more like something made for the early days of the Genesis. A lot of these games' aesthetics just miss the mark for me in terms of color palette and overdoing it in detail, leading to a somehow more "basic" look.
Cyber Shadow avoids these pitfalls with super consistent, moody color palettes for each area, and enough environmental detail to still feel NES faithful without becoming distractingly non-NES. Its a love letter to the system in every way and shows how less is so often more. I can't emphasize enough how much all of you need to use the CRT Bad Wires filter when playing this game. After so many mediocre emulation collections and their halfassed CRT filters this feels like a form of witchcraft. It gives the game the perfect cybernetic aesthetic.
I was sadly not able to fully keep up with the story as its delivered with a lot of pieces the player needs to put together themselves, flashbacks and log entires that together form the world of the game. Its lore seems interesting but I was sadly just a bit confused, as I usually tend to get with this kind of unconventional storytelling. ^^; You get the general gist of things as you go along though, and the music and framing of these important story beats is so good that you'll get sucked in even if you dont understand half of whats going on. The world and atmosphere is so tight that what is actually happening tends to not be nearly as important.
While the main levels are fantastic platforming bliss, the bosses were sadly a bit below my expectations. They're mainly just too simple with only 3 or so attacks each, which to be fair is faithful to the game's NES roots but to a faulty degree. Aside from the final boss none of the bosses were really more than a mild annoyance, and compared to other 2D games like this one I was left wanting a lot more out of these bosses.
Overall: If you're at all into 2D Action games a la Inti Creates' library you owe it to yourself to play this. So far its my favorite game released in 2021 and was more fun than most games I played from 2020.
[Playtime: 10 hours]
[Key Word: Upgraded]
And I say that, despite having a lot of issues with the game. The main one being that you spend a solid half of the game's chapters without the Dash, arguably the most fundamental movement option in the game and what elevates it above most platformers to soaring heights of octane.
I understand what the intent was, I really do. Get the player accustomed to how basic platforming feels and introduce one ability at a time, to then make the player integrate all abilities into their playstyle. To that end, they definitely succeeded. All the upgrades you get somehow manage to feel substantial and worthwhile, which is a rare occurance in these types of games. They begin with covering your main weaknesses for attacking (Long-range, anti-air, landing option) and then start handing out movement additions. Its a system that no doubt works well but left me in a bit of a rut in the first hour or so of playing due to just how...basic the game felt. Even a game like Ninja Gaiden on NES gave you a walljump to start off with, wheras with this game I couldn't help but feel they perhaps left the player feeling a bit too bare at the start.
I need to stress however that this was only for the first ~1-2 hours or so of game time, because with each upgrade the game gradually opens up more and more. Unlike several other games with upgrade systems I've gone through, this game feels carefully crafted around each upgrade. You will never reach a point of, "oh well I have so many upgrades now that this is just a cakewalk", like say your average Mega Man X game eventually becomes. When you get stronger, the game gets meaner. This is the aspect where a linear upgrade system SHINES and the latter half of the game is brutal perfection because of it. With all your abilities in tow, the game begins to feel like the biggest challenge is to get through a section in the coolest way possible, rather than just getting through. At every room it can the game is teasing you with using your risky arsenal for stupid stunts. Its a feeling I couldnt get enough of and I'd often restart a section on purpose just to be able to do it 'the way I wanted to'.
What I'm trying to say is that the movement is really fucking fun and gives you plenty of options without making those options risk-free. Shadow doesn't bounce high into the sky from his pogo bounce like Shovel Knight, he can't airdash whenever he wants to like Copen. He's mobile and lethal yet immenesly fragile and requires careful yet confident play to not get hurt with. Needless to say, a perfect "Ninja" playstyle.
Helping this feeling is the absolutely godlike OST that I haven't been able to get out of my head. Not limiting himself to FamiTracker was the best decision the composer could've possibly made and it gives the game its own style far removed from so many other NES-like games. Its biggest strength really is how well it suits the mood and tone of each area in the game, and on that note the game genuinely is one of the most beautiful games of its ilk I can think of. I've always had a bit of a beef with NES-inspired visuals and I'm sure many others do too. You know what I mean, games that claim to be NES faithful, then look more like something made for the early days of the Genesis. A lot of these games' aesthetics just miss the mark for me in terms of color palette and overdoing it in detail, leading to a somehow more "basic" look.
Cyber Shadow avoids these pitfalls with super consistent, moody color palettes for each area, and enough environmental detail to still feel NES faithful without becoming distractingly non-NES. Its a love letter to the system in every way and shows how less is so often more. I can't emphasize enough how much all of you need to use the CRT Bad Wires filter when playing this game. After so many mediocre emulation collections and their halfassed CRT filters this feels like a form of witchcraft. It gives the game the perfect cybernetic aesthetic.
I was sadly not able to fully keep up with the story as its delivered with a lot of pieces the player needs to put together themselves, flashbacks and log entires that together form the world of the game. Its lore seems interesting but I was sadly just a bit confused, as I usually tend to get with this kind of unconventional storytelling. ^^; You get the general gist of things as you go along though, and the music and framing of these important story beats is so good that you'll get sucked in even if you dont understand half of whats going on. The world and atmosphere is so tight that what is actually happening tends to not be nearly as important.
While the main levels are fantastic platforming bliss, the bosses were sadly a bit below my expectations. They're mainly just too simple with only 3 or so attacks each, which to be fair is faithful to the game's NES roots but to a faulty degree. Aside from the final boss none of the bosses were really more than a mild annoyance, and compared to other 2D games like this one I was left wanting a lot more out of these bosses.
Overall: If you're at all into 2D Action games a la Inti Creates' library you owe it to yourself to play this. So far its my favorite game released in 2021 and was more fun than most games I played from 2020.
[Playtime: 10 hours]
[Key Word: Upgraded]