Cyber Shadow Is Another Fantastic Homage To Classic NES Games
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Screenshot: Mechanical Head Studios
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What 2D side-scroller
Cyber Shadow is missing in personality it makes up for with amazing visuals and action sequences that challenge your timing and reflexes without ever feeling tedious or cheap. I’ve been loving my time with its pastiche of classic NES games, even if, so far, its story hasn’t measured up to everything else it excels at.
Nearly seven years ago, the world was first introduced to Shovel Knight, a passion project that aimed to emulate some of the most legendary game releases of the 8-bit era. Since then, Yacht Club Games has gone on to extensively expand on the base Shovel Knight game, and now the studio has begun to look to the future to its next big challenge. In the meantime, it’s also begun to dip its toes into becoming a publisher, and its first project on this front is the seminal Cyber Shadow.
Produced by Mechanical Head Studios – which consists of sole developer Aarne Hunziker – Cyber Shadow is a thrilling and enjoyable callback to the best action the 8-bit era had to offer. Through its punishing difficulty, cyberpunk aesthetic and tight platforming, Cyber Shadow thoroughly establishes itself as one of the best old-school retro platformers out there.
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Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate are back with a brand new game that just released today. In a couple of days, the subscription service is losing eight games, including a popular RPG, but before that happens, it s adding what is arguably January 2021 s second most notable release behind
Hitman 3. More specifically, as of today, Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC can enjoy
Cyber Shadow, a side-scrolling platform-action game from developer Mechanical Head Studios and publisher Yacht Club Games (the makers of
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If there are two things commonly found in retro games, it s robots and ninjas. Having one game throw the two archetypes together just makes sense, right? Cyber Shadow manages it rather well. Developed by Mechanical Head Studios and published by Yacht Club Games, this is a side-scrolling action platformer about saving a futuristic city from a synthetic army. Inspired by classic 8-bit titles like Mega Man, Shadow of the Ninja, and Ninja Gaiden, this modern take is a stylish, challenging experience.
Playing as the titular Shadow the sole survivor of his ninja clan you start off with little health and basic jump and slash abilities. Of course, things don t stay that simple for long; as you progress through each stage, you ll unlock more and more powers that enhance your robot-destroying talents, as well as upgrades to health and SP (needed for certain moves). It s classic game design, but it works: get through a level, beat the boss, earn an upgrade. Abilities like ninja sta
Since its inception, Yacht Club Games has been recognized for its old-school gaming aesthetic. That s why the team got into publishing, helping developer Mechanical Head Studios release Cyber Shadow. If the Shovel Knight series is akin to NES classics like Mega Man, Cyber Shadow feels much closer to the 8-bit Ninja Gaiden series. And more than Shovel Knight, it harkens back to the old days, warts and all.
Emerging from the shadows
Cyber Shadow tells the story of a dystopic future, where the title character Shadow wakes up in the middle of Mekacity. What was once a bustling metropolis now lies in ruins and is up in flames. That s mainly due to the machinations of Dr. Progen, a brilliant scientist who has gone mad. The key to defeating Dr. Progen lies in finding Shadow s master, but her whereabouts are unknown and a chunk of game is dedicated to finding where she ended up.