BASIC INFO
- Name: “Cyber Shadow”
- Developer: Aarne “MekaSkull” Hunziker
- Publisher: Yacht Club Games
- Release Date: January 26th, 2021
- Cost: $19.99 USD (at time of writing)
- Price Paid: $13.99 USD (while on sale in 2023)
- I Played For: 16 hours
START
I purchased this game in 2023 (ack), presumably as a part of the STEAM Summer Sale given the purchase date (July 1st). I paid $13.99, as compared to the typical $19.99 price (that’s the “full” price at time of writing, anyway). This equates to a 30% discount, which sounds about right for any given STEAM sale. I’m not sure how I first heard about the game; if my media consumption habits are anything to go by, I probably saw it mentioned (or even reviewed) in a YouTube video. The fact that it was published by “Yacht Club Games,” makers of one of my favorite games of all time – Shovel Knight – was also a reason to check it out.
Aside from the game’s pedigree, its STEAM “tags” were also promising, and included things like “2D Platformer,” “Metroidvania,” and, “Difficult.” Also, while I never played “Ninja Gaiden,” or any of its iterations during my childhood, I did play and enjoy, “The Messenger,” so I figured I’d probably like this game too. I don’t recall what the STEAM review score was when I purchased the game, but at time of writing it is sitting at “Very Positive,” which has often been a minimum benchmark for me to consider purchasing a game (unless I have a recommendation from a friend or I can tell a game is going to be /really/ up my alley).
I put about five or six hours into the game before I dropped it, based on my old save file. There was a lot I liked about the game, from its tough, but fair gameplay to the crisp 2D graphics. If that’s true, though, why did I stop playing the game?
STOP
The reason I stopped has more to do with me than with the quality of the game. What’s more, I can explain it in two words: “Dry Socks.” If that doesn’t clarify – and I imagine it doesn’t – allow me to explain. “Cyber Shadow,” like virtually all games made after the release of the XBox 360, has achievements. Basically, these are acknowledgements from the developers of a game to the player. Sometimes, they’re just a textbox saying, “you did a thing!” Other times, they’re accompanied by hitting a key milestone in the game’s story or playing the game in an unexpected way. As I’m sure you’ve now guessed, “Dry Socks,” is the name of an achievement in, “Cyber Shadow.”
As I said above, some achievements are handed out just for playing a game. Others require the player to demonstrate mastery of a game’s systems. “Dry Socks,” falls closer to the latter of the two, requiring the player to beat a mid-game boss (the “Mekadragon”) without falling into the water that’s ever-present in the boss arena. A skilled player can do this by understanding the boss’ attack patterns and constantly creating new floating platforms to stand on above the water.
How did I approach this boss at the time? By beating my head against a wall, burning out, and giving up on the game. Yikes! It’s not like there weren’t walk-throughs available, either; the game released in 2021, two years before I purchased it. In short, this came down to a skill issue, even if the skill was that I couldn’t stop myself from doing a self-imposed challenge run on a mid-game boss. (Mekadragon is the boss from stage 4 of 10.) Oof.
RESTART
A few years passed before I picked the game back up again. That’s certainly what the kids call, “a big oof.” (Actually only aging millenials would call it that, but I digress.) Why, then, did I decide to pick the game back up? Ultimately, it came down to three factors. The first of the three factors was the game’s pedigree. I love, “Shovel Knight,” and I am a “Mina the Hollower” enjoyer, and I didn’t want to give up on a game from one of my favorite game studios / publishers.
The second reason was that I put together a list of 30-40 games in my STEAM library I was most interested in playing in a group called, “GOTTA PLAY.” Having a more focused list of games to choose from has helped me feel less overwhelmed by my STEAM library (which has over 350 games). I don’t FORCE myself to pick games from that group when I’m looking for something to play, but I also only populate it with games I’m really excited to play. As such, I often pick games from that group when I’m looking for something to play.
What’s more, I’ve made a rule for myself: I can only buy a new game once I have completed two games from my STEAM library. My backlog is far too long, and I have way too many games I haven’t played. This is my way to both manage and reduce the amount of money I spend on STEAM. “Cyber Shadow,” was an easy choice because: 1) it was in the “GOTTA PLAY” group, 2) I was already familiar with it, and 3) that familiarity meant I could beat it faster and potentially get a new game. It was a win-win-win, really.
The last reason I decided to return to, “Cyber Shadow,” was that I was determined to not fall victim to the same fate as when I first played the game. I vowed that beating the Mekadragon would be enough, and that the “Dry Socks,” achievement was less important to me than just enjoying the game and seeing what else it had to offer. With that in mind, I’m pleased to report that the game had plenty to offer. I’ll be discussing that in the final section of this article.
FINISH
I finished the game in about ten hours after starting a new file. I unlocked every upgrade, defeated every boss, and didn’t bother with any achievement that didn’t happen as an incidental part of my play. (I almost got stuck on the “Don’t Touch the Paint,” achievement in the motorcycle section, but thankfully I pulled out of that tailspin before I bounced off of the game for a second time.)
With that in mind, it’ll come as no surprise to you when I say that the game was worth finishing. There are certainly more achievements I could still go for, but given what happened last time I obsessed over one of them, I’ll pass. This is doubly true given that some of the achievements remaining would involve challenge runs (like not acquiring any upgrades) or speed runs (ie beating the game in under a certain amount of time). While I’m glad those achievements exist to reward players who like those play patterns, they’re not for me. Still, I did return and finish the game, and that means something.
Given that I both returned to and finished the game, there’s clearly a lot that I like about it. Here are a few of the highlights:
- The game is great about selling the feeling of being a ninja, or a “cyber shadow,” if you will. After unlocking all of the movement-based abilities in the game, you can zip through levels like a bat out of hell, and I felt like a stone-cold badass when I was firing on all cylinders in that regard.
- The game’s environments are varied and interesting. While I don’t want to give too much away, there’s staples you’d expect from a dystopian, futuristic society, like a train station, ruined buildings, and a factory. There’s also spiritual dimensions, body horror, and other tomfoolery I don’t want to spoil.
- It’s neat to see how your character’s powers grow over the course of the game. Your movement tech in particular is a treat, and the sub-weapons are fun too (even if I mostly relied on the sword).
With that being said, no game is perfect and this game has its issues. Here are a few of the low-lights:
- I would describe the music as “inoffensive” and “forgettable.” It’s not bad by any means, but it also doesn’t have any bangers that got stuck in my head. In short, if you could buy the game’s soundtrack (you can’t), I would skip it.
Next, let’s rapid-fire a few complaints before I get to the big one.
- By the end of the game there’s nothing to spend your in-game currency on (save unlocking more boosts from past checkpoints).
- The game calls itself a Metroidvania but I think that’s a bit of a stretch given the level-based structure of the game and the broad linearity of the game.
- I guess it’s cool that there’s a diegetic reason for your end-of-game stats to be displayed (e.g. time to completion, number of deaths, etc,), but it didn’t really add anything to the story and felt perfunctory.
Finally, here’s my biggest complaint about the game.
- Like the music, the game’s story is “serviceable.” Again, it’s not bad, but it’s not over-the-top enough to hang with the 80s cheese, and it’s not deep enough to get me to think about it in the shower. There’s also a lot of little things that bother me about it. For example, the protagonist’s clan apparently needs power to fulfill their sacred duty, but they’ve also been doing it for time-immemorial. Also, the clan leader’s dad is both not in the clan and a seemingly world-class scientist, because reasons. The story plays with interesting ideas – consciousness, grief, devotion, etc – but it never coalesces into something greater than the sum of its parts.
CONCLUSION
Was this game worth revisiting to me? Yes! While I wouldn’t give it an unqualified recommendation (the difficulty mixed with some of my qualms mentioned above may keep some away), I think it is definitely worth a look for fans of 2D platformers in the vein of Ninja Gaiden. Granted, there are also plenty of other games in this lane that also fit the bill: “Katana Zero” and “The Messenger” both come to mind, for example. In the end, while I wouldn’t say “Cyber Shadow,” redefined the 2D ninja-’em-up, its competent execution and electric gameplay while in the flow state means it earned its price tag in my book.
