Introduction
Cyber Shadow is a side-scrolling action platformer. Developed by Mechanical Head Studios and published by Yacht Club Games. It was released in 2020 for PC and Consoles.
Review
The Progen and his army of synthetics are destroying the world and killing your clan. They then take their body and harvest the essence from them. All in the attempt to save his daughter. Unfortunately for The Progen, someone from your clan finds you, and wakes you. Unfortunately your mortal existence isn’t what it used to be and you find yourself in a synthetic cyborg body.
Throughout the game, you learn about how Shadow found the clan that he’s part of and how he was trained. Though you don’t get too deep of a story. A lot of the story is also gained from the environment and what are basically text logs. As you journey through the ruins of Mekacity, you find computers that tell you about the struggles of The Progen. How he set out to save his daughter, and how he gained hope, only to slowly lose it. So he sinks further and further. I truly felt bad for the villain because his convictions were meaningful but he went crazy! Shadow also wants to save Progens daughter, as she is his master. But he just has a different means of doing so. The story was interesting enough though, I just wish we learned more about Shadows background. But the gameplay is where the game shines.
The game takes place over 10 chapters. As you run, jump and slash your way through The Progens army. The game starts off easily enough. But later on the game gets very intense. The amount of enemies that attack you puts all of your skills to the test. Between parrying projectiles to be able to hit them back, to dashing through obstacles, the game is brutal. The game plays in a linear fashion, but also lets you return to earlier area’s once you get power ups later on, so that you can find upgrades for your health and ability points. So that you can use more skills before running out of the ability to do so.
At the beginning of the game, when I would die, I would get aggravated. Not only did I not have the health to deal with the enemies on screen, I also didn’t have the abilites to deal with them. Later on in the game, I felt like every death was my own fault. Like when I would try to run through the section because there were some pain in the ass enemies. I’d die because I wasn’t clearing them. Or if I died to an enemy I had to parry, I’d get aggravated, but only because I knew I wasn’t good enough at parrying the projectiles. So I just had to get better.
Some of the bosses felt more like they relied on luck as opposed to skill though. Spoilers for a boss, but there is one where you fight a dragon that swims through the water, and you’re forced to destroy drones to make platforms in the water. If you touch the top of the drone, the blades hurt you. If you stand on them long enough, they sink. Plus the boss destroys them. So you’re constantly forced to destroy these drones, all while the boss swims around and will surface literally anywhere. Whether it’s on top of you, or a mile away so by the time you finally attack it, you only get one hit in before it submerges again.
The rest of the bosses we’re a great time fighting. The odds of me getting them on the first try was slim, but it always felt great when I learned the bosses’ attacks well enough to be able to beat them. I will admit that I probably didn’t use all my resources in the fights. Even progressing through the game, I ended up just using my melee attack. Unless I was absolutely forced to use a skill. Like a shuriken. Or a pogo stick like jump, like in DuckTales! The last section of the game, you are forced to use this jump, and I got very aggravated. When you use the skill, you already get a bit of extra air. In the thick of it all, when I had to use it three plus times in a row, I would forget about the extra height, and end up overshooting the jump, and end up all the way at the bottom of this huge tower. So yes the controls are very tight, but at the same time they’re aggravating in specific situations.
For people who want an extra challenge, or even all the trophies/achievements, there is a laundry list of challenges in the game that can be accomplished. For example, reaching a specific zone in the game without dying. Or beating a boss without using your melee attack. I managed to get a few myself without really trying, but if I wanted the extra challenge, at least it was there!
Rating
Pros:
- Tight Controls
- List Of Fun Challenges
- Challenging Gameplay
Cons:
- “Pogo Stick” Jump
- No Enough Shadow Backstory
Summary
For people who enjoy the old Ninja Gaiden games, you’ll find that sort of gameplay here. The controls were tight, the experience of learning the bosses wasn’t aggravating, and it was enjoyable to get better at the game, as opposed to turning down a difficulty dial. The only things I didn’t enjoy were a few boss fights, and the way the pogo stick jump worked. But other than that, I highly recommend this game for people who enjoy 2D platformers!
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Game & Developer Information
Developer Website: Mechanical Head Studios
Publisher Website: Yacht Club Games
Publisher Socials: Twitter
PSN Store Links: £15.99/€20.31 Europe / $19.99 North America
Trophy Information: 41. 
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Images curtesy of Yacht Club Games
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