Product Code Database
Cyber Shadow is a side-scrolling Action game-platform game developed by Finnish indie studio Mechanical Head Studios and published by Yacht Club Games. Using an 8-bit aesthetic, the game follows a cybernetic ninja named Shadow who sets out to rescue his clan in a world overrun by machines.
The game is mostly developed by Aarne Hunziker, who is the sole member of Mechanical Head Studios. It was first shown at PAX East 2019, having been in development from years before and silently announced before that event. It contains stated inspirations from other platform video games such as Ninja Gaiden. The game was released on January 26, 2021 to mostly positive reviews, citing the graphics and gameplay as highlights.
The game's story is told primarily through cinematic cutscenes, though in-engine ones are used as well.
Hunziker's first experience in game development was hacking the ROMs of classic games to manipulate their visuals, effectively customizing them. He later decided to create his own game, but scrapped it. Four years later he began coding from scratch what would become Cyber Shadow. He has had continued difficulties with the development of the game due to its scope and having to do it almost entirely alone.
Hunziker has described the game as one that combines "the level design principles of Mario, the skills and action of Ninja Gaiden, the enemy designs of Contra and the dark visual aesthetic of Batman", but has also said that it is more deliberately intended as a callback to Shadow of the Ninja. In an interview with Siliconera, he said that "the story is about exploiting carefully nurtured ancient knowledge with logic" as a reason why it involves both ancient ninjas and futuristic robots.
The game was first shown at PAX East 2019, though it was announced less publicly earlier.
In the "Yacht Club Games Presents" on February 26, 2020, it was revealed that the game would release in 2021, and that the Shovel Knight Amiibo would be compatible with the Nintendo Switch version of the game. It was released on January 26, 2021 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows.
According to Nintendo (which runs the Nintendo eShop), Cyber Shadow was one of the 15 best-selling of 2021 on the Nintendo Switch.
Reception
All versions of Cyber Shadow have received "generally favorable reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic. IGN summed up their 8/10 review by saying "Cyber Shadow's excellent gameplay, level design, variety, and music make it a great modernization of the classic Ninja Gaiden formula."
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Categories: 2021 Video Games, Action Games, Indie Games, Japan In Non-japanese Culture, Nintendo Switch Games, Platformers, Playstation 4 Games, Playstation 5 Games, Post-apocalyptic Video Games, Retro-style Video Games, Science Fiction Video Games, Side-scrolling Platformers, Single-player Video Games, Video Games About Cyborgs, Video Games About Ninja, Video Games About Robots, Video Games Developed In Finland, Windows Games, Xbox Cloud Gaming Games, Xbox One Games, Yacht Club Games Games
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