Areas often wrap around themselves and interconnect, still leading players in a single direction, but in a way that keeps the world cohesive. Several nooks and crannies are hidden throughout, hiding items, upgrades, and shortcuts. While mostly a linear experience, the level design does have its unique elements. These additional elements provide nice options for players who want to adjust the challenge level. Essence collected from defeating enemies can be spent at these checkpoints to refill health and SP, or to give useful temporary power-ups. Checkpoints are spread evenly throughout each area, just rare enough for death to matter, but just common enough to not reset too much progress upon losing. There's no life system at all, so each challenge can be tried as many times as needed. At any given moment, you almost always have a path toward survival it's just up to you to be skilled and patient enough to carry it out. Enemies swarm through the stage in chaotic ways, but rarely are they unmanageable. The original Ninja Gaiden is infamous for its rather unfair later levels, and while Cyber Shadow is certainly difficult, it almost always feels fair. While the feel of the game is excellent, that only matters if the level design itself is adequate as well. Levels are designed to promote usage of Shadow's whole arsenal, so properly managing SP is essential. Using these abilities drains Shadow's SP, which can then be recollected by defeating enemies. Every popular ninja trope is here, from throwing ninja stars to reflecting bullets to dashing through the air, and each of these moves feel great to perform. His only initial manoeuvres are a jump and a sword slash, but playing through each chapter will quickly unlock a variety of other abilities. Like any good ninja, Shadow is fast and nimble, allowing for extremely precise movement.

The cut scenes, especially, are gorgeous.One of the most important aspects of any difficult platformer is the controls, and fortunately, Cyber Shadow feels as smooth as butter. Every character, from Shadow to any of the massive bosses to a tiny robot minion, is beautifully designed and a solid reminder that graphics do not have to be realistic in order to blow players away. Each stage and its corresponding backgrounds are equal parts nostalgic and new, and the level of detail that goes into a game like this honestly shouldn’t be so entrancing, yet it is. On top of the soundtrack, the graphics are simply breathtaking. Each time I cleared a stage, my first thought went to, “I wonder what the next song is going to sound like!” This drove me to keep playing and prevented me from feeling any fatigue that one would naturally feel after dying a decent amount in a certain area. This is so good! I have not been this jazzed about a chiptune soundtrack since Mega Man 2 or 3, honestly, and that is even including the Shovel Knight soundtracks. Some of the challenges within these areas will really test you, but they are loads of fun and a welcomed addition.īut enough about gameplay! Let’s talk about this soundtrack by Enrique Martin, because OH.

You see, Cyber Shadow allows for some backtracking so that you can collect items from previous stages that were inaccessible but become so after obtaining certain abilities. You will also learn an assortment of ninja abilities throughout the game that allow you to wall jump and ninja run, and it is in learning these new abilities that things open up even more. The frantic and fast-paced action is a reminder of how the old coin-slot arcade titles used to function, but Cyber Shadow takes this approach and transforms it in such a way that it is accessible and even more entertaining.Īfter the game’s intro, you will be slashing, dodging, and platforming like a ninja in no time.

Cyber Shadow is a nostalgic trip down the 8-bit lane, and many older gamers will immediately feel the connection with NES titles like Ninja Gaiden and Contra as they blaze their way through the cyberpunk world.

Cyber shadow switch review