Cyber Shadow review

Enjoy a challenge? Cyber Shadow demands the kind of pixel-perfect precision required by the eight-bit era’s toughest trials. So, if you’re tastes lean toward the masochistic, you’ll discover a punishing good time without benefit of a ‘safe word’.

Are today’s games any more enjoyable than the ones of yesteryear? That’s a tough question, but it’s not nearly as formidable as the eight-hour trek through Mechanical Head Studios’ Cyber Shadow. Helmed by a single developer, Aarne “MekaSkull” Hunziker, the recent release dares players to make it through a succession of increasingly hectic stages. While the most obvious point of reference is 1988’s Ninja Gaiden, it’s clear that Hunziker has thoroughly studied the classics. From the erratic enemy trajectories of Castlevania to the taut level designs of Super Mario Bros., identifying the inspirations is nearly as enjoyable as cleaving through the game’s robotics foes.

Much like its inspirations, you won’t be led through the kind of dedicated tutorial found in most modern games. Instead, you’ll master a mounting arsenal across the game’s zones. You’ll begin the game with little more than the ability to jump and slash horizontally. While some adversaries idly move back and forth, ready to serve as fodder for your blade, others approach at troublesome angles. Protagonist Shadow has to lure the latter to certain heights before we can slice them right out of existence.

Get Knocked Down Eight Times…

Adversity is ubiquitous and intensified by Cyber Shadow’s incorporation of knock-back. Collide with a foe, and Shadow will be kicked backward, occasionally put onto the path of another adversary. But environments are no ally and are often even more dangerous than opponents. While most enemies will merely erode your life bar, gaps in platforms, pools of lava, and spikes will instantly forfeit one of your lives. Spikes are especially dangerous, as the end to be visual camouflaged in the game’s pixelated cityscapes.

A pleasing sense of enemy variety is complemented by a growing set of new abilities. Like any respectable shinobi, you’ll wall leap, toss shuriken, as well as dash slice through unsuspecting foes. Since Cyber Shadow retains the two-button control scheme of its inspirations, some of these proficiencies require a simultaneous button press and diagonal input. As such, make sure you have a controller with a responsive directional pad. Playing with an analog controller is feasible, but the occasional botched command might lead to added infuriation.

Challenge on Top of Challenge

And inevitably, exasperation will occur. As you persevere, the margin for error grows increasingly slim. To help offset this, you can invest essence earned through your exploits at various checkpoints. This can grant bonuses like a full revitalization of your heath or even the use of power-up especially suited for each stage. Occasionally, the distance between checkpoints can be a bit far, which is a bit odd considering that everything else about Cyber Shadow’s level design is top notch.

Progress can feel like a procession of puzzles with the solutions found in the proper application of your abilities. But I fear for some, the challenge level grows too lofty. Although things rarely feel unfair, Hunziker sets a high challenge bar for players to hurdle. Not everyone will enjoy training for the event.

But for those that do, dividends beyond a sense of satisfaction await. While there’s no new game+ option, you will find a nod to publisher Yacht Club’s Shovel Knight. Special challenges like beating a boss unscathed or making it through a stage without the use of your sword await. Each of these intensifies the already imposing challenge level. Although, I couldn’t hack it, I’m sure others will discover action-platforming bliss.

The Sound of a Singing Soundchip

Although Hunziker was responsible for the bulk of development duties, he wisely relinquished the game’s soundtrack to Enrique Martin. Cyber Shadow’s music evokes the peak of the console era, with compositions that are nothing short of chiptune symphonies. The opening of “MekaCity Docks Theme” manages to channel both the syncopated effect of NES Contra and the suaveness of John Barry’s “James Bond Theme”

Unsurprisingly, Cyber Shadow nearly achieves platform parity across the Switch, PC, Xbox One, Series S/X, and PlayStation 4/5 iterations. Sure, Sony’s newest console puts out 120 frames-per-second if you have a capable television. Although my eyes are quite sensitive about the difference between 30 fps and 60 fps, I notice a much smaller increase in fluidity with the jump to 120 fps. While perceptions of framerate seem to differ wildly, it was difficult to appreciate Cyber Shadow running at the fastest rate.

Conclusion

Across all platforms, the game mimics the resolution of a NES title. And again, Hunziker seemed to have studied the great. Even with the modest visual style, Cyber Shadow is evocative, with backdrops flaunting shading while environments convey a noirish vibe, with glowing pipelines and dystopian walkways. Particularly charming are the bits of exposition that bookend each stage. Here, the succinct conversations reproduce early game storytelling, with a plot centering around mechanical supersoldiers commanded by a demented scientist. It’s a suitably skeletal premise, with just enough backstory to motivate the oft-arduous trek. It’s concise enough to not stand in your way, unlike Cyber Shadow’s legion of robotic foes.

Cyber Shadow was played on PlayStation 5
with review code provided by the publisher.