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Cyber Shadow |OT| A Striking Silhouette
- Thread starter Dancrane212
- Start date
- OT
What's wrong with it?
Are you Justin Wong, perchance?
Yes it's an ability.
I 100% finished the Messenger and only a few levels in, this is definitely more challenging. But I do hear it continually ramps down as you unlock new abilities.
Messenger comparisons to Ninja Gaiden always felt off to me given that the levels lacked even close to the relentless onslaught of obstacles of those titles, and then when it 'opens up' you realize the enemy placement was more devised for fast traversal than actual opposition to the player. Cyber Shadow on the other hand is very much in-line with the classic NG games, especially in how its enemies are placed and designed. Although it is certainly manageable despite its more difficult leaning, just can't get greedy on some screens or bosses.
But this is just thoughts after 3 stages so far.
having to time this very narrow-window move perfectly while you're approaching a gate that shoots projectiles at you in fairly quick succession with stuff coming at you from behind in certain cases is just not fun. this is really mostly about that stupid door.
we have at least two people on this page saying the exact opposite so far :D
Yeah the difficulty curve felt pretty much in line with the increase in mobility and attack strength- the late-game bosses certainly didn't feel comparatively easier to me, and some of the late performing sections ask a lot of your increased abilities.
So ive been playing this on pc gamepass no issue now the game doesnt open anymore I reinstalled and its the same issue
Chapter 2 was a really odd outlier, the two following didn't have nearly as much borderline bullet hell stuff going on, sometimes you'd just shift across the screen to a new platform in that area and suddenly the amount of obstacles inexplicably tripled.
Definitely could've used some reeling in considering its placement in the game and the stages around it.
Someone in this thread said it's like playing a NES game with save states. I'd say that's pretty fair-- difficulty is comparable to the first Sunsoft Batman but with very generous checkpoints and easy backtracking once abilities open up more.
i can't speak on chapter 5 yet (on 4) but 2 to me was by far the hardest so far. the baby moths can fuck right off. 3 and 4 are fine. don't worry too much about them
Yeah that sounds about right to me.
NES difficulty but you've got infinite lives, save points and checkpoints before every section/boss and free power ups that help with the fights if you want them. It's tough in places but with instant restarts and save points everywhere you only ever have to do each section or boss once, it's not like the originals where you'd only have 3 lives, 3 continues that put you back at the start of the stage and when they run out you have to start over from level one. If this was the case with Cyber Shadow it would take people way longer to finish due to the time requirement to get an extra few cracks at the next section, which was what stopped people finishing a lot of 8-bit games in a weekend.
Finished it at seven hours. LOTS of death to spikes. :P It's kinda BS that spikes skip through your invincibility period.
It was enjoyable altogether but for me there were definitely growing pains at first, the very limited moveset you start off does the game no favors at all. Thankfully it gets a lot better as you gain new abilities.
It was enjoyable altogether but for me there were definitely growing pains at first, the very limited moveset you start off does the game no favors at all. Thankfully it gets a lot better as you gain new abilities.
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Go back to where the train departed. You should be able to sus it out from there, but if not let me know! It also gives you a handy item for finding secrets on the map.
I have the feeling the game is gonna be an absolute slog on replays without the abilities. Run should have been the first or even second skill learned not the last.
I think the train boss is my fave so far.
footage of it:
this is totally not because it was the first and only one where I got the "beat it under 60 seconds" feat lol
footage of it:
this is totally not because it was the first and only one where I got the "beat it under 60 seconds" feat lol
Downloaded and tried this on my Series X last night and really having a great time with the early goings!
I, for one, appreciate the checkpoint system a lot.
I, for one, appreciate the checkpoint system a lot.
Finished the game the other day.
Overall I found the game disappointing but I would still recommend checking out, especially if you have gamepass. I came in with the expectation that it would be similar to the NES Ninja Gaiden games (I mean the character looks, swings his blade and runs like Ryu), Cyber Shadow is much slower pace. I probably should not of loaded up the first Ninja Gaiden to compare because that trilogy has incredible feel and only made Cyber Shadow feel slower. I found the world design only okay, but a majority of them dragged on to long. I would of been a bigger fan of a lot more stages but broken up into tighter experiences.
Things like enemy bullets really should of been thought a little better (your counter could catch the first bullet but not the second one if enemy shot came off-centered) in a number of spots. I also was not a huge fan of the soundtrack but that is personal preference and an issue I find with a lot of "retro inspired" games taking sounds we are familiar with and over-producing them. One of the cool things about soundtracks from that era was it was always a fight of real estate for space which you don't have to do anymore. Separate from the game I think I would find it a lot better I just don't think they mesh constantly.
Some positives, the bosses were generally good with the finale pretty epic fight. A majority of the bosses actually did feel like something from NES era, which rewarded aggressive attacking. Also I think they did a good job with the difficulty. In the age of should there be an easy mode...etc, they have a normal mode that I found fine, but at each checkpoint if a player needed assistance you could also purchase an item and SP refill which neither are overpowering but both could easily help someone struggling out. This leads to players of all skill getting the same experience without degrading your gameplay. It was really well thought out and the items changed in reflection to what was ahead. I ended the game with way to much currency, but thats not a negative because its still satisfying to pick it up like coins in any other game.
My favorite two chapters which I think highlighted the best parts of the game were 6 & 10. I would of been curious if a bonus stage with a longer version leading up to the final boss because that was fun platforming with enemies to ward off.
Like I said at the start, I would recommend to come in the game with no expectations and give it a shot. Its wild that only one person made this. Even with not enjoying it a ton, major props to them because they did a fantastic job and fundamentally the game works and looks phenomenal. I would definitely try out whatever is next for them.
Overall I found the game disappointing but I would still recommend checking out, especially if you have gamepass. I came in with the expectation that it would be similar to the NES Ninja Gaiden games (I mean the character looks, swings his blade and runs like Ryu), Cyber Shadow is much slower pace. I probably should not of loaded up the first Ninja Gaiden to compare because that trilogy has incredible feel and only made Cyber Shadow feel slower. I found the world design only okay, but a majority of them dragged on to long. I would of been a bigger fan of a lot more stages but broken up into tighter experiences.
Things like enemy bullets really should of been thought a little better (your counter could catch the first bullet but not the second one if enemy shot came off-centered) in a number of spots. I also was not a huge fan of the soundtrack but that is personal preference and an issue I find with a lot of "retro inspired" games taking sounds we are familiar with and over-producing them. One of the cool things about soundtracks from that era was it was always a fight of real estate for space which you don't have to do anymore. Separate from the game I think I would find it a lot better I just don't think they mesh constantly.
Some positives, the bosses were generally good with the finale pretty epic fight. A majority of the bosses actually did feel like something from NES era, which rewarded aggressive attacking. Also I think they did a good job with the difficulty. In the age of should there be an easy mode...etc, they have a normal mode that I found fine, but at each checkpoint if a player needed assistance you could also purchase an item and SP refill which neither are overpowering but both could easily help someone struggling out. This leads to players of all skill getting the same experience without degrading your gameplay. It was really well thought out and the items changed in reflection to what was ahead. I ended the game with way to much currency, but thats not a negative because its still satisfying to pick it up like coins in any other game.
My favorite two chapters which I think highlighted the best parts of the game were 6 & 10. I would of been curious if a bonus stage with a longer version leading up to the final boss because that was fun platforming with enemies to ward off.
Like I said at the start, I would recommend to come in the game with no expectations and give it a shot. Its wild that only one person made this. Even with not enjoying it a ton, major props to them because they did a fantastic job and fundamentally the game works and looks phenomenal. I would definitely try out whatever is next for them.
finished it, found it to be a mixed bag overall. felt like i really enjoyed myself like 70% of the time and just found it annoying the other 30%. glad i played it through gamepass instead of buying it
I finished it, I enjoyed the 2nd half of the game more than the 1st half.
It's not amazing but it's not bad, I'd probably give it a 7.5/10. It's very impressive that it was done by one person.
It's not amazing but it's not bad, I'd probably give it a 7.5/10. It's very impressive that it was done by one person.
I pre-ordered the game, and was momentarily confused when I had two of them showing up in my game library. Downloaded them both, and realized that it was the PS4 and PS5 versions. lol. For some reason, I thought this was only a PS4 game, even though I'm pretty sure I read it was also coming to PS5. Deleted the PS4 version, and only played a little of the first level, but I'm enjoying it. Definitely takes me back to playing Ninja Gaiden and Batman on the NES back in the 80's. I'm setting it aside for now, as I want to beat 13 Sentinels this weekend if I can, but I'm looking forward to diving back in. I also still need to beat The Messenger...
So many games, not nearly enough time lol
So many games, not nearly enough time lol
I'd say it's on par with the messenger's earlier 8 bit stages, but there's nothing as wild as the late game 16 bit stuff.
I just hate how absolutely crazy they go with the spikes towards the end. Spikes just everywhere. Finally learn an area and get past it? Spikes immediately in the next puzzle. Solve that? More spikes. No checkpoints.
TOO MANY SPIKES. This game should have been called "Spikes and Medusa Heads". Because that's what's in every room. Spikes and Medusa Heads.
About the no SP and HP feats.... does it include the HP upgrade you get by beating a boss? do you have to avoid it somehow or can i pick that up?
I don't think you have to collect that, like the heart containers after Zelda boss fights. If you just leave, you should be fine.
Finished the game yesterday with 7h15m on the clock and 250 deaths (half of those were fighting against the controller / controls)
The game looks good, and the music is decent, but i'm not a fan of the gameplay design:
the first problem i encountered was the lack of crouch, omission that became apparent later on when i got constantly bombarded with bullets, with no mechanisms to evade them. Then there was the spikes, the regenerating enemies, lasers, mecha-medusa heads and all the cheap shit they throw at you so you will die and repeat, again, and again (the part on that stage heavily inspired by Metroid with spikes coming out of walls, ground, and those big glowing orbs was brutal)
By the time you unlock abilites to circunvent the lack of initial mobility, i was a bit burned, but it is true that the game improves a bit from that moment onwards (although the latest stages... yikes).
Had a lot of trouble jumping while running or running after jumping, which lead to my demise, and my most troublesome boss was Mekadragon: i died a lot against him, and got to so pissed that eventually perfected him.
I liked some abilities, like the parry, and the energy balls barrier (special item) hit me hard with the nostalgia.
It was ok overall, but i dont see myself coming back to it, so thank you gamepass i guess.
The game looks good, and the music is decent, but i'm not a fan of the gameplay design:
the first problem i encountered was the lack of crouch, omission that became apparent later on when i got constantly bombarded with bullets, with no mechanisms to evade them. Then there was the spikes, the regenerating enemies, lasers, mecha-medusa heads and all the cheap shit they throw at you so you will die and repeat, again, and again (the part on that stage heavily inspired by Metroid with spikes coming out of walls, ground, and those big glowing orbs was brutal)
By the time you unlock abilites to circunvent the lack of initial mobility, i was a bit burned, but it is true that the game improves a bit from that moment onwards (although the latest stages... yikes).
Had a lot of trouble jumping while running or running after jumping, which lead to my demise, and my most troublesome boss was Mekadragon: i died a lot against him, and got to so pissed that eventually perfected him.
I liked some abilities, like the parry, and the energy balls barrier (special item) hit me hard with the nostalgia.
It was ok overall, but i dont see myself coming back to it, so thank you gamepass i guess.
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Man, i wonder if i'll be able to finish the game under 3 hours, i die too much... ( i try to quit before i die when i can)
currently at 54 minutes at the water dragon
i also forgot one health upgrade... i'll maybe go get it at the very end if i have enough time left
currently at 54 minutes at the water dragon
i also forgot one health upgrade... i'll maybe go get it at the very end if i have enough time left
don't misunderstand, performance issues on PC suck and I hope it's easily and quickly fixed but it's also refreshing to have the Switch version work pretty much flawlessly and the performance drops happen elsewhere.
Yeah, I was pretty hyped about this one but was a bit let down by the end. The gameplay and controls are solid, but compared to Shovel Knight and Messenger, the story/characters are just ok. Also, some of the checkpoints are placed really weirdly, and maybe I'm just bad, but those annoyed me a lot. It's a solid enough game, and if you're a fan of the NES stuff, but I was hoping for a bit more.
Absolutely loving the game. Got it on Switch and my only tiny nitpick is the Dpad makes for some tough platforming in portable mode.
reached stage 5
1 hour mark... this gonna be close for the 3 hour feat... if i don't get it there, i won't try again
1 hour mark... this gonna be close for the 3 hour feat... if i don't get it there, i won't try again
Yes. A lot.
I personally thanked it a lot after some demanding sections.
Game is challenging, that´s for sure.
Just ran through chapter 6 to 10
The game managed to simultaneously get better and worse at the same time.
The core gameplay opens up at last and you get some slick tools to play with and some crazy movement tech, meanwhile the amount of insta death spikes shoots up, lotsa nudges to your doom and borderline hidden ceiling spikes just sneaking in across three tiles and a few obstacles that reek of "gotcha" moments.
The difficulty curve is still a rollercoaster ride, you could easily convince me that chapter 9's stormy docks stage was meant for way earlier in the game or something, it's an (appreciated) step back in after the absolute gauntlet prior.
I do think that difficulty gripes in the level design aside, the bosses have been uniformly pretty great throughout.
The game managed to simultaneously get better and worse at the same time.
The core gameplay opens up at last and you get some slick tools to play with and some crazy movement tech, meanwhile the amount of insta death spikes shoots up, lotsa nudges to your doom and borderline hidden ceiling spikes just sneaking in across three tiles and a few obstacles that reek of "gotcha" moments.
The difficulty curve is still a rollercoaster ride, you could easily convince me that chapter 9's stormy docks stage was meant for way earlier in the game or something, it's an (appreciated) step back in after the absolute gauntlet prior.
I do think that difficulty gripes in the level design aside, the bosses have been uniformly pretty great throughout.
Whoa i just figured out after doing a downward slash in the air if you press attack again you fast fall.
The one I only learned very late (after getting the large boost in your powers at
level 7) is that, as well as doing the charge strike for greater power and breaking red doors/crates, you can charge the upwards slash too, that then sends out a huge amount of strong flames and kicks the crap out of some of the late bosses
I've been doing that by accident a lot but never bothered to figure out what actually happens. Discovery is cool but they really should have a menu somewhere that explains your moves properly after you get them.
What I don't like about especially the parry, is how it feels having to time the parry press direction perfectly usually WHILE moving or while trying to move or immediately after coming to a stop. it just doesn't feel good when it's the same buttons you use to move. different story if there's a dedicated button or if the parry is done with the attack button.