I totally missed this Cybershadow game but, thank God, the magical Youtube algorithm decided to show me this video. It is me or it's the coolest game ever?
I bought this on impulse due to preorder pricing. Wrote up my thoughts while playing. Long story short, Cyber Shadow is very, very good. I'll just copy-paste from my Gaming Log:
"Cyber Shadow
Started January 23rd
Finished February 8th with 6 Hours
Honestly, Yacht Club's name being put on this is why I kept it in the back of my mind after it's initial reveal. Sounds a bit messed up, since the game spoke for itself with art, music, and gameplay shown in trailers. But having the pedigree behind Shovel Knight help publish the game was a good "Seal of Quality".
And look. I'm a music guy. Before I even speak on the quality of the game I'm going to talk about the music. Buying a game because some tracks were great? I've done it. And let me tell you, Cyber Shadow's soundtrack is wonderful. It's chiptune, and it is full-bodied. There's so many good hooks, progressions, and absolute jams.
Gameplay-wise, I initially thought that if Shovel Knight was Megaman, this is Ninja Gaiden. Once you get to Stage 3 though? Honestly, I think the game feels close to a Megaman X where you play as Zero, but with no dash (yet, as I see a Dash button in options) or walljump. You have a good array of tools early on, and a few power-ups strewn about the stages that feel good to use.
But that's Stage 3. I'm not going to say Stage 1 or 2 were killer or anything, but I already feel a power curve likely. As Stage 3 was easier than 2 by a fair margin. What awaits beyond, I'll see.
Annnnd I spoke too soon. This is Megaman X. This is melee ninja Megaman X. I'm not going to give away exactly why this is so, but even being able to go to older stages through a select screen and access new areas with your skills is far more reminiscent of X's setup. I am not complaining a bit about this, nor do I want to claim Cyber Shadow doesn't have an identity of its own. But if I were to sell someone on the game, I can guarantee you I'd slide "Melee Ninja Megaman X" into the pitch. The game definitely wears its inspirations on its sleeve with names of abilities, and certain enemy types, so I don't think they'd take this is a sleight.
And be it because you have a larger arsenal or simply because of a larger health pool, the game certainly becomes easier after the first two levels. It still puts up a challenge, but there's a lot less waiting around to get safe potshots so as to avoid going back to a level's start, and more plowing through. And I may be wrong, but it certainly feels like checkpoints are more common in later levels. Some of them felt unearned, even. But I suppose I'd rather have a few too many than not enough.
To say that the full arsenal feels very good to control and play with is an understatement. The tools at hand aren't innumerable, but the kit is very well rounded and leaves you feeling powerful. Something, I'd argue, a game where you play as a ninja should strive to hit on the head. As for if ninjas running in like Rambo with cool moves is historically accurate, well that's neither here nor there.
As the game progresses, story is certainly taking more of the foreground. It is a good drive forward without getting too in your face. Definitely appreciate it, and the "cutscenes" reminiscent of the NES era it uses to show some of the bigger events. Now, the logs on computers strewn across the map.. I feel conflicted on. I do like the worldbuilding they add, and in a game like this I can't fault them for just putting important story behind optional textlogs. After all, back in the day that's basically what story in the Instruction Booklet was. But still, couldn't help but sigh and think, "oh, yes, textlogs," when they first showed.
Look at me forgetting to mention one of the more unique systems present in the game until this late into writing! Cyber Shadow doles out 'Credits' for slicing down all sorts of things. Baddies, boxes, lanterns, and a few things in-between. What these do are allow for the purchase of what boils down to a stronger checkpoint. You see, while there are checkpoints pretty frequently later on, they won't always top you off. They stand as little more than a point to return to after your demise. With some spent Credits, however, you can upgrade the checkpoint to also heal your HP and SP (used for special skills). Some will even let you go further and purchase a temporary power-up. And let me just say that this is a wonderful system. It lets you play more challenging if you'd like, while giving the ability to those who may want to stay constantly topped off the opportunity to do so. And the power-ups are generally placed right before a section where the extra help will come to be very handy, such as before a boss battle, or a few rough screens.
And I know I've spoken on the music already, but hot dang, I have to talk about it some more. Nothing here is worse than great. And it's all in such an authentic chiptune sound that it leaves you forgetting sometimes that what you're hearing isn't from a classic of a bygone era. I know that the 'modern retro game' is used a fair bit these days. But between the visuals and general gameplay, by going further and also nailing the music, Cyber Shadow truly stands apart, stands out, and stands as one of the best games I've impulse purchased in a while.
I finished the game in 5:48:35 (let's just say 6 Hours), with a 67% Clear Rate, and 178 Deaths. I'm more of a mainline player than not, so I won't be going back to do any clean up, but if there were a New Game Plus to speak of, I'd definitely play that at some point down the line. Not to say I won't just replay the game as-is! But the amount of fun that full kit brings, I'll definitely be missing it early on.
Again, not really one to give scores. I do have the problem of sort of giving most of what I play a higher score, but I think that's because I don't really tend to finish something if I don't enjoy it. Probably never pushed through worse than a 5 (what I consider very much a "this isn't terrible but I really don't know why I'm playing, there's so much better out there). Rambling aside, I'd give Cyber Shadow a 9/10, but for me personally, bumped to a 9.5/10 for the music. Basically, the highest honors I could give to a game without actually calling it perfect. It's what I would consider a "must-play" title."