What’s Good About Cyber Shadow
(Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up I did to the First Impression I wrote about Cyber Shadow back when the game came out. Click Here to Read it. We also deal with Mechanical Spoilers and Thoughts on the back half of the game barring the final level and boss fight. Back to the Regularly Scheduled Chicanery)
There are two distinct periods during Cyber Shadow where the game changes drastically from what it once was. The first of these is when you get the Sprint ability at the end of Chapter 6 and when you talk to the Dragon at the end of Chapter 7 and get a whole suite of new mobility and attack options. These two times in rapid succession show the game’s greatest strength, which is to rapidly iterate on its mechanics and level design to keep the challenge at a consistent and if I’m being honest, kind of frustrating level. But at the same time, I also really appreciate it because I don’t need to finish whole chapters in a single sitting because it feels ridiculous for me to do that even on the easiest of games these days.
If being near the end of the game has taught me anything it’s that I need to play the game by its own rules. The mobility often gives you a lot of cool shit you can do to get around levels following that conversation with the dragon, but the thing to contend with is the levels getting new and interesting ways to kill your ass. Stage hazards in the final stretch are all designed with said cool shit in mind and you need to keep thinking and paying attention to get through it all.
The best example is due to the fact that they don’t have boss fights at the end of chapters 7 and 8. This means that you have two whole chapters to get used to all of your shiny new toys before the end game kicks you in the teeth. And while I’m making all of this sound more malicious than it probably is, this is because this is the main way the game presents itself as I mentioned in my first impressions. And the main things that have changed since that it’s continued its brand of Ninja Gaiden inspired brand of difficulty, but in a more consistently fair manner on top of being the second game in the Yacht Club Games sphere of “Nostalgia as your brain remembers it” that their own developed Shovel Knight started.
I’ve been so caught up with going on about waxing design and design intent, I should probably talk about the new mechanics. On top of the seven main abilities that are gained throughout the first half of the game, the aforementioned dragon overcharges you and you gain both a double jump and a charge mechanic ala Mega Man. Now, these don’t sound like much, but the inclusion of the double jump, mixed in with the sprint and dash strike gives you a ridiculous amount of mobility to traverse the screen at blistering speed. The charge makes it so all of your attacks, and I do mean all of them, have an extra oomph to them. Your shuriken, fire slash, parry, and dash strike all benefit from this one ability. It’s a ridiculous amount of flexibility to get at one point in the game and while I get why it takes so long to open up, easing the player into the game and its mechanics is better than just throwing a piping hot bowl of game mechanics soup in their face. I do wish that the mobility mechanics were introduced sooner because they are so good.
Lastly, the soundtrack for Cyber Shadow has easily cemented itself as gaming’s first Certified Banger of 2021. It’s a mix of old-style and modern techniques, and it’s fantastic at conveying multiple tones as the story and gameplay demand. It’s great stuff.
At the end of the day, Cyber Shadow is an uncompromising, almost brutal game harkening back to the days when games were limited in their scope but put all of their energy into making the best damn version of itself as they could. It’s not for everyone; but if you want to walk the path of the Ethos, it’s a journey worth embarking on.
