Cyber Shadow

 PC
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 60 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 60
  3. Negative: 11 out of 60

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Oshiri_Maeda
    Mar 10, 2021
    5
    Good game for retro game lovers, but it ain't another messenger. Retro visual design and feel of Nintendo/SEGA games, however level design is old and boring, many mechanics are also kept old and clunky: you can't sit or change the direction of your strike, too many annoying flying enemies, the difficulty of levels feels artificially increased by littering death traps, and it's just not asGood game for retro game lovers, but it ain't another messenger. Retro visual design and feel of Nintendo/SEGA games, however level design is old and boring, many mechanics are also kept old and clunky: you can't sit or change the direction of your strike, too many annoying flying enemies, the difficulty of levels feels artificially increased by littering death traps, and it's just not as good as The Messenger... feels too old and not needed now, in 2021.… Expand
  2. Girjo
    Jan 30, 2021
    8
    Despues de unas 11 horas de juego he acabado Cyber Shadow, me parece un juego muy entretenido en la que cada capitulo es diferente al anterior, un juego con un diseño de niveles increibles y algunos muy dificiles, la peor parte del juego es la poca dificultad de muchos bosses y la manera tan tardia de darte habilidades, el ultimo boss es otra historia, juego entretenido con buena musicaDespues de unas 11 horas de juego he acabado Cyber Shadow, me parece un juego muy entretenido en la que cada capitulo es diferente al anterior, un juego con un diseño de niveles increibles y algunos muy dificiles, la peor parte del juego es la poca dificultad de muchos bosses y la manera tan tardia de darte habilidades, el ultimo boss es otra historia, juego entretenido con buena musica plataformeo y diversidad de bosses muy recomendado si te gustan los juegos 2d , eso si el dash lo peor del juego… Expand
  3. rykerrk
    Feb 1, 2021
    9
    If you enjoyed older Natsume platformers or Batman on NES, you're going to enjoy this plenty I think. It's hard, it's fun, I've come around from disliking some of the soundtrack to enjoying most of it. About my only gripes are storyline-related and some wonky timing on parries, but all in all, had plenty of fun!
  4. Heisengerm
    Feb 15, 2021
    8
    Cyber shadow is a side-scrolling action-platformer in which you play as a ninja trying to save the last of your clan after a mad-scientist causes city-wide destruction in a last desperate attempt to save his dying daughter. Throughout Cyber Shadow’s short and sweet play time of roughly seven to ten hours, you will face many tough challenges, but I had a great time playing this game, and ICyber shadow is a side-scrolling action-platformer in which you play as a ninja trying to save the last of your clan after a mad-scientist causes city-wide destruction in a last desperate attempt to save his dying daughter. Throughout Cyber Shadow’s short and sweet play time of roughly seven to ten hours, you will face many tough challenges, but I had a great time playing this game, and I think anyone with a taste for hard-but-fair games will love this game too. It presents itself as a classic-looking and -sounding game with an old-school difficulty level. In some ways, its first impression is accurate; the game gives you a set of tight controls and a few abilities to work with, and makes you master them in order to progress. You start with a limited amount of health and energy, and extra health pickups are few and far between. However, Cyber Shadow also thankfully includes a few new-school mechanics to minimize frustration and smooth out the player’s experience. First, the game spreads out its checkpoints perfectly. This isn’t to say the game floods you with them though. In fact, Cyber Shadow intelligently places its checkpoints far enough apart to give a sense of tension, without straining your endurance past its breaking point. Also, if you collect enough of the game’s currency, you’ll be able to upgrade some checkpoints, allowing them to fully restore your health and/or SP, or even give them the ability to synthesize other power-ups for you too, such as a shield or an auto-turret, to name a couple. Thanks to Mechanical Head Games’ careful execution of all these elements, we get the best of both worlds in Cyber Shadow: tough, retro-feeling difficulty, with friendly, more modern enhancements that make the game a great experience to play. And, just as Cyber Shadow’s difficulty stays true to its clear inspirations, its pixel art style and chiptune soundtrack also add to the game’s retro feel. Each section of the game has its own distinct look and sound, and the sparsely scattered cutscenes are simple but atmospheric, channeling both the minimalistic feel of 8-bit era games and classic samurai movies. Enemies and projectiles are all visually distinct from each other, and contrast well with the environment and background. Little touches like the lightning effects on certain attacks or the way your character’s headband flows behind you really show exactly how much work the developer put into the aesthetic of this game.

    Cyber Shadow does a lot of work with what it has, and doesn’t overstay its welcome for a second. The difficulty, while tough, never feels unfair and really helps you appreciate the game’s rock-solid movement mechanics. With a couple hidden secrets and optional challenge rooms, Cyber Shadow leaves enough optional content to make exploration worthwhile without getting stale. If you like a challenge, or are a fan of 8-bit era games, I highly recommend checking this game out.    … Expand
  5. coldcalculator
    Feb 7, 2021
    10
    I love how true they were to 8 bit art. Everything was super well made. The difficulty was pretty brutal, but it's so satisfying. I just wish there were more of it! Apparently there's a ton more story that the developers haven't added. Hopefully we'll see some DLC
  6. LemonKing10
    Jan 27, 2021
    10
    This game brings the hurt then gives you a refreshing lemonade, throws it in your face and slaps you with a whole lemon but the pain is so f****** good
  7. jdlaney116
    Jan 28, 2021
    10
    The best game with the word “Cyber” in it to come out in the last two months.
  8. VigilanteOito
    Jan 30, 2021
    10
    Jogão, muito bom relembrar os classicos do nintendinho como Ninja gaiden.
    ##@#@##@@@@##########################################################################
  9. Warlonius
    Feb 7, 2021
    4
    Too hard places at the second half of the game. Died 50-100 times in one place, two days trying and can't reach item.
    This game need a rebalance for regular players.
  10. letefte
    Jan 31, 2021
    8
    A game with tight controls and an interesting story that takes you back to the days of the NES. Although the game doesn't reach the heights of games like The Messenger and Shovel Knight it is still a very welcome addition to the line-up of 8-bit inspired indies.
  11. cqwt
    Jan 28, 2021
    3
    « Tight controls » is usually used to describe a game that is precise and responsive, and therefore doesn’t get in the way of the player. But can the controls of a game be too tight? Cyber Shadow provides an answer to that question. If you’re off by a few pixels, or a few frames late or early, the game will consider you have fallen short, and your parry, wall grab, or jump even, will fail.« Tight controls » is usually used to describe a game that is precise and responsive, and therefore doesn’t get in the way of the player. But can the controls of a game be too tight? Cyber Shadow provides an answer to that question. If you’re off by a few pixels, or a few frames late or early, the game will consider you have fallen short, and your parry, wall grab, or jump even, will fail.

    It’s a shame, because this means that in the end, as far as fun goes, it is the the game itself that falls short.    … Expand
  12. Kharnivore2099
    Feb 15, 2021
    5
    Cyber Shadow starts off fairly well. The music is pumping, it has a very retro aesthetic that i tend to like and initially it feels like it controls quite well. Initially, I say.

    Eventually, if you pay attention hard enough you'll notice that the game often doesn't respond to your inputs. Given the game eventually requires you to make zero mistakes, this becomes a massive issue. Even in    Cyber Shadow starts off fairly well. The music is pumping, it has a very retro aesthetic that i tend to like and initially it feels like it controls quite well. Initially, I say.

    Eventually, if you pay attention hard enough you'll notice that the game often doesn't respond to your inputs. Given the game eventually requires you to make zero mistakes, this becomes a massive issue. Even in fairly easy sections, it's quite evident the double tap to run doesn't always trigger, or the tap to counter a projectile. This causes huge amounts of frustration, even in simple areas you have already been around before. The tap towards a projectile to counter it is also just a dreadful implementation of the mechanic, which they've decided to make out of some notion of NES authenticity than anything else. Another button would suffice much better.

    The game keeps dropping to solid 54 FPS from time to time too, then rectifying the issue a few minutes later. You can close the game and re-open too fix this too. It makes it seem really choppy and I can't find any reason for it, across two computers with different hardware.

    It could have been fantastic, but they opted for sloppy control implementation to make areas artificially harder than they really are. That's just bad design at the end of the day.    … Expand
  13. DeeGamer
    Jan 29, 2021
    0
    I just randomly tried it on the game pass and fell in love with this, from the precise combat to the soundtrack, there is a lot of polish or what I'd consider 8-bit nostalgia made for our times. The CRT mode just makes it perfect. And I'd say its not at all as hard as its being talked about.

    Now I need to find more such games!
  14. GUILR
    Jan 28, 2021
    0
    I thought I would find a game more similar to messenger, the game seemed slow and boring
  15. Ningnagublob
    Nov 27, 2021
    10
    An excellent homage to old school platforming. The gameplay is demanding and not for the timid. No victory will be handed to you that you do not earn. Those looking for an enjoyable oldschool challenge need look no further.
  16. saltynutty
    Feb 9, 2021
    7
    Making through a level is more difficult than beating the boss at the end of it. If they add more health pickup, this game will definitely become a much more enjoyable experience. Right now It is unnecessarily difficult.
  17. ProfAmateur
    Feb 1, 2022
    6
    A retro game where you run throught levels and gain some upgrades.
    Difficulty is pretty hard, but not impossible.
    Story is mediocre.
    The game is not bad but either not very good. Let's say its okay.
    The price of 20 bucks is a bit high thought.
  18. Lugia50
    May 22, 2021
    8
    The game is not easy and doesn't meant to be.
    It's very enjoyable and with a good story, visuals are amazing, gameplay is not that great but not bad either, bosses difficulty is what i didn't like, you expect yhem to get harder but some of the lastest bosses are easier than those in yhe beginningg
  19. Aresanderu
    Feb 24, 2021
    9
    Retro journey for old users. Looks like a dream from 8-bit childhood. Great job.
  20. Oreolik
    Feb 16, 2022
    6
    Retro style platformer with really authentic graphic, but not quite authentic gameplay. Game features progression system with some sort of unlocking abilities like in a metroidvania genre. Level design too like in a metroidvania, with checkpoints, forked locations, when you can choose destination, that give exploring feeling. But Cyber Shadow doesnt play with that too much, so in a coreRetro style platformer with really authentic graphic, but not quite authentic gameplay. Game features progression system with some sort of unlocking abilities like in a metroidvania genre. Level design too like in a metroidvania, with checkpoints, forked locations, when you can choose destination, that give exploring feeling. But Cyber Shadow doesnt play with that too much, so in a core that still kinda straight platformer game
    CS also have some valuable flaws that make gameplay worse that it can be:
    First of all - SP system, that literally blocks most of gameplay features, makes you feel uncomfortable by using them
    Also during all game you will be struggling with lack of control on character. He cannot sit, cannot change direction of attacks, but some enemy designed in a way as if that mechanics IN a game. That so strange
    In conclusion, CS can bring you a some fun experience if youre a fan of genre, but its totally not a best representative of retro platformers    … Expand
  21. Tonetoelewa
    Jan 27, 2022
    7
    This game is for retro tryhards only, patience and tactical play through memorisation is what makes this game enjoyable =))
  22. Fletchous
    Jun 11, 2021
    8
    A great call back to retro gaming!
    Yes it's going to be pain enduring hard, but that's part of the charm!
    Music is magnificent, one of my favorites this year from a big platformer pkaieti.
  23. HolyFoxx
    Apr 1, 2022
    7
    The game is not bad, but not good.

    This graphic makes me remember some 8 bit old games.
    Difficulty is a bit hard. It is not easy to play with this combat system.

Awards & Rankings

59
#59 Best PC Game of 2021
96
#96 Most Discussed PC Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. CD-Action
    Sep 1, 2021
    95
    You can definitely feel Shovel Knight vibes, which is not surprising, as the developers of the 2014 hit platformer offered to help polish Cyber Shadow and published it. The result is a spectacular game full of surprises, ingenious pitfalls and fantastic boss encounters. Add a simply brilliant level design, wonderful art style and great adrenaline-pumping music, and you get a game you want more and more of despite of dying all the time. [03/2021, p.46]
  2. Gameblog.fr
    Feb 22, 2021
    80
    Cyber Shadow is an impressive old school ninja game. The kind of retro experience that can't be recommended to everyone, as it shines by being very very difficult, but a challenge that some stubborn players asking themselves if they still have good reflexes and memory will enjoy for sure.
    Read full review
  3. Meristation
    Feb 7, 2021
    79
    Cyber Shadow is a hell of a ride for those who worship 8-Bit aesthetics. Yacht Club Games and Mekaskull deliver a splendid homage to the NES, even though many checkpoints will heavily punish your ego.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »