2021 is well on its way. With January winding down there hasn’t been a lot of games that have caught my attention. Nowadays I spend my days playing old PS4 games on my PS5 as I wait for the new releases. Well, this wait is finally over, Cyber Shadow is the first must-play game of 2021. If you love hard as nails, old school, 8bit games, Cyber Shadow should be on your radar.
In Cyber Shadow, you play as Shadow, the only survivor of his clan after Dr. Progen and his evil army have taken over Mekacity. Cyber Shadow tells a compelling story with mysteries and twists and turns as you try to discover what happened to Mekacity and how it got to where it is. Cyber Shadow’s story is told through character dialogue and cut scenes. The story is very interesting, especially for an 8bit game. The way the story is told reminded me a lot of “The Messenger”, another 8bit game, and I completely loved it. As you play the story you will be visiting different levels and each level feels different and unique. The music that’s attached to every level is fantastic. Seriously, Cyber Shadow has some of the best retro-style music I have heard since Celeste. I found myself humming along with the music every time I played this game.
As I just mentioned, Cyber Shadow is punishing. I am someone that takes pride in my platforming skills, but Cyber Shadow challenged me in a way that I didn’t think it would. There were times where I had to just turn off my PS5 and walk away from my TV as bosses kicked my butt time after time. Every victory felt earned and I love that. By the time I had reached the halfway point of the game, I felt Shadow become stronger and stronger and I couldn’t wait to put my new earned skills to the test. Cyber Shadow’s action is a highlight of this game. In the 10 chapters that it takes to beat this game, you will face some of the most unique boss fights. I won’t mention which one is my favorite for the sake of spoilers, but there is a boss fight halfway through the game that I loved. From its design to the music, to the arena, everything about this boss fight was memorable. However, I do wish that Cyber Shadow gave you the option to choose the difficulty in which you want to play. I get it, this game is meant to challenge you, but the punishing nature of the game may turn a lot of people away from this game.
Yacht Club Games has published some of the best arcade games. Back in 2014 Yacht Club Games published Shovel Knight, an old-school platformer game that everyone was in love with. Fast forward to 2021 and Yacht Club Games publishes another fantastic old school game. Cyber Shadow may be one of the first new releases of 2021, but it’s a game that we will for sure be talking about at the end of 2021. Cyber Shadow releases January 26th on Xbox, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and Steam. Go check it out, its pretty special.
Score: 9/10
Review code provided by publisher