Cyber Shadow

Management loves saving money, so when Stacey Henley says she’s using fewer pixels and reusing old ideas they were all aboard.

- Stacey Henley

SPECS

Minimum

OS: Ubuntu 16.04

CPU: 2GHz (32-/64-bit)

Memory: 1GB

HDD: 1GB

GPU: ATI Radeon X1300, NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT, Intel HD 3000

Remember shoulder pads, Rubik’s Cubes, and dancing to Duran Duran on your Walkman? This author doesn’t because they were born in the 1990s, but Cyber Shadow can make any millennial feel like they can remember those times all the same. The eightbit ninja sidescroller is dripping with 1980s cool, from the Transformerstyle bots, a ridiculous motorbike section, and the NES-era Ninja Gaiden-inspired cutscenes.

Ninja Gaiden isn’t the only game Cyber Shadow takes its cues from, though. There’s obvious shades of The Messenger and Castlevania in the level design and boss battle format, while each level’s many hidden pathways are reminiscent of Metroid. Perhaps the most obvious comparison to draw is to Shovel Knight, with the pair sharing a publisher in Yacht Club Games.

Cyber Shadow is a much more concentrated experience than Shovel Knight, though, with a heavy emphasis on action and combat. It’s also a tad more forgiving. ‘Retro action sidescroller’ is such a crowded genre that it’s difficult to avoid unfavourable comparisons (something else has always done it better), but Cyber Shadow is fun and different enough to find a place near the front of the pack.

Ninja chainsaw