CYBER SHADOW ABILITIES PRO
CYBER SHADOW ABILITIES SERIES

At that point, the only thing one could really ask for to be more inclusive of those with hearing impairments would be a description of the music, especially during the cutscenes where it’s used to punctuate a dramatic moment. This is actually one area where Cyber Shadow tops Street Cleaner because Street Cleaner uses a bold blue color for the main character and often puts him against blue backdrops.įrom an auditory perspective, Cyber Shadow benefits from having a text-driven plot with bold white text on a black background. This makes it much easier to play than a lot of 8-bit action platformers where players could easily lose track of their character due to colors being too similar to one another. There’s also a lot of contrast in the game’s world, so the player can easily see Shadow against any stage. Personally, it helped out with minimizing joint fatigue and stiffness after a three-hour play session.Ĭyber Shadow is quite accessible from a visual point of view thanks to using bold colors and large text. 8bitdo’s controllers also have a nice turbo functionality that I wouldn’t recommend for most players, but if you have tendinitis or arthritis that makes repetitive button presses difficult in a prolonged period, give it a shot. Here, that manifested itself in quick left-to-right movements not registering, but they worked out fine on the SN30 Pro+.

CYBER SHADOW ABILITIES PRO

Even with a newer d-pad, the Pro Controller doesn’t quite nail down pixel-perfect platforming as well as it should. The boss patterns will require a loss or two to really nail down, but using the 8bitdo SN30 Pro+ for the Switch version made the game easier in several ways compared to the Pro Controller. Combat against rank-and-file foes relies on timing, and a turbo controller won’t really help there. The minute-to-minute platforming requires great precision, and anyone with fine-motor impairments will be unable to enjoy that aspect of the game. Cyber Shadow is an incredible game to play and one that requires precision, which makes it a mixed bag when it comes to accessibility in some regards. That kind of issue takes it down a notch from the absolute upper echelon of action platformers like Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden, but it’s only a small notch, and for a one-man crew, that’s remarkable. The overall game feel of Cyber Shadow is rock solid even though a few controls aren’t quite as responsive as they could be. They’re few and far between but really kill the flow of the game when they happen. Checkpoints are usually fairly frequent, but there are some stretches where there’s a large gap between them filled with easy-death scenarios that cause the experience to drag a bit. There’s no fail state if Shadow runs out of lives, only checkpoints that require a bit of retreading.

The developer has thrown in some modern conveniences like an in-game shop that allows for health regeneration or a minor power boost.

Shadow’s abilities scale up nicely throughout, and every new stage makes him feel stronger through gaining new moves and the increase in the player’s skills and experience. The plot is developed through Ninja Gaiden-esque cinematics, only with far more detail than would be seen on the NES and with a greater emphasis on character interaction and motivation. Shadow starts off with a lot of his prior powers depleted and learns his clan has been taken over by a former mentor. Cyber Shadow is a short-range action platformer through and through with few exceptions. Street Cleaner aimed for a mix of short and long-range action and ran the risk of not nailing either. Cyber Shadow, also a throwback side-scrolling action platformer, is a love letter to games like Ninja Gaiden and attempts to offer a challenging experience while including some modern features. The end result is a game that certainly accomplishes that goal but winds up a bit lower on the accessibility totem pole. Recently, I covered Street Cleaner, a throwback side-scrolling action platformer with an emphasis on being as accessible as possible to all players. Aarne “MekaSkull” Hunziker has crafted something that, like Shovel Knight, tries to evoke the past while modernizing the experience.

CYBER SHADOW ABILITIES SERIES

Shovel Knight helped showcase that legitimately great games can come from Kickstarter funding, and their continual post-launch content releases have created one of the longest tails in sales for a game in modern history. Now, they’re using the cache of credibility they gained from that series of high-quality releases to give the rub to a young upstart. Yacht Club Games didn’t create the first faux-retro NES game, but they did craft one of the best in Shovel Knight.

Cyber shadow abilities