stevecarverjr
Cyber Shadow 2021
Log Status
Completed
Playing
Backlog
Wishlist
Rating
Time Played
--
Days in Journal
1 day
Last played
January 31, 2021
Platforms Played
Surprisingly great. Builds beautifully on the foundation laid by Ninja Gaiden. Starts simple and satisfying, gets more complex and interesting as it goes on, drip-feeding you new abilities.
The abilities are a lot of fun to use but take skill to use effectively, which means there's a really high skill ceiling. If you know what you're doing, you can fly through certain rooms. For instance, the plunge attack actually bounces you upward ever so slightly once activated, meaning you can use it as a sort of double jump if you time it properly. And once you unlock the dash, it practically becomes a whole new game. None of the abilities are all that unique, but they're all extremely well-utilized to the point where I didn't care.
One unique mechanic the game does possess is the gadgets. Gadgets are basically powerups you can find throughout the levels (and at certain checkpoints, if you've got the money) which all change the game in interesting ways, and only go away once you take a certain amount of damage. It's a fun way to incentivize you to play carefully, as well as add some variety to the gameplay.
Main issue I had was that I think the spacing of the checkpoints was far too unforgiving. It's already a brutally difficult game, and having the checkpoints spread so far apart makes it feel tedious at times (though it at least grants you the mercy of always putting one immediately before boss encounters). This problem becomes more amplified towards the end, where the game really takes the gloves off. I've seen a lot of complaints about the difficulty, but I have a feeling that most players would be fine with it if dying didn't mean having to redo such large stretches of gameplay over and over again. Doesn't add to the challenge at all, just serves to test the player's patience, as well as turn rooms and obstacles that were once fun to maneuver through into a chore.
Aside from that, though, I have no complaints. Excellent level design, great platforming mechanics, good length, fantastic bosses (seriously, some of the best bosses I've encountered in a game like this). This was a joy to experience.
The abilities are a lot of fun to use but take skill to use effectively, which means there's a really high skill ceiling. If you know what you're doing, you can fly through certain rooms. For instance, the plunge attack actually bounces you upward ever so slightly once activated, meaning you can use it as a sort of double jump if you time it properly. And once you unlock the dash, it practically becomes a whole new game. None of the abilities are all that unique, but they're all extremely well-utilized to the point where I didn't care.
One unique mechanic the game does possess is the gadgets. Gadgets are basically powerups you can find throughout the levels (and at certain checkpoints, if you've got the money) which all change the game in interesting ways, and only go away once you take a certain amount of damage. It's a fun way to incentivize you to play carefully, as well as add some variety to the gameplay.
Main issue I had was that I think the spacing of the checkpoints was far too unforgiving. It's already a brutally difficult game, and having the checkpoints spread so far apart makes it feel tedious at times (though it at least grants you the mercy of always putting one immediately before boss encounters). This problem becomes more amplified towards the end, where the game really takes the gloves off. I've seen a lot of complaints about the difficulty, but I have a feeling that most players would be fine with it if dying didn't mean having to redo such large stretches of gameplay over and over again. Doesn't add to the challenge at all, just serves to test the player's patience, as well as turn rooms and obstacles that were once fun to maneuver through into a chore.
Aside from that, though, I have no complaints. Excellent level design, great platforming mechanics, good length, fantastic bosses (seriously, some of the best bosses I've encountered in a game like this). This was a joy to experience.