Greetings Indie Warriors and welcome to our review of 9 Years of Shadows on Steam/PC! 9 Years of Shadows is a musical Metroidvania action game with a gorgeous art style. Can the gameplay match its beauty enough for this to be an indie classic? Find out in our full review presented by Literary Rose.
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*A review code was provided for the purpose of this review*
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Will you be checking out 9 Years of Shadows? Let us know in the comments below! Help us bring a voice to the voiceless ones in gaming at http://patreon.com/idreamofindiegames
I played this game on next fest last year and while it had some issues it really impressed me and I have been looking forward to the release tomorrow so was glad to see this review and especially the lamp so if it's not too pricey I will get it at launch. Shame about the save system, I hate games doing that. It actually makes boss encounters worse because it discourages experimentation and encouraged using the most boring but predictable strategies because of the exhaustive trek back.
This sounds awesome. I'm so glad that it's really come so far and is just so brilliant. Hopefully those game breaking bugs can be ironed out and there can be an option to add some more save points added sometime. But this is sounding incredible and I think I will have to pick this up some time down the line. Thanks for the review.
The game look quite fun, I'll have to give it a try!
And bonus point to the character design, especially the main character, directly out of Saint Seiya, always a good reference! 🙂
This is probably going to be a must-play for me and it seems like the game was worth the wait. Though I do suspect Apino is a pervert. I think that bear can heal the protagonist without hugging her, but he lies about it just because he wants to maximize physical contact with her. That's why he refuses to heal her unless it is a lengthy hug, probably an uncomfortably lengthy one for her as well.
Thanks for the review! Quick question, I really like your reviews and games you cover but was wondering, why do you not give scores for your reviews? I think that would be very useful info since it could give us what your conclusion is considering the pros and cons in games.
Very lovely review style ❤
Pixel art looks incredible, very pretty art direction.
The elevator bits are clearly a Easter egg or tribute to Metroid Fusion which did that to.
I am not a fan of the health/stamina combo bar XD or the lack of save points, every boss should have a save point nearby.
The music is something I guess.
Will pick up depending on the price, I never get tired of a good Metroidvania ^^
Ordinarily, I'm a bit turned off by the idea of having only a singular main weapon throughout the duration of an entire game (especially one that utilizes such expansive design as this would seem to). However, in his game's case I'm enthralled with the idea of hacking and jabbing my way through the literal armies of monsters that'll be thrown my way with a halberd. I feel like halberds are really cool weapons that don't get enough time in the spotlight in any game with weapon based combat, so to have one that flips the script on that is refreshingly welcome. I think I'll give this one a try down the road. I'd be more inclined to jump on it immediately, but I am in the middle of so many games right now (both new and old) that adding another to my expansive repertoire would likely be an unwise move, in terms of time management.
Your last critique makes this an automatic hard pass for me. No saves outside boss rooms is something that Hollow Knight did and is also one of the reasons I dropped that game. What does the player learn by having to retread long sections before bosses? Games like these don't respect player time. I'll wait until this game gets a few patches and if they change their save point system I'll pick it up.
“Close your eyes and listen”
annoying mobile game advert cuts in instantly 😁🫶
Bad save systems are a deal breaker for me sadly- joycons are too expensive lol
Theres nothing like a ten minute walk back to a boss to get your arse handed to you again.
Shame because the game looks stunning i agree and nice gameplay but the bosses …
(grrrr arrrgh)🧛♀️
Think I'll wait for them to iron out some of the bugs before I give this a play
This is why I don't understand igarashis choice to go with 3d 2d for bloodstained. He said it's too expensive to find good pixel artists and its easier on development but they got kickstarter millions of dollars and here we are with another indie developer doing such great art and its their first release
Getting some hefty magical girl vibes from those animated sequences, which makes me wonder just how trustworthy that teddy bear truly is.
90% crying about save points are not nearby every BOSS, You don't know dark souls do You?
Great review there, lady~ This is a game I want to like more than I do, being an avid mv lover, and after the overhyped disappointment that was(imo) Vernal Edge, I was hoping this could wash away some of the bitter taste that game left. I found this to be an acceptable if not mediocre platformer title with metroidvania elements, at its core, even though its labelled as an mv. I have no problem with a game being either short or linear, just to make things clear. But I did experience the one aforementioned after-death bug where the game stopped working after dying to bosses, and I felt much the same as you did on that front. As for save point frequency, I didnt so much mind that, what really grinded my gears were rooms with thick, tall enemies if forced you to fight. I found myself trying traversal techs only to be punished, that, imo, is a pretty large oversight. The game's release date has been pushed back around 3 times now, there's no excuse for this! And lastly, though I understand how the shield/ammo mechanic works, I strongly dislike it. Most of the time in mini boss fights and enemy fights alike, I'm forced to use that blue-bar precision full-heal technique, which although I mostly have no problem getting the timing for, it feels like a necessity in most fights, and just feel like an after-though – my biggest and most frustrating example of this, was a certain underwater main boss with two phases that took way too many tries to defeat because of this mechanic. This game doesnt feel rewarding, and barely has progression of power. A slightly bigger blue bar…so what? It doesnt feel like you get more defense. And as for the 1-time armor upgrades, wow, I can do a base damage of 3 instead of 2!!
This is a game that'll be first and foremost judged for its art-style, and thats all good and well, but its also one where the more you play, the more you see the cracks start to surface, and its almost made me a bit aware, of upcoming titles. Here's hoping next month's(hopeful) "Afterimage" will have its mechanics and gameplay talked about as much or more, than its look. Tmv~