85
9 Years of Shadows is an approachable pickup for anyone interested in a light and charming metroidvania. If you want some colorful and thoughtful action in your life, this one's for you.
65
9 Years of Shadow is not a true metroidvania and should not be approached as such. It is a scrolling action game that is linear most of the time and does not have much content, as you can get 100% in less than ten hours. The combo system is very simple, with few moves available, and attacks from a distance are far too powerful. If you are a fan of the genre you might give it a chance, as soon as you find it in a price range you think is appropriate, but don't expect it to be your new benchmark in terms of quality.
80
Those technical troubles aside, 9 Years of Shadows is a marvelous adventure. It’s a more intimate take on the metroidvania formula, but what it lacks in scale it more than makes up for in clever design and synergy between its moving parts. The sheer beauty of the game and the world it asks you to explore don’t hurt, either.
8
Muy buen metroidvania con un progreso claro, hermosos gráficos y música de calidad. Los enemigos normales son algo repetitivos, pero los jefes están bien diferenciados. Me gustó lo de poder cambiar entre distintos elementos durante el juego para variar el sistema de combate. Historia decente, buenos personajes.
7
Metroidvania welches gute Ansätze hat, aber viele, welche nicht bis zu Ende gedacht sind. Ich habe zuvor das super tolle Metroidvania Prince of Persia gespielt, daher ist der Vergleich mit so einem AAA Spiel auch recht unfair/schwer. Nichtsdestotrotz konnte ich mit der Steuerung sowie mit der Geschichte bis zum Ende nicht ganz warm werden. Dazu kam, dass das Spiel an und für sich recht einfach ist, bis auf der Endboss. Kurz vor dem Ende wird die Steuerung bzw. das Gameplay auf links gedreht und der Endboss steht vor der Tür. Fand ich recht unglücklich gelöst. Insgesamt 7 von 10 Punkten. Für geringes Geld und bei Metroidvania Lust aber trotzdem empfehlenswert.
4
I wanted so much to like this game. The art is beautiful. Game feel is great. Movement is typically pretty fast and responsive. But the more I played it. The more I just wanted it to be done. It wants to be a metroidvania, but it just didn't quite meet the mark. Exploration is pretty fun but make sure you find everything the first time around, because looking for any missed upgrades is absolute agony. On top of that, boss fights are frequent and uninspired. Out of the huge amount of bosses given the relatively small size of this game, I only actually enjoyed fighting 3 or 4 of them. Europa's moves etc is not nearly varied enough to keep things interesting for long. All of that is on top of the incredibly frustrating healing mechanic, and you're in for a bad time. The last nail in the coffin is poor performance issues. It's pretty obvious certain parts of this game were not optimized. Near the end of the game, a certain boss fight becomes so choppy that it felt basically unplayable. I wanted to like this game, I really did. But all 9 Years of Shadows did was leave a bad taste in my mouth and the feeling that I wasted my money in the end. If your looking for a decent metroidvania, look elsewhere. 9 Years of Shadows certainly isn't one of them.
9 Years of Shadows
Released On:
Mar 27, 2023
Metascore
Mixed or Average
74
User score
Generally Favorable
7.7
My Score
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All Platforms
Based on 15 Critic Reviews
74
Based on 4 Critic Reviews
76
iOS (iPhone/iPad)
tbd
Based on 2 Critic Reviews
tbd
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
74
tbd
tbd
Metascore
Mixed or Average
74
53% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
47% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Mar 27, 2023
90
If any part of 9 Years of Shadows looks appealing to you, you owe it to yourself to pick it up. This is an amazing game made by a heretofore unknown team, and I can only hope that Halberd Studios has plans for a follow-up. They deserve to be showered in praise, and this game deserves your time and attention.
Apr 4, 2023
85
Nine Years of Shadows is a good Metroidvania with an impressive presentation and intriguing world. Gameplay mechanics will be instantly familiar to any genre fans and easy to understand for newcomers. There aren’t too many surprises in the narrative but it is imbued with a sense of optimism that kept me engaged. I wanted more variety for combat encounters and a smoother difficulty curve for the bosses. The game also has a weird tendency to put its save rooms just outside of the way enough that it’s easy to forget about them and lose progress. But otherwise, Nine Years of Shadows execute a good idea well and its look allows it to distinguish itself from competitors.
User score
Generally Favorable
7.7
67% Positive
36 Ratings
36 Ratings
20% Mixed
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
13% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
Apr 15, 2023
10
Although is a short game, what the games offers is a classic experience that reminded me a lot of Aria of Sorrow and Megaman Zero. The music is phenomenal and the backgrounds are breathtaking.
Apr 14, 2023
10
Short, fun & pretty metroidvania. 9 Years of Shadows is a nice and focused on the basics of a tight Metroidvania which goes great for what they want to show. This is the Lo-fi Metroidvania I didn´t know I wanted.
Apr 10, 2023
80
An enjoyable, entry level metroidvania. It looks, sounds and plays great even if it is a little on the short side.
Mar 27, 2023
75
Hopefully, post-launch patches will arrive to remedy this experience to its best possible iteration because it deserves it. Underneath it all, 9 years of Shadows is a fantastic time assumedly hampered by developmental circumstances.
Mar 31, 2023
70
9 Years of Shadows can be frustrating in places, but if you’re looking for a 2D Metroidvania with solid combat, enjoyable platforming, and beautiful world design, it ticks all of those boxes.
Apr 12, 2023
63
9 Years of Shadows clearly shows that Halberd Studios' underlying ideas are good, but their development hasn't been flawless. Despite a particularly lively background imagery, which mixes different influences in an interesting way, staged with considerable care in the graphics department, this short adventure fails to exploit its full potential.
Mar 27, 2023
60
I can’t pretend the glitches I encountered in 9 Years of Shadows weren’t frustrating, especially as a backer. I can only hope that Halberd Studios and Freedom Games take my complaints to heart and does everything they can to patch these problems as quickly as possible. Because underneath all the glitches, there’s a truly fantastic adventure, and one I still really enjoyed. If you’re a fan of Metroidvanias, definitely put this one on your wishlist. Just maybe wait on pulling the trigger until the developers have had a chance to make some necessary fixes.
Apr 14, 2023
10
This game is a "back to basic" metroidvania but in a totally good way. It feels like a really old game brought to the present. It's vibrant, lively and it's easy to pick up on the game mechanics quickly. The gameplay is smooth, the cutscenes are very well done. The animation is amazing, the way Europa's dress seems to flow is stunning.
Apr 27, 2024
7
Metroidvania welches gute Ansätze hat, aber viele, welche nicht bis zu Ende gedacht sind. Ich habe zuvor das super tolle Metroidvania Prince of Persia gespielt, daher ist der Vergleich mit so einem AAA Spiel auch recht unfair/schwer. Nichtsdestotrotz konnte ich mit der Steuerung sowie mit der Geschichte bis zum Ende nicht ganz warm werden. Dazu kam, dass das Spiel an und für sich recht einfach ist, bis auf der Endboss. Kurz vor dem Ende wird die Steuerung bzw. das Gameplay auf links gedreht und der Endboss steht vor der Tür. Fand ich recht unglücklich gelöst. Insgesamt 7 von 10 Punkten. Für geringes Geld und bei Metroidvania Lust aber trotzdem empfehlenswert.
Jun 28, 2023
7
Es un juego hermoso en lo artístico pero su exploración y desarrollo no se siente tan orgánico. Como es el caso de las armaduras que no convencen en su ejecución y su planteamiento tan lineal en la exploración que a ratos suele cansar y aburrir. Como primer acercamiento no esta mal, pero si llevas años jugando este genero terminaras decepcionado por su escasa rejugabilidad y por las altas expectativas que se genero durante su desarrollo.
Dec 26, 2023
4
I wanted so much to like this game. The art is beautiful. Game feel is great. Movement is typically pretty fast and responsive. But the more I played it. The more I just wanted it to be done. It wants to be a metroidvania, but it just didn't quite meet the mark. Exploration is pretty fun but make sure you find everything the first time around, because looking for any missed upgrades is absolute agony. On top of that, boss fights are frequent and uninspired. Out of the huge amount of bosses given the relatively small size of this game, I only actually enjoyed fighting 3 or 4 of them. Europa's moves etc is not nearly varied enough to keep things interesting for long. All of that is on top of the incredibly frustrating healing mechanic, and you're in for a bad time. The last nail in the coffin is poor performance issues. It's pretty obvious certain parts of this game were not optimized. Near the end of the game, a certain boss fight becomes so choppy that it felt basically unplayable. I wanted to like this game, I really did. But all 9 Years of Shadows did was leave a bad taste in my mouth and the feeling that I wasted my money in the end. If your looking for a decent metroidvania, look elsewhere. 9 Years of Shadows certainly isn't one of them.
SummaryFor 9 long years, the world has been submerged in the deepest of shadows, robbing every object and living creature of their color. Once a thriving civilization, the people have forgotten the warmth of the sun, the joy of laughter and the promise of a prosperous future. Many brave souls have tried to venture inside the corrupting depths ... Read More
Platforms:
- PC
- Nintendo Switch
- iOS (iPhone/iPad)
- Xbox Series X
- PlayStation 5
- PlayStation 4
- Xbox One
Initial Release Date:Mar 27, 2023
Developer:
- Halberd Studios
Publisher:
