To say I’m a Yacht Club fanboy is a bit of an understatement. I’ve been a fan since they brought us the first iteration of Shovel Knight, and my respect grew by leaps and bounds with each successive DLC adventure. And I’ve known for a couple weeks they had something new to share. Well, now that something has been revealed, and it’s a retro ninja adventure called Cyber Shadow. To my surprise, it’s not being developed by the team, but instead has been a passion project by Aarne Hunziker for a couple years now. Given Yacht Club’s pedigree for old school wonder, I’m sure they will be the right group to help bring this Ninja Gaiden-inspired tale to fans.
The good news is, Cyber Shadow will have a demo available at PAX East. The bad news is, I won’t be there, though oprainfall will have a talented writer covering the show. Until then, here are some details. It’s coming to Steam, PS4, Switch and Xbox One, and is slated to cost $14.99. Here are some additional details about the game:
- Dash, slice, and leap through masterfully designed levels filled with sharply honed ninja platforming action.
- Authentic 8-bit presentation with handcrafted sprites, a detailed pixel aesthetic, and perfect controls. Modern touches like fluid animation, multi-layered parallax backgrounds, and evolved game design.
- Take down more than a dozen apocalyptic bosses – from enormous war machines to your synthetic clan rivals.
- Relive the authenticity of classic 8-bit challenge or experience it for the first time … with an added convenience or two.
- Rescue your clan to unlock permanent Ninjutsu skills and abilities – combining them seamlessly as only the warrior of legend could.
- Search for secrets as you explore the ruined world. Return to your old haunts to find supplies, items, and upgrades.
- Experience a gripping story – told both in-game and through animated cinematic story scenes between the action. Who can be trusted? How far will Shadow go to protect his clan and the one he loves?
- Pulse-pounding soundtrack by Enrique Martin, produced by Jake Kaufman.
I personally am incredibly excited about Cyber Shadow, despite never being patient enough to beat a Ninja Gaiden game. It looks to take many elements from classics and mesh them together in a lushly dark presentation. Be sure to stay tuned to oprainfall for more info about the game as it releases, and you can read more details about the game below.
Yacht Club Games, the Marina del Rey-based studio behind the hugely popular Shovel Knight franchise, will be unveiling cyber ninja game Cyber Shadow at PAX East this week.
In Cyber Shadow – the newest addition to the Yacht Club Games roster – the world has been taken over by synthetic lifeforms. A desperate plea for help sets Shadow on a journey to uncover what set the world on the path to perpetual ruin. Slash through techno hordes, leap past traps, and nimbly navigate the ruins of Mekacity. Only you can unlock the secrets to your clan’s ancient powers in Cyber Shadow – a quintessential take on the ninja action genre.
“It’s a huge honor to work with Aarne Hunziker on Cyber Shadow. We understand more than most what a massive undertaking it is to bring a game you’ve been dreaming about for years into the world. We’re here to help Aarne deliver his vision – taking care of the ‘boring stuff’ so that he can do what he does best!”
– Sean Velasco, Game Director, Yacht Club Games
“Working on Cyber Shadow has been exhausting but amazing at the same time. I’m thrilled that Yacht Club Games has taken an interest in my ninja game. It feels surreal for sure, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.”
– Aarne ‘MEKASKULL’ Hunziker, creator of Cyber Shadow and founder of Mechanical Head Games
Yacht Club Games reached out to Aarne two years ago about getting involved with Cyber Shadow. Aarne had been developing the game on his own for years with no intention of working with a publisher – but Yacht Club Games was the only team he’d ever consider to help him hone his creation. Aarne described Cyber Shadow to the Shovel Knight creators as an “NES-style game that had the level design principles of Mario, the skills and action of Ninja Gaiden, the enemy designs of Contra, and the dark visual aesthetic of Batman.” What the team played was a brilliantly elevated take on classic ninja action. After 6 years and 5 Shovel Knight games, Yacht Club Games had become associated with authentic 8-bit fun – and the company was confident it could rely on its past experiences and expertise to take Cyber Shadow to the next level. To both studios, Shovel Knight and Cyber Shadow offer players the trials of NES games … without any of the tribulations!
Yacht Club Games is handling the marketing, porting, business, and typical roles of a publisher so that Aarne can focus on the core game development. In addition, Yacht Club Games is deeply involved in giving design feedback – imparting some of the lessons learned from the Shovel Knight saga along the way.
