Nine years of shadows isn’t lots, actually; I’ve skilled a long time greater than that. The shadows of my lifetime, nonetheless, have all been forged over colours. Not so for our hero, Europa. Living in a world that’s cursed to be colorless, she ventures into the depths of Talos to root out the supply of its corruption. But she’s not alone; she has a surprisingly helpful magical teddy bear.
As one would anticipate from a sport that takes almost all of its beats from Castlevania, 9 Years of Shadows facilities round exploring a fortress. Each space is damaged into particular person screens containing a mixture of enemies, puzzles to unravel, hazards to go, and secrets and techniques to unlock, and characters to satisfy—good and unhealthy.
Discovering new areas and at last accessing the openings or ranges you couldn’t attain earlier than gives many of the sport’s rewards.
9 Years of Shadows does job of tying entry into Europa’s talents. Early within the sport, I may inform there was an accessible space under the floor of the water. However, my character couldn’t dive. Later, Europa acquired particular elemental armor that allowed her to swim. Problem solved, certain, however the armor wasn’t only for diving. The builders tied transferring waterfalls into Talos’ structure, requiring Europa to leap from waterfall to waterfall with the intention to progress. It’s a enjoyable method to make the central character’s talents matter greater than you’d suppose when first buying them.
Speaking of those elemental armors, some enemies are weaker towards particular varieties. These are indicated by colours, tying in properly with the sport’s theme. So, even if you don’t want a particular outfit to progress, you’ll be swapping between them usually (a easy button faucet) to extra effectively take out enemies.
I ought to level out that these enemies are often fairly simple to take out, regardless. Unlike some Castlevania-style video games that overload you with protection and assault choices, 9 Years of Shadows retains issues 9 sorts of straightforward. Most enemies require nothing greater than your primary dodge transfer, a close-quarters assault, and specifically acquired long-range assaults. The long-range assaults are OP, actually, as they can be utilized intermittently infinitely. Using them depletes your defend. If you’re hit with out your defend, you die. However, the aforementioned teddy bear, Apino, can replenish your defend at virtually any level. Provided you’re standing on strong floor, holding ZR will shortly fill it as much as about 80%. This means that you can stand out of hurt’s approach whereas attacking most enemies.
Of course, this isn’t at all times the most effective technique. The sport is stuffed with bosses and mini-bosses, most of which would require you to combine up dodges and assaults whereas determining their patterns. If you’ve change into lazy with the ranged assaults, you’re in a little bit of bother. Luckily, bosses are preceded by a save-point. Some are a bit additional again than I’d like them to be, but it surely’s by no means exhausting to get again to the battle.
The bosses themselves are sometimes fairly spectacular, and the battles are enjoyable. They ramp up the problem significantly, in fact, however I by no means felt victory was past yet one more strive. It generally took a dozen extra tries, but it surely felt like one can be sufficient. Oh, and I have to as soon as once more vote No on the problem of multi-stage boss battles with no save level, though I do know I’ll by no means be on the successful facet on that poll measure.
Visually, 9 Years of Shadows is numerous enjoyable. The enemies and environments are intricately detailed, and the varied settings are fantastically coloured—the second once we first pop from grayscale to paint is paying homage to Dorothy touchdown in Oz. Clearly outlined boundaries make Talos simple to navigate, and many of the secret areas present entry clues when you’re paying consideration.
Miguel Hasson’s soundtrack can be actually good. And contemplating the sport’s emphasis on music and melody, it’s essential they have been capable of examine that field. I imply, not solely does the sport additionally characteristic items scored by Michiru Yamane (Castlevania collection) and Norihiko Hibino (Metal Gear Solid collection), it locations these composers in the sport as NPCs (together with a number of different names you’re sure to acknowledge).
Unfortunately, there are few points that stop 9 Years of Shadows from standing on the prime of this yr’s indie releases. First, the framerate is inconsistent on the Switch. It’s principally manageable, however generally annoying in the course of the boss fights. Second, the benefit of development if you’re not preventing a boss is sure to bore some gamers. And lastly, I did encounter a bug that utterly froze the sport. This isn’t factor, but it surely’s worse in video games the place you’re consistently pushing your approach towards the subsequent undiscovered save level.
If you’re capable of overlook these points, 9 Years of Shadows is a strong buy. Its visuals and gameplay are designed for the massive display, however they scale properly to handheld mode, making this a worthwhile alternative whether or not you search a diversion at dwelling, on the go, or…within the shadows.
