Shovel Knight studio Yacht Club Games has formally unveiled Cyber Shadow, a Ninja-Gaiden-inspired 8-bit-style platformer from developer Aarne “MekaSkull” Hunziker.
Cyber Shadow sets players loose among the ruins of an enemy-infested, trap-laden Mekacity, and is described as an NES-style platformer with “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.”
It promises “authentic 8-bit presentation”, “sharply honed ninja platforming action”, unlockable Ninjutsu skills and abilities, over a dozen bosses, and more. You can get a taste of all that (as well as a cracking ditty from Enrique Martin’s soundtrack) in the trailer below.
According to Yacht Club, who will acting as publishing for Cyber Shadow, Hunziker has been working on the game as a solo project for almost a decade. However, the studio has been assisting Hunziker for the last 12 months, helping polish up the experience and deliver what it calls the “next quintessential Ninja Action game”.
“In this way, the game became a bit of a co-development,” the studio wrote, “YCG is handling the marketing, porting, business side, and typical roles of a publisher so Aarne can focus on the core game development. Additionally, we’re also deeply involved in giving design feedback, imparting our lessons from developing the Shovel Knight saga so Aarne can create the best version of his game possible.”
There’s no release date for Cyber Shadow just yet, but Yacht Club says it’ll cost £11.39/$14.99 USD when it launches on Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Switch.