9 Years of Shadows is a game that I honestly could not tell you how I discovered. If I had to guess, I found it one day while doing Steam’s Discovery Queue. Nonetheless, it’s a game I’ve played through, beaten, and now it’s time to talk about it.
Mechanics That Stand Out
There are a handful of different mechanics you’ll end up using in 9 Years of Shadows. The first one is the healing mechanic. I hadn’t seen one like this in a game before, so I knew I had to make note of it. Once your health reaches a critical level, the game has a quick time event on your health bar. Land the marker in the allotted margin and you gain a decent amount of your health back. I really enjoyed this mechanic a lot as it lets the game have another chance to keep you on your toes.
The armor switching mechanic was something that I both did and did not care for throughout the game. The mechanic is useful while traversing through the areas fighting enemies with the same outer glow as your armor. Past that, there really is no reason for this. It really feels as if you’re going through options a few times per area just to do a bit more damage to some of the enemies.
The Hits and Misses of Combat
The gameplay and combat are, unfortunately, the weakest parts in 9 Years of Shadows. Enemies go down easy if the armor correlates to their weakness. It doesn’t seem like this affects the bosses, however. Those battle are more trial and error that’s dedicated to memorization of attack patterns to get another hit in. This is something that I do and don’t like as well. I like the boss battles being beaten with your own understanding of the patterns, but also makes a big mechanic like the armor switching worthless unless you’re walking around in the main world.
That’s about as much gameplay you’ll be getting during your playthrough, so I hope that combat itself isn’t what you need in a game.
9 Years of Shadows follows the emotional story of Europa, a warrior training to bring back the color that’s been missing from her world for the past nine years. You’re not alone on this adventure though. Europa is joined by a cuddly teddy bear named Apino. The stuffed animal is not the only thing you’ll encounter on your adventure. The monsters found in this game all have nice designs and that’s kind of where it ends. A good chunk of the enemies are the same, some being reskins of another enemy. On a good note, the enemies do help make the world within Talos seem alive. No area is really barren, and the monsters and environmental hazards make Talos a living, breathing location.
The Main Duo: Europa and Apino
There’s only two main characters to talk about in 9 Years of Shadows. Europa is the main character who you play as during your time in the game. She feels as if she is one of the only people able to break the curse, despite all of her self-doubt.
Apino shows up and heals Europa after she is beaten by an enemy. He is a little source of healing and projectiles when the time calls for it.
Congratulations, you know everything you need to know about the main characters.
Pixel Art Dreams and Tunes that Heal
Like I’ve said in previous reviews, I’m a big sucker for pixel art. Luckily for me, this game is phenomenal with it. The art was one of the selling points in getting me to play it. Just take a look at it. It seems almost reminiscent of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, but takes that art and creates its own thing from it.
The music in this game is probably the most interesting thing to me. The game features composers from both Castlevania and Metal Gear Solid, which is really cool to see and hear. The music is tuned to 432Hz to promote healing within the body. I can’t prove it, but I’ll take their word on it for now.
The Lasting Impressions of Talos
Despite some uneven combat and moments where the armour switching felt underused, I found 9 Years of Shadows to be a really captivating journey. The pixel art is gorgeous throughout the entirety of Talos, giving the world a vibrant and unique personality. The music, from composers with Castlevania and Metal Gear Solid experiences, adds an immersive layer to the adventure. Europa and Apino’s story, though simple, is heartfelt, and exploring a world that feels alive made every step I took feel meaningful. Even with the flaws, the game leaves a lasting impression, helping to prove that strong vision, art, and sound can carry an experience in it’s own right.
Play Every Pixel 