A good Metroid-like title is always a great distraction. Just over a decade ago, a genre that is now swimming in new titles was hurting for a new experience. In the year 2025, 2D action-adventure titles are now in abundance, and the bar has never been higher on what makes each title a “special” experience. This is the exact line 9 Years of Shadows straddles. 9 Years of Shadows features a stunning 2D action-adventure title presentation, with solid level design and top of it’s class music, but due to an oversaturated genre, the cracks in its armour show now more than ever.
9 Years of Shadows tosses players behind the trusty glaive of Europa, and it’s made abundantly clear off the rip that the developers at Halberd Studios are mythological fanatics due to the constant stream of references to Greek paganism. Europa is charged with restoring colour and sound to the world —literally and figuratively—and after a confrontation with a nefarious demon and a meeting with a floating stuffed... Read more