
Fight to bring beautiful colors back to a hand-crafted world of darkness and discover the story of Europa, a young warrior, and her ghostly childhood companion, Apino.
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About
9 Years of Shadows is a side-scrolling Metroidvania by Halberd Studios. Travel alongside Europa, a brave warrior determined to enter the mechanical giant Talos and stop the corruption within before it swallows the world in darkness. Battle through tainted creatures, meet charismatic musicians and uncover the truth behind the curse that robbed the land of all color.
Many have tried to venture inside the twisted depths of Talos, a dormant fortress where several civilizations have settle over centuries. And, after losing everything she held dear, Europa has nothing holding her back from attempting what others could not achieve. As a noble fighter who refuses to be bound by the curse, she must enter the castle, find the source of corruption, and return the color once and for all.

This adventure is not for Europa to face alone. Inside the giant, she befriends Apino, a cute floating bear who seems to possess magical abilities that can restore color and replenish the health of his allies. He is also able to shield his companions from the multiple dangers that roam Talos’ hallways.

While exploring the castle, Apino can cleanse the corruption around Talos and shoot a variety of projectiles that can destroy dark crystals and inflict damage:
A fist that punches upwards when conjured.
A blast that travels along a surface until collision
A cyclone that returns to Apino like a boomerang.

Use the elements to your advantage to travel the map dynamically. Acquire the elemental armors that were once treasures to ancient civilizations and change on the fly and unlock special abilities to traverse your way: from swimming against waterfalls to traveling underground tunnels or gliding through warm air currents.
Harness the power of lightning, water, earth, and fire. Surprise bosses while you switch armors, perform strong halberd combos, and exploit your foes’ weaknesses to pave your way through the heart of the shadows.

Music is all but the soul of the game. Revitalize the world while you listen to a moving soundtrack composed by Miguel Hasson, as well as soothing pieces scored in 432hz by celebrated composers Michiru Yamane (Castlevania series) and Norihiko Hibino (Metal Gear Solid series). Meet these guest composers as in-game NPCs who aid in Europa’s quest throughout the game.
Music is the binding thread that combines gameplay and storytelling: collect musical notes and perform a healing lullaby to restore your health.
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"Literally stunning"
Keen Gamer
"A stunning Metroidvania"
GamesRadar+
"Excellent & responsive combat"
Game Rant
"Delights all the senses"
GameLuster
"Two thumbs up"
LadiesGamers
Genres
Stats
All-time low is the lowest price we've recorded for this game since we started tracking it.
Languages: English*, Spanish - Latin America, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Simplified Chinese*languages with full audio support
Engagement
Hours played at review time, across 52 reviews with recorded playtime.
Reviews
Themes across 52 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
Reviews
O jogo é mto bom e divertido, estou com quase 8 horas de gameplay, estou curtindo bastante! Vale apena comprar ainda mais se tiver em promoção.
Hermoso, simplemente hermoso, de los mejores Metroidvania que he podido jugar, este juego de muestra que el talento latino está presente y necesita apoyo para contar sus propias historias. La historia es corta y sencilla, pero muy bonita el cómo te la van contando, la protagonista es increíble y los detalles de cambiar de armadura para cambiar de habilidad, no solo es para referencias a Saint Seiya, sino acompaña la jugabilidad y el recorrido de todo el mapa, un mapa enorme y que poco a poco como dicta el género, iras desbloqueando por completo, así como el progreso de habilidades y mejoras. Tiene buenas peleas contra jefes, mi favorita es la del ajedrez, no había jugado nada igual en mi vida, muy retadora y divertida batalla contra jefe. Por último, este juego conto con la participación de artistas como Michiru Yamane y Norihiko Hibino. Impresionante para iniciar como un Kickstarter y llegar tan lejos como consolas. RECOMENDADISIMO AL 100%.
Buen juego, recomendado, divertido, le falta algo más de mecánicas y explotarlas más, pero en general, gud game
great metroidvinia
Um jogo bonito e fácil de zerar. 101% completo.
[h1] Resumen [/h1] Esta muy bueno, si te gustan los metroidvania no te va a defraudar. A nivel gameplay es simple y el plataformeo se siente bastante suave y fluido con un pixelart hermoso. Lo que mas destaca (y la razon principal de por que lo jugue) es el apartado artistico del juego, esta muy bien cuidado y muy bien hechos los pixelarts, hasta el punto en el que son un deleite para la vista. La historia esta "Ok" no se toma tanto cuidado a profundizar demasiado en el contexto de la historia, es lo que hay y poco mas. El punto mas bajo del juego seria la musica, no es mala, hay zonas con muy buena musica, pero hay otras donde no se siente que destaque mucho con el ambiente de la zona.
After several hours a barrier appeared in the path to get the upgrade to destroy barriers. I cant progress at all and all the time i spend in this game is totally wasted
A beautiful metroidvania made with real soul. It has everything I love in the genre: new abilities, exploration, secrets, backtracking and upgrades — but the pacing is especially good. The game keeps moving forward, gives you new areas, mechanics, puzzles and bosses at the right rhythm, and never feels boring or padded. What makes it special: • Incredible pixel art and animations • Beautiful, detailed locations • Great character portraits, icons, loading screens and effects • Fast and satisfying movement • Armor switching that actually matters • Challenging but fair boss fights • A strong boss-rush feeling inside a metroidvania structure • Emotional atmosphere and a lot of soul • A complete, well-paced adventure that respects your time The bosses are difficult, but fair. The combat feels great once you understand the mechanics, and the different armors make both exploration and fights more interesting. The game constantly pushes you forward, but still keeps the pleasure of discovery. My only complaint is the lack of Ukrainian localization. For me, this was a 10/10 experience. Beautiful, dynamic, emotional, satisfying from start to finish, and clearly made with love. Highly recommended.
It's a solid metroidvania, low barrier for entry and really great sprite work and artistic style. If you enjoyed the simpler times of mv's you'll enjoy this.
Un solido metroidvania. La storia non è esattamente profonda, ma è bello (anche se copia il design sfacciatamente dai cavalieri dello zodiaco) ed è divertente da giocare. Qualche bug e crash qui e la', ed è semi-difficile da completare al 100% perchè la mappa segna dove sei stato, non dove hai preso gli oggetti speciali (vale a dire, segnati dove ci sono oggetti che non hai potuto prendere al 1o passaggio o, a fine gioco, ti dimenticherai dov'erano e buona fortuna a ritrovarli).
Related
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Trends
Modeled estimate over time, reconstructed from Steam's monthly review histogram.
Momentum
Pace estimated from the game's recent review growth (our daily snapshots) at its own sales-per-review ratio — a momentum signal, not booked sales.
Audience
Estimated from the language of this game's reviews — a proxy for where players are, not official Steam demographics.
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