Yacht Club Games Publishing Cyber Shadow Later This Year On Switch
We’re big fans of NES games here (shocker, I know). So when indie developers invoke the spirit of one of our cherished classics, we sit up and take notice. Cyber Shadow is definitely taking inspiration from the 8-bit Tecmo hit, Ninja Gaiden. In fact, the creator of the game, Aarne Hunziker, describes it as a “NES-style game that had 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’s like he’s trying to take our money! Check out the trailer and press release below. We’ll be watching this one closely!
OFFICIAL PR:
Yacht Club Games, the Marina del Rey-based studio behind the hugely popular Shovel Knight franchise, will be unveiling cyber ninja game Cyber Shadow at PAX East this week.
In Cyber Shadow – the newest addition to the Yacht Club Games roster – the world has been taken over by synthetic lifeforms. A desperate plea for help sets Shadow on a journey to uncover what set the world on the path to perpetual ruin. Slash through techno hordes, leap past traps, and nimbly navigate the ruins of Mekacity. Only you can unlock the secrets to your clan’s ancient powers in Cyber Shadow – a quintessential take on the ninja action genre.
Yacht Club Games reached out to Aarne two years ago about getting involved with Cyber Shadow. Aarne had been developing the game on his own for years with no intention of working with a publisher – but Yacht Club Games was the only team he’d ever consider to help him hone his creation. Aarne described Cyber Shadow to the Shovel Knight creators as an “NES-style game that had 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.” What the team played was a brilliantly elevated take on classic ninja action. After 6 years and 5 Shovel Knight games, Yacht Club Games had become associated with authentic 8-bit fun – and the company was confident it could rely on its past experiences and expertise to take Cyber Shadow to the next level. To both studios, Shovel Knight and Cyber Shadowoffer players the trials of NES games … without any of the tribulations!
Yacht Club Games is handling the marketing, porting, business, and typical roles of a publisher so that Aarne can focus on the core game development. In addition, Yacht Club Games is deeply involved in giving design feedback – imparting some of the lessons learned from the Shovel Knight saga along the way.
FEATURES:
|

Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.