I feel charcoal is a perfectly valid medium
Freedom Games has announced that9 Years of Shadows, the musical Metroidvania from developer Halberd Studios, will arrive on Jun 04, 2025.
While, on the surface,9 Years of Shadowslooks like a pretty close follower of a particular 1997Castlevaniatitle, it has some unique wrinkles to make it more than another gated exploration title. Appropriately taking place after the world has spent the aforementioned nine years in darkness, you play as Europa, who refuses to let that timespan build into a full decade. Bringing with her a “healing teddy bear,” she sets off to the cursed Castle Talos to try and bring color back into the world.
Music will play an important role in the narrative. Some bosses wield “musical attack patterns.” Serving as guest composers areMetal Gear Solidveteran Norihiko Hibino and Iga-eraCastlevaniafixture Michiru Yamane. On top of contributing to the soundtrack of9 Years of Shadows, these two absolute legends will make appearances within the game as NPCs. Damn.
TheSymphony of the Nightcorner of the indie marketplace is a rather crowded one these days, but I’m rather stricken by the colorful pixel art that9 Years of Shadowis showing off. It reminds me of the wayCastlevania: Harmony of Dissonanceused bright colors to appear more visible on the Game Boy Advance’s light-hungry screen. I sometimes feel like I’ve had my fill of gated exploration titles, but they more often resemble pickles; I always seem to haveroom for one more.
9 Years of Shadowswill be available on PC viaSteamandEpic Game Storeon March 27. A Switch version is in the works and will drop in the third quarter of 2023.
