#Shadow blade ios series

Shadow Blade plays like a new ninja graduate slashing and spinning out of the blocks, intent on redefining your impression of the very best action platformers gone before. Īn example portion of a review, from Littlehampton Gazette, includes: VideoGamer gives Shadow Blade 9 out of 10, saying:Įasily one of the better mobile games in recent memory, Shadowblade is a shining beacon and a stinging lesson to other developers. As of this writing, Shadow Blade holds an aggregate score of 81 (again, out of 100.) Shadow Blade also made AppStore's Editor's Choice in the week of its release. Ultimately, it’s as much a treat for the ears as it is for the eyes.Shadow Blade's reception has been almost universally positive, with the lowest score currently being 70 out of 100 on Metacritic. The music consists of oriental-sounding chimes and strings, and the various mixtures with other styles remain surprisingly relaxing considering the fast-paced nature of the game. On the audio side of things, we have winners all around: sound effects are meaty and satisfying, especially the enemies when they gurgle as Kuro sticks his sword into their bodies with a robust “schlink”. Nonetheless, it looks gorgeous, both in screenshots and in motion. It kind of overloads the eyes as they bounce around, looking at different details. Though a great sight to behold, I found that sometimes there was just too much stuff on the screen, and too many things happening at once. It’s a bit of a blend between polygon models and a somewhat line-less, comic book style. Graphics have an interesting style: extremely colorful, but not pixel art, not cartoon-like, and certainly not realistic.

Shadow Blade: Reload is quite the attractive little nugget. Besides, a level editor is now included if you think you can craft a better level. A very minor complaint is that the level design occasionally feels a bit cheap in the enemy and trap replacement, but it’s too infrequent to truly be an issue. There’s more on offer in the level department, and some maps have gotten a tweak or two. Graphics have been noticeably improved, as have the controls from their touchscreen incarnation. Those who enjoyed the original game on mobile will be pleased to find a whole slew of improvements available in this edition. A selection of short “challenges” and a leader board all help to insure you’ll be enjoying this one for quite some time to come. If that’s not enough, there’s a “hardcore” mode once you’ve taken care of the campaign, as well as a super-hard “master class” mode if you reckon you’ve got what it takes. It gives the whole affair a strong sense of replay value. Making it to the end in the quickest time and without dying are also goals worth reaching. Each stage also has a few hidden kanji, similar to the Yoshi Coins from Super Mario World, and again snagging them all will count towards a player’s bragging rights. Hidden throughout are little orbs of light, all of which count towards an end-of-level tally. Reaching the goal is sufficient, but there’s a strong incentive to tackle the levels like a master. He also dashes and clings to walls like a professional, and before long you’ll be traversing the levels and their obstacles with all the grace and elegance of a cat. Our dear Kuro wields his sword masterfully as he slices and stabs his way through the roster of bad guys, most of whom don’t pose too much of a threat to an alert and capable ninja.

#Shadow blade ios series

Players guide an extremely athletic Kuro through a series of small to medium-sized levels as he simply searches for the exit or, occasionally, a specific enemy to slaughter. Shadow Blade: Reload is a 2D platform offering with a faux 3D look. The game places players in a strange world that’s a mixture of futuristic cyberpunk and medieval Japan sensibilities. Controlling a student ninja named Kuro, they seek to destroy an order of ruthless thugs who attacked Kuro’s dojo and sensei in their mad search for a medallion that will give them dangerous, almost god-like powers. Kuro will take on robots and armed soldiers with good, old-fashioned ninja skills, all while uncovering a twisted and convoluted plot told though a wonderfully cheesy comic book format. Shadow Blade: Reload is one such example of a very good mobile platformer made better by being ported. All the same, one can’t help but feel that fast-paced platformers lend themselves better to either a keyboard or joypad and a large screen. However, there are a few mobile games which rise above their peers and are every bit as solid as anything seen on console and PC. It’s easy to write off mobile games as nothing but greedy cash grabs and endless clones of Flappy Bird and Candy Crush.