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9 Years of Shadows is an artful blend of fluid, challenging gameplay, beautiful environments, animations and user interface, and music that gets your blood pumping.

Si eres un fanático de los metroidvanias, no podemos dejar de recomendarte 9 Years of Shadows, el cual llega a recordarnos los títulos de antaño; sí, esos, donde parecía que un jefe era imposible de vencer, pero que siempre había una manera de derrotarlo. Y ni que decir el precio del videojuego, es muy accesible, por lo que vemos pocos impedimentos para no obtenerlo.

9 Years of Shadows es un juego espectacular bastante bien afinado en lo jugable como en sus mecánicas con una dificultad bastante agradable. Estamos ante un metroidvania 2D ideal para aquellos que se inician en el género y que sin duda aquellos más curtidos en el mismo podrán disfrutar. Gráficamente es un portento que sabe encantar a primera vista y su rendimiento en PC es excelente sin llegar a ser exigente. En lo musical logra acompañarnos y hacernos parte de la aventura con hermosas melodías.

9 Years of Shadows is a love letter to the 90s, amalgamating classics such as Metroid, Zelda, Castlevania, Altered Beast – the list goes on and on. But never once does it feel as though it is plagiarising these games, rather paying homage and rejuvenating their ideas for a modern audience.

9 Years of Shadows ha sido un título que nos ha sorprendido mucho. Un metroidvania que todo lo que hace… lo cumple con creces. Su ambientación y apartado gráfico nos ha parecido exquisito, al igual que su banda sonora, muy trabajada y bien incluída (teniendo en cuenta todo lo relacionado con el arte que encontramos en el transcurso de la historia).

Desde México con amor, llega un metroidvania pixel art con una historia atrapante. Conoceremos a Europa y al fantasma Apino, que nos robaron el corazón, mientras recorremos Talos para terminar con una terrible maldición.

Creo haberme explicado bastante bien en la extensión de este análisis sobre 9 Years of Shadows, pero de manera resumida, podemos decir que es un título que merece la pena jugar. Lo que tenéis que tener claro, es la experiencia que queréis jugar, este es un metroidvania centrado en la exploración y la historia, dejando  el combate y a los jefes, aunque desafiantes, sean un poco más de tránsito para llegar a cumplir nuestro objetivo. 9 Years of Shadows ofrece una emotiva historia en la que, como dije, no es tanto por recuperar el color al mundo, si no a Europa misma. Es un viaje de superar la tristeza y de aprender a querer, dejar atrás el pasado y aunque el mundo esté en su momento más sombrío, siempre hay algo en lo que encontrar color, ya sea en la música o en otras personas. Sin lugar a dudas, es un título que os recomiendo y más si lo compráis con la oferta de lanzamiento a 15,99€.

9 Years of Shadows will draw you in with masterful pixel art and irresistible music, then keep you hooked with its glorious halberdy action and overall strength of character. Despite some overly forgiving map design and limited replay value, this is a Metroidvania you might just fall in love with. An ideal entry point for newcomers to the genre, a must-play for long-time fans.

Pixeltastic 2D sidescrolling Metroidvania set inside the mechanical giant Talos

Nine Years of Shadows is a good Metroidvania with an impressive presentation and intriguing world. Gameplay mechanics will be instantly familiar to any genre fans and easy to understand for newcomers. There aren’t too many surprises in the narrative but it is imbued with a sense of optimism that kept me engaged.

Lo que se puede ver como otro juego con muchos parecidos y pocas diferenciaciones, resulta en una muy interesante propuesta que además cuenta con sus cosas más propias. 9 Years of Shadows es otra propuesta disfrutable dentro de los metroidvanias, para resultar también en una experiencia interesante tanto por su excelente factura gráfica y musical, como por tener un añadido extra en su jugabilidad con la figura de nuestro osito mágico, además de los lazos emocionales que crearemos con él a medida que avancemos en el clásico viaje exterior e interior del héroe.

If you’re a Metroidvania fan, you’ll love 9 Years of Shadows. Soulslike fans will probably love the combat, but more relaxed players may not be as fond of it. From an artistic standpoint alone, 9 Years of Shadows is worth your time. It’ll be even better once the crashes get resolved, but you won’t be disappointed if you check it out now regardless.

Entonces, ¿qué tal está 9 Years of Shadows? ¿Valió la pena la espera desde que Halberd Studios anunció su Kickstarter? La respuesta es sí. 9 Years of Shadows tal vez no va a sacudir el mundo de los juegos independientes, pero llega como un metroidvania con calidad, personalidad y un montón de buenas ideas. Recomendado para los fans del género.

Overall, I believe that 9 Years of Shadows is worth the price. 9 Years of Shadows’ simple, yet engaging gameplay, partnered with its endearing story, all complemented by a good soundtrack and beautiful set pieces work together to create a game that’s worth playing. Although it might be a short game, it is still one to experience, and one you should try out. You might experience crashes, but I don’t think they’re enough to take away from this game’s beauty.

Of course, 9 Years of Shadows will still have some awkward design choices and performance caveats until all is fixed, but it’s still a pretty enjoyable game once you get settled. It’s a gorgeous love letter to the retro legends that fans of the genre can lose time to and absorb everything it offers.

Halberd Studios has crafted a Metroidvania with a really encouraging number of unique elements. We have no issue in declaring it A Good Game™ and a great time thanks to its careful crafting and implementation of a number of original ideas that elevate the gameplay, rather than stifle it. It is just another Metroidvania at heart, yes, and it doesn't revolutionise the genre; but, while there are a few scrappy bits where you can see a thinning of the budget compared to works by larger studios, it holds its own as an inventive, pretty, and consistently enjoyable adventure.

Call it refined nostalgia. Call it a love letter to Metroid Fusion and other Game Boy Advance metroidvanias. Call it what you want. 9 Years of Shadows is a good, short, yet approachable metroidvania. While it doesn’t quite hit the depth of combat complexity and story beats of its GBA predecessors, it overdelivers via gorgeous pixel art and an orchestrated soundtrack. Its Nintendo Switch port is not the best in its current state, but it’s worth playing if you’re wanting a metroidvania to play on a lazy Sunday.

9 Years of Shadows isn't the biggest Metroidvania game, but what it lacks in length it makes up for in other ways. Its visuals are sublime, for one, and its gameplay is fantastic, too. Add in a soundtrack which includes pieces by Michiru Yamane, and you're onto a winner.

9 Years of Shadows is one of those indies that manages to leave a lasting impression. The armor mechanics are well thought out and bring fluidity to exploration, especially during boss fights. Even with its mediocre story and minor technical issues, the title makes up for it with creativity, charming pixel art, and an excellent soundtrack, a well-designed atmosphere, and well-functioning gameplay. For those who enjoy metroidvanias and are looking for something new within the genre, it's worth giving it a try.

9 Years of Shadows is a challenging and old-school Metroidvania that never ceases to impress with its varied gameplay and striking world. 🌳

In 9 Years of Shadows, the mix of combat, puzzles, and musical mechanics can be truly amazing at times. It may not reinvent the genre and it may have some significant flaws, but fans of the Metroidvania genre will probably enjoy the experience.

9 Years of Shadow is a very intriguing production with an excellent, old-school audiovisual style. However, it is definitely a title aimed at fans of metroidvanias, who should consider it a must-play. Other players may complain about the high difficulty level, formulaic structure, and repetitive gameplay. Nevertheless, the developers have delivered a technically solid and polished game that is undoubtedly worth attention. Play it if only for the soundtrack alone, which is truly outstanding.

Una experiencia de entre cinco y ocho horas de metroidvania con todas las de la ley. Superando una mecánica que desbalancea algo su jugabilidad, 9 Years of Shadows es un juego sencillo que sabe muy bien lo que busca, aportando diseños artísticos y una banda sonora especialmente notables.

9 Years of Shadows is a gorgeous metroidvania boasting terrific progression that I’d ordinarily recommend to all fans in a heartbeat. Its combat also thrives, with meticulous, loving effort evident in countless spots. Yet, these strengths make the performance faults all the more disappointing. What could have been a must-play outing of this jam-packed genre has instead become a regretful cautionary tale.

9 Years of Shadows usa música e cor para criar uma aventura singular. A exploração ágil é seu maior trunfo, em especial a troca de armaduras de Europa para superar os vários desafios espalhados pelo castelo de Talos. Tecnicamente o jogo é competente, porém, como metroidvania, ele ousa pouco: a progressão é deveras linear e boa parte dos elementos são simples demais. Para compensar, há muito capricho na atmosfera com o estiloso visual colorido e a trilha sonora notável. Essas características tornam 9 Years of Shadows agradável, apesar de não ser muito marcante.

9 Years of Shadows cautiva por su preciosa dirección de arte y una banda sonora muy especial. Un metroidvania que no quiere salirse de su estructura más tradicional y que, precisamente por ello, peca de sentirse poco particular en lo jugable con un diseño de niveles sin mucho intríngulis para los más exigentes.

9 Years of Shadows' pixel graphics are gorgeous, its story is compelling, and its boss battles are worth the slower moments you have to wade through to get there. It's a fun adventure that offers enough surprises to keep Castlevania fans engaged throughout.

With beautiful visual presentation and exemplary pixel art, 9 Years of Shadows doesn't quite achieve the same level of refinement in its gameplay and story. Some boss fights are truly fun and challenging, but the rest falls into the realm of average quality. This is a game I would recommend to anyone looking to indulge in the aesthetic beauty of sophisticated pixel art, as that's where it truly excels.

9 Year of Shadows is a challenging but rewarding metroidvania with some lovely pixel art, an intriguing story, excellent soundtrack, and an exciting armor system based on Greek mythos. Navigating the map can be a bit tedious, and some of the combat encounters fall into a repetitive cycle, but if you're looking for a unique metroidvania with a lot of style, 9 Years of Shadows gets a lot right.

Cualquiera que quiera una experiencia alternativa de metroidvania, en términos de la dificultad más pasable, seguramente en 9 Years of Shadows se encontrará en un entorno hermoso que, en todo caso, tiene su propio carácter visual, claramente algo por lo que Halberd Studios merece crédito.

9 Years of Shadows is a solid 2D action-adventure title that is very pretty to look at, and could be recommendable to those who don't focus on combat.

Si tiene ganas de disfrutar un metroidvania al estilo clásico de Symphony of the Night, 9 Years of Shadows es una gran opción que los atrapará con sus excelentes combates contra jefes, bello estilo visual y claras influencias 'anime'. La verdad es que no hace mucho para destacar en este saturado género y usa muchos elementos con los que estamos más que familiarizados, por lo que guarda pocas sorpresas. Los múltiples errores técnicos que encontramos y una trama débil también juegan en su contra, pero no vamos a negar que pasamos una docena de horas muy entretenidas.

9 Years of Shadows is a great game that fans of Metroidvanias will definitely love; it’s just the problems with the game crashing and freezing that make me have to score the game lower than it really deserves.

I was initially hooked by 9 Years of Shadows, and I still have nothing negative to say about the game’s music or visuals, but then I realized that the game didn’t have anything interesting to show me after the Poseidon armor. The predictable level structure, meaningless upgrades, uninteresting enemies, mechanically boring boss fights, and stale combat make it a repetitive slog to go through.

9 Years of Shadow non è un vero e proprio metroidvania e non bisogna approcciarlo come tale. Si tratta di un gioco d'azione a scorrimento che per la maggior parte del tempo è alquanto lineare e non ha poi molti contenuti, visto che in meno di dieci ore si può ottenere il 100%. Il sistema di combo è molto semplice, con poche mosse a disposizione e gli attacchi dalla distanza sono fin troppo potenti. Il fulcro è il platform, che diventa molto più vario man mano che si ottengono nuovi, senza risultare mai troppo complesso. Se siete fan del genere potreste dargli una chance, appena lo trovate in una fascia di prezzo che ritenete adeguata, ma non aspettatevi che sia il vostro nuovo punto di riferimento in termini di qualità.

9 Years of Shadows is a beautiful game with interesting mechanics. It’s filled with great intentions and ideas that were never fully realized. However, even with its glitches, confusingly long load time, and input lag, it was an enjoyable experience, albeit a sometimes frustrating one.

9 Years of Shadows es un metroidvania bastante olvidable en líneas generales. Bastante repetitivo en enemigos, mecánicas y escenarios. Con un sistema de combate que solo se limita a cumplir, así como una duración extremadamente breve. No es que sea un desastre ni mucho menos. Es más, puede que haya gente que incluso lo disfrute. Pero habiendo tantísimos exponentes del género con una calidad a años luz de este juego (y no me refiero a obras maestras como Hollow Khight, si no a muchísimos otros), mejor invertir nuestro tiempo en ellos. 9 Years of Shadows solo lo recomendaría si ya tienes quemados todos los metroidvania que debes jugar sí o sí, que no son pocos precisamente.

9 Years of Shadows mostra chiaramente che le idee di fondo di Halberd Studios sono valide, ma il loro sviluppo non è stato impeccabile. Nonostante un immaginario di fondo particolarmente vivo, che mischia in maniera interessante influenze diversissime tra loro, messo in scena con una notevole cura nel reparto grafico, questa breve avventura non riesce a sfruttare tutto il suo potenziale. Esplorare le diverse aree di Talos rimane comunque divertente, ma sarebbe potuto essere memorabile se le meccaniche di gioco e il design degli incontri avessero ricevuto qualche rifinitura in più.

I can’t pretend the glitches I encountered in 9 Years of Shadows weren’t frustrating, especially as a backer. I can only hope that Halberd Studios and Freedom Games take my complaints to heart and does everything they can to patch these problems as quickly as possible. Because underneath all the glitches, there’s a truly fantastic adventure, and one I still really enjoyed. If you’re a fan of Metroidvanias, definitely put this one on your wishlist. Just maybe wait on pulling the trigger until the developers have had a chance to make some necessary fixes.

It's pretty and it plays well, but this is a short, underwhelming Metroidvania with no exploration and uninteresting level design.

9 Years of Shadows is a beatiful game that shines with its atmosphere, but it is held back by some lacking combat, shallow exploration, and tiring backtracking. Still, there is a solid experience here for those willing to look past the flaws.

9 Years of Shadows is a great example where it’s ok for a game to play off the same music sheet, so long as the band playing is skilled and brings a top-quality performance. I’m trying to say the game is great and well worth your time. Even if you are tired of adventure games, this may just renew your interest.

9 Years of Shadows is one of the better indie Metroidvania games out this year. It really strives to give players a really good story with even better gameplay reminiscent of the Saint Seiya-like armours. It’s also something fans of the genre should pick up once the developers alleviate the bugs that plague the launch.

9 Years of Shadows non è un titolo che fa breccia, non è un prodotto che rimarrà impresso probabilmente. Ma è un buon metrodivania che riesce a tenere quasi sempre alta l’attenzione e che a più riprese ha qualcosa da dire. Per questo motivo, chiunque sia appassionato al genere, ma anche chiunque sia sempre stato curioso di approcciarsi e non l’abbia mai fatto, dovrebbe seriamente pensare di concedere a Europa e Apino, una terza persona ad accompagnarli nella loro odissea.

En el momento en el que eso suceda, 9 Years Of Shadows se mostrará como un metroidvania que combina con inteligencia interesantes referencias en el plano jugable y en el artístico - algunas muy llamativas por originales, otras que casi son de obligado cumplimiento en el género -, el punto justo de exploración que ofrece un preciso diseño de niveles y épicas batallas contra correosos bosses que nos pondrán contra las cuerdas más de una vez. O, dicho de otro modo: un metroidvania que amparado en sus humildes orígenes de Kickstarter se ha dedicado a asimilar toda la influencia que le interesaba e integrarla en un más que correcto entramado jugable.

Tras este largo y duro periodo de malestar que hemos vivido y que, aunque algo difuminado sigue estando presente, obras como 9 Years of Shadows nos han ayudado a recuperar la alegría y el optimismo, llenando nuestras vidas de ilusión con los colores que más alegría, positividad y energía transmiten, aun cuando en primera instancia evoca sentimientos de esperanza, desesperación y muerte.

9 Years of Shadows es un título que cumple sobradamente con las expectativas. Gráficamente tiene un diseño cuidado y bonito, el combate implica un desafío, pero a la vez es más que accesible, y sus protagonistas revisten un encanto especial. Un juego que recomiendo tanto a fans de los metroidvania como a quienes quieran iniciarse en los mismos, y sobre todo si les intriga la historia del osito de peluche con la peor puntería del mundo.