#8bit art my beloved

[nepalsaysrawr]

It’s been a year since I posted a Dismal Disney comic so here’s another one for y’all and your enjoyment! This time, it’s a video game night with Iger and DeSantis! Who’s gonna win in this battle of epic proportions? Is it Iger or DeSantis? Find out next!

Feel free to repost this thing or reuse it however you want, even in commercial works, but make sure to credit me!

[sappho-rose]

ryusae <3

[2dguy]

kinger

[afton-family-askblog]

Ready for some rpg style asks?

*"Max" finds [misterious door]*

> [Enter] [Ignore]

*"Max" finds himself inside [strange room]*

Your turn ;)

Does something happen?

Does someone else appear?

[Four toys sit in a corner, like they were shoved away by their owners. One, more special toy sits on the bed. Its eyes follow Max as he walks in. It doesnt look like Michaels room, and definitely not Elizabeths... atop the dresser a photo album covered in a thin veil of dust sits.]

*Inspect the photo album?

*Leave?

*Something else?

[chisatowo]

I have successfully made a brush that I adore idk how much I'll use it but I'm definitely gonna make a few drawings with it at least just to mess around

[jils-things]

very late but i am very happy to read everyone's takes on my art style! i notice many talk about the linework on my art and boy am i very happy to hear that. a funny thing is that yes it looks super textured but it's actually a VERY 8bit/pixelate-y brush that has a versatile line weight control (also has a very cool "chisled" tip to it) if that makes sense.... and i FELL IN LOVE WITH IT IMMEDIATELY. not only was it very quick to coordinate with my pen (unlike most brushes) but it made my artstyle looked more blocky too and i am so unwilling to shift to other brush types for lineart 💚😖 this funny pixel brush my beloved

[baphomet-media]

Techno Ninjas - A Cyber Shadow Review

Genre: Action

Subgenre: 2D Platformer

Developer: Mechanical Head Studios

Publisher: Yacht Club Games

Platform(s): All current platforms, reviewed on Xbox Series X

Release Date: January 26th, 2021

Cyber Shadow burst onto the indie scene back in January to mostly positive feedback. Being published by Yacht Club (the developers of Shovel Knight) is enough of an endorsement for me, so I was excited to check it out when it launched on Game Pass. The game is a clear throwback to 80s titles such as Ninja Gaiden but with modern improvements (not to be confused with the other Ninja Gaiden-inspired game, The Messenger that was released a few years back). Does the game live up to the hype, or does it get stunlocked into a bottomless pit? Let’s find out.

Story

Cyber Shadow follows the titular Shadow, the last in a clan of ninjas who is revived in a cyborg body to avenge his clanmates and rescue his beloved master from the clutches of the evil Dr. Progen who overran Mekacity with robots and wiped out the ninja clan. On the surface, the story seems like your classic MegaMan-esque plot, but as the game goes along the player finds the spirits of fallen ninja, text journals, and flashbacks that really flesh out the world and add a lot of mystery. I was seriously impressed with how deep the game’s story was, for its medium, presenting easily-digestible story chunks that made you think about how everything tied together without being overlong and outstaying their welcome.

Along the way, you even learn more about Dr. Progen and why he’s doing what he’s doing. The game never excuses his actions, but definitely makes you feel like you understand his motives in a believable way.

Aside from that, there’s not much to say about the story! This is an action game, so the writing necessarily takes a back seat while still establishing the world and motivations.

Gameplay

Cyber Shadow is a platforming action game in the vein of classic Ninja Gaiden games from the NES days. The game is presented across a series of levels where the goal is to survive to the end and usually defeat a boss. Along the way, you’ll have to contend with various mechanical enemies, environmental hazards, bottomless or spiked pits, laser beams, toxic sludge, and more. It’s all pretty standard stuff, but don’t get complacent, as the game is quite challenging. Enemies are near constant, and spikes and pits mean instant death, so getting through levels requires precision and mastery of the game’s movement and combat mechanics. Fortunately, there are no lives or game overs. When you die, and you will die over and over, you merely go back to the last activated checkpoint and can immediately continue. This means that even though the game is challenging, you never feel like it’s impossible, and you can always keep trying. Additionally, the game lets you spend its currency on upgrading the checkpoints to allow them to completely refill your health and/or spirit gauge instead of only doing half, as well as dropping a bonus weapon. This allows you to make difficult sections slightly easier for yourself without completely spoiling the game’s challenge.

When you start out, Shadow only has the very basic techniques: running, jumping, and swinging his sword. At first, it seems frustrating that you can only attack in front of you, and it feels like being able to slash upward and crouch would be useful, but the game makes up for these in time. Soon you gain access to multiple special attacks that use your special gauge, such as shuriken projectile attacks, a burning uppercut that sends multiple projectiles upward, a dash attack that can one-hit KO weaker enemies in your path and propel you forward, a charge attack that can modify your other special attacks, and more. The shuriken is mostly situational, however all the other special attacks are highly useful, and the game actively rewards you for trying them out, as defeating enemies with special attacks is much more likely to drop special gauge refills, and with the dash attack it always does so. By the time you unlock the dash attack, it becomes an essential part of your moveset. One gripe I had with it, though, is that by default the binding for this ability is to double-tap the D pad in the direction you want to dash, which can be tricky to do in tight situations. Fortunately, the game allows you to remap the dash to the right bumper, which felt more natural for me. By the end of the game, you can constantly chain together dash attacks, double jumps, pogo attacks, and more to skillfully zip through the game’s later levels. This is a great example of the game making the player feel more powerful as they advance, making you feel like a true cyber ninja by the end.

The other main gameplay mechanic is bonus weapons. These are temporary upgrades such as a longer sword attack, an orbiting laser attack, a special gauge refill dispenser, and more that slightly augment your abilities. You can only have one at a time, and as you take damage the bonus weapons will degrade until after only a few hits they’re completely gone. I found these to be slightly useful, but mostly extraneous. They never felt like a tipping point between failure and success and were more distractions than anything.

Finally, the boss battles. About half your play time in Cyber Shadow will just be hammering away at bosses. Despite this, they never feel grueling or unfair, more, it’s just a matter of learning patterns and improving your skills to dodge their attacks and strike at just the right time. My favorite boss was the Mekadragon, a water-based boss which heavily reminds me of Serris from Metroid Fusion. Half of the challenge is just knocking down the whirligig robots in the boss arena to create temporary platforms for you to stand on just so that you can hit the boss.

Presentation

Cyber Shadow is a gorgeous 8Bit-inspired pixel art game that follows in the footsteps of similar games like Shovel Knight that present a modern take on 8bit visuals and music. Some of my favorite bits of art were some of the cutscene vignettes, which were highly detailed and expressive. The game’s music is a banger of heavy chiptunes that perfectly portray the dark and somber atmosphere juxtaposed with the bright and flashy 80s cyberpunk aesthetics.

Conclusion

Cyber Shadow is a quick but challenging game that doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but does a great job at what it sets out to do, which is being a hard-but-fair throwback to retro titles, which I personally think blows them out of the water. If you’re a fan of retro-inspired games or just like a challenge, definitely give this game a shot. You won’t be let down.

Score: 8 / 10

[eternal-trolls]

💎

Send in 💎 and I’ll name a person within the community and tell you what I like about them and their trolls

@8bit-mau5 I LOVE RENEE AND HIS TROLLS WITH ALL MY HEART AAAAA

THE ART!!!! THE DRAMA!!!! THE BELOVED CHARACTERS!!!!!! its like whenever i go to his blog im turning on my favorite tv show like ahh yes i love this music wonderful absolutely stunning

big inspiration for my art wise and makes me wanna make more art and one day i can draw eudora and xizaya doing a sick high five on motorcycles how cool would that be

renee,,,, is so nice and i think id kill a man for him,,, i was very intimidated at first purely bc i myself am a nervous wreck BUT!!!! i do know he is very nice and i dont have to be i just am bc i have Anxiety ya know???? im workin on it always fun to talk to

trolls are always so unique!!! whether its design wise or personality wise!! makes me very very happy seeing them!!!!

[sunnetrolls]

oh christ i have to PICK???? this is gonna be a long poast. and in no specific order. im not gonna ping anyone bc im afraid of being annoying

@.roetrolls: im obsessed. god help me. i remember liking her ocs back in the day but now in the Fantroll Resurgence everyone is back and the art is so good and oh my god i am thriving

@.sasster: writing goals... so so creative. so many good ocs. also like... outside of character stuff just a really really cool person. fun and easy to talk to

@.aviantrolls: GREM MY BELOVED MY DARLING MY DEAR MY ANGEL we are moirails and sure he doesnt post a lot but he listens to my brainrot and i will be forever and always thankful

@.morgombie: UGHHHH their art is literally so good... i've been a dedicated baster enjoyer for so many years. i will be for probably many more.

@.quiescent-trolls: i don't know very much abt their characters but thats ok i like just seeing them around. good natured presence. i dont remember when i followed but i think it was a long time ago. vibes are good

@.8bit-mau5: super cool. art inspiration lowkey. also has some really cool characters, ive always enjoyed them and getting to talk about our ocs for hours on end is such a blast

and lastly

U!!!!

mad respect for people who can do like multi-pose sprites like u can and just such clean lineart in general. i stopped doing lineart bc it was annoying i could never. ALSO mad respect for making me constantly on the verge of being a baxier apologist. it's hard. i KNOW BETTER!!! but its HARD!!! he's so well written!!!!!!!!!

and actually lastly...

there are a lot of people i WOULD put on this list but i don't know well enough to make an educated 3+ lines on. basically i want friends i'm like a puppy dog

im in the mood for some positivity SO

reblog and gush about someone (or many people) in the community whose content you love! who knows, you might encourage someone to go check their blog out ;)

[andthenuke]

[unbezahlte Werbung durch Markennennung] 🇩🇪 Mein bisher liebstes Projekt. Alle 4 Starter Pokémon der 1. Generation. Hergestellt aus Bügelperlen und auf Leinwand angebracht. 🤗 🇬🇧 My most beloved project ! All four Starter Pokémon from the 1st generation. Made with pearl beads and put on canvas 🤗 🕹️www.twitch.tv/andthenuke 🕹️ . . . Please visit these wonderful people and leave some love: @araora_ @gamer_ashley_nl @web.link @hannibunni_games @theatralix @trottelelfe @sephiro2010 @fraeuleincat @luna.noctis . . . #pokemon #pixel #art #creative #switch #nintendoswitch #nintendo #nin10do #games #gamer #gaming #geek #geeky #geekystuff #nerd #nerdy #nerdalert #videogames #console #fun #retro #classic #nostalgia #happy #berlin #8bit #16bit #collecting #collector #collection (hier: Berlin, Germany) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn1hVNmFISn/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=d9jo61s11t9r