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Shadow Blade: Reload

It’s an enjoyable game which doesn’t really have any flaws. And given it's in Early Access, it will probably gain missing features over the coming weeks.
80%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
stability, atmosphere
87% User Score Based on 378 reviews
Critic Score 69%Based on 7 reviews

Platforms

PCPCiPhoneiPhonePlaystation 4Playstation 4WindowsWindowsPlayStationPlayStationNintendo SwitchNintendo SwitchLinuxLinuxMac OSMac OSMobile PlatformMobile PlatformiPadiPadPhonePhoneTabletTablet

About

"Shadow Blade: Reload" is an action-platformer game featuring Kuro, the blade of shadow, in a world where ancient ninja and samurai teachings clash with modern landscape. With over 40 levels and 4 boss fights, players must master fast-paced platforming and vicious ninja combat using katana, shurikens, and kusarigama to restore balance and defeat the rising darkness.

Shadow Blade: Reload screenshot
Shadow Blade: Reload screenshot
Shadow Blade: Reload screenshot
Shadow Blade: Reload screenshot
Shadow Blade: Reload screenshot
Shadow Blade: Reload screenshot
Shadow Blade: Reload screenshot
Shadow Blade: Reload screenshot
Shadow Blade: Reload screenshot
Shadow Blade: Reload screenshot
Shadow Blade: Reload screenshot
+9

87%
Audience ScoreBased on 385 reviews
gameplay69 positive mentions
stability22 negative mentions

  • Fast-paced gameplay that is both fluid and satisfying, allowing players to showcase their ninja skills.
  • Gorgeous art style that combines traditional ninja aesthetics with modern design, creating visually stunning levels.
  • Tight controls and responsive mechanics make for an enjoyable platforming experience with plenty of replayability.
  • Technical issues, including the need to install codecs for cutscenes and occasional bugs that can disrupt gameplay.
  • The game can feel short, with some players wishing for more content and depth in gameplay mechanics.
  • Combat can be simplistic and repetitive, lacking variety in enemy types and strategies.
  • gameplay
    125 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Shadow Blade: Reload" is characterized by its fast-paced, fluid mechanics and engaging platforming challenges, making it a fun and enjoyable experience despite some minor technical issues. Players appreciate the tight controls, double-jump mechanics, and a variety of levels that encourage speedrunning, although some feel the game is a bit short and lacks depth in combat variety. Overall, the game delivers a visually appealing and thrilling action-platformer experience that keeps players entertained for several hours.

    • “Shadow Blade: Reload is a high-octane action-platformer that delivers thrilling gameplay wrapped in a visually stunning world.”
    • “The gameplay is really the 'meat' of the game, and the main reason why you would want to play it. The game has three difficulty modes, and it is very challenging for the simple fact that you die in one hit, but it is a forgiving game in many aspects.”
    • “Super tight controls, fluid and challenging gameplay, beautiful graphics and sounds... just buy it already.”
    • “Yes, about the only issue with this game is its evidently easier gameplay compared to others of its action genre.”
    • “Didn't like the gameplay, the controls; it could be better.”
    • “The combat is really the biggest mechanic issue in this game.”
  • graphics
    74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics are widely praised for their stunning art style, which blends traditional ninja and samurai aesthetics with modern elements, including cyberpunk themes and comic book-inspired cutscenes. Players appreciate the fluid animations, smooth controls, and overall visual consistency, although some note that the graphics may feel reminiscent of a mobile port. Despite minor technical issues, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's engaging atmosphere and gameplay experience.

    • “The game's art style is absolutely gorgeous, combining traditional ninja and samurai aesthetics with a modern, sleek landscape.”
    • “Fluid animations, responsive controls, decently challenging, good level design, stylish graphics that combine cyberpunk with ninja themes, and comic book-inspired cutscenes that add to the atmosphere.”
    • “Super tight controls, fluid and challenging gameplay ... beautiful graphics and sounds ... just buy it already.”
    • “The graphics scream mobile port, but the gameplay and controls feel fantastic.”
    • “For me personally though, the chosen aesthetics seem very generic.”
    • “Option menu is lacking to say the least; you get some audio options and some graphical options, but some of them might help with your FPS if you're having issues such as resolution and anti-aliasing.”
  • story
    64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in the game is generally considered simplistic and serves primarily as a backdrop for the gameplay, with many players noting its generic nature. It is presented through comic book-style cutscenes, which some found visually appealing, though the narrative itself is often described as bland or an afterthought. While the story may not be the main draw, it wraps up coherently and adds a lighthearted context to the platforming experience.

    • “Comic story-lines are present in the beginning or endings of certain levels, which were done quite well for the short story a speed-running game was attempting to tell, and the art style fit the overall theme and didn't feel outdated.”
    • “It also has a good amount of content with 7 worlds (around 5-7 stages each) and a simple story told in beautiful comic book-like graphics.”
    • “The story wraps up nicely while using pretty cool looking comic art styles for the presentation and at least it's coherent and has an ending that ties everything up.”
    • “The story is nothing more than an excuse to let you go through the stages.”
    • “The story is told through a series of comic book style videos that will likely require you to manually install codecs found in the game's directory.”
    • “The story may be fairly generic, but the gameplay is solid, and I'm sure speedrunners would have a lot of fun speedrunning the levels.”
  • music
    32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally described as decent and fitting, with a mix of melodic and upbeat tunes that enhance the gameplay experience. While some players found the soundtrack catchy and enjoyable, others noted that it occasionally became distracting, particularly during boss fights where it shifted unexpectedly to dubstep. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, though it may not be memorable enough to stand out significantly.

    • “The game looks good, it has a great atmosphere, and surprisingly for the most part a very soothing soundtrack that at times only really managed to bother me in some boss fights where out of the blue it turns into dubstep.”
    • “Great ninja-themed sound design and soundtrack.”
    • “Music is awesome, the soundtrack fits the game perfectly.”
    • “I did have one glitch where the music stopped playing one level.”
    • “The music is catchy, but nothing to write home about.”
    • “Music only serves as ambient noises but it never gets in the way until it forces you to mute it and put on some other tunes.”
  • replayability
    23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers significant replayability through multiple difficulty levels, varied level layouts, and additional challenges such as time trials and custom maps. Players can continually improve their scores and enjoy the game as completionists, with future updates like leaderboards promising to enhance this aspect further. Overall, it is praised as a fun, skill-based platformer with ample opportunities for replay.

    • “Three difficulties, with sometimes significant changes in the levels' layouts - therefore, great replayability.”
    • “The rank system, custom maps, and harder modes add a lot of replayability.”
    • “Casual unity platformer with various difficulty levels for (a little) replayability.”
    • “A lot of replay value.”
    • “There’s even a degree of replayability, as you can always go back and try and beat your best scores on levels you’ve already completed, and if the devs end up adding leaderboards like they are planning to, it will only add to that.”
  • stability
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game suffers from numerous technical glitches, including game-breaking issues that can disrupt gameplay and require reinstallation to resolve. While some players find the game enjoyable despite these bugs, many report that the instability significantly detracts from the overall experience, leading to frustration and a tendency to abandon the game after a short period. Frequent updates are noted, but minor glitches persist.

    • “But, what's worse is the fact that the game is full of game-breaking glitches that ruin the fun for any person playing the game.”
    • “Long story short: this game does deliver some fun, but you'll be tossing it aside after about an hour or two due to all the glitches.”
    • “First up, the only downsides so far for me have been a controller issue which resolved itself on uninstalling the game and reinstalling it, and a bug where if I go back into the main menu from a level, the game totally freezes and I have to ctrl+alt+del and end process.”
  • atmosphere
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is enhanced by fluid animations, stylish graphics that blend cyberpunk and ninja themes, and comicbook-inspired cutscenes, creating a visually appealing experience. While the soundtrack is generally soothing, it can become jarring during boss fights. However, some players note that the repetitive levels and enemies detract from the overall atmosphere, leading to a lack of novelty.

    • “Fluid animations, responsive controls, decently challenging, good level design, stylish graphics that combine cyberpunk with ninja themes, and comic book-inspired cutscenes that add to the atmosphere.”
    • “The game looks good; it has a great atmosphere, and surprisingly, for the most part, a very soothing soundtrack that at times only really managed to bother me in some boss fights where out of the blue it turns into dubstep.”
    • “The levels and enemies get pretty repetitive, and there isn't much atmosphere or novelty to each level.”
  • humor
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is praised for its humorous elements, particularly in its comic-style cutscenes, which contribute to a fun and visually appealing experience. Overall, players find the humor to be a standout feature that enhances the enjoyment of the gameplay.

    • “This game was a fun and short experience with nice gameplay and beautiful art in its cutscenes, which felt like a comic. I must say that it was very funny and pretty.”
  • character development
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development is designed to ensure a level playing field through player-created boards, promoting fair competition among users. This mechanic is well-received as it enhances the overall gameplay experience.

  • optimization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The reviews indicate that the game's optimization is closely tied to its controls and option menu, suggesting that players appreciate the ability to customize settings for improved performance. However, specific details on performance issues or enhancements are not provided, leaving the overall optimization experience somewhat ambiguous.

  • grinding
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat tedious, with distracting voice acting and a lack of significant difficulty increase contributing to the overall experience.

    • “The grinding can be tedious at times, with not much of a difficulty increase.”
    • “The voice acting is distracting, which adds to the overall tedium of grinding.”

Buy Shadow Blade: Reload

6h Median play time
6h Average play time
6-6h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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