Shieldmaiden

About

Shieldmaiden is a single player casual platformer game with fantasy and post-apocalyptic themes. It was developed by Dumativa and was released on March 12, 2020. It received positive reviews from players.

The end of the world just started and everyone is gone. The machines took over and your only goal is to look for your missing sister in a retro wave atmosphere. Fight and find your way into the danger with your shield in this vibrant pixel art world.

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80%

Audience ScoreBased on 46 reviews

gameplay8 positive mentions

Unique shield mechanic for attack, defense, and energy absorption adds fresh gameplay elements.
Great pixel art, animation, and overall visual presentation with a cyberpunk/anime aesthetic.
Engaging boss fights that provide an enjoyable challenge compared to the standard platforming.

Very short game length, often completing in about 2-3 hours, which may not justify full price.
Platforming can be inconsistent with awkward controls, blind jumps, and occasional cheap deaths due to camera and level design.
Technical issues including lack of display options, minor bugs, problematic gamepad controls, and some unpolished gameplay elements.

gameplay
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
45%
15%
The gameplay is praised for its polished platforming, tight controls, and a creative, fun shield mechanic that adds uniqueness to the experience. However, some find the game short and underutilizing its mechanics, with inconsistencies in shield functionality and level design that doesn't fully challenge or leverage the character’s abilities. Overall, it offers an enjoyable but somewhat limited platforming adventure.
- “Shieldmaiden stands out as an excellent platforming game with stunning visuals featuring great pixel art and beautiful anime style, delivering a challenging adventure with polished gameplay and tight controls!”
- “The shield mechanics are really creative and fun to use, offering cool boss fights and a unique game mechanic centered around the shield.”
- “The developers implemented numerous quality of life improvements and reworked all levels and many gameplay elements, enhancing the overall experience.”
- “This is a relatively short sci-fi themed platformer with less than 2 hours of gameplay featuring fairly routine, slightly unpolished platforming with wall jumps. The highlight of this short game is the not-so-amazing boss fights.”
- “Even with huge improvements to the overall gameplay and narrative feel, it's a niche game that had potential in mechanics but is ultimately underwhelming because the level design often does not utilize the character's full ability.”
- “The game starts with a good concept, using the shield for attack, defense, and energy absorption, but it does not use its mechanics to the fullest.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The graphics of the game are praised for their stunning pixel art and anime-inspired visuals, delivering a polished and visually appealing platforming experience. However, some users note the use of retro-style graphics as a deliberate choice, with limited options to customize resolution or enhance visual quality. While the art style and animations are well-received, there are minor critiques regarding reused music and occasional lack of detailed variety in levels.
- “It stands out as an excellent platforming game with stunning visuals featuring great pixel art and beautiful anime style, delivering a challenging adventure with polished gameplay and tight controls!”
- “Great pixel artwork and animation.”
- “The game seems pretty fun, with fun ways of reinventing usual platform mechanics and jaw-dropping visuals.”
- “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel art as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “There's no option to change the resolution for the game or customize the graphics settings.”
- “There's no way for gamers to try to improve the low-quality graphics.”
story
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
28%
27%
The story is generally considered an interesting backdrop with engaging cyberpunk/post-apocalyptic themes, though it serves mainly to connect gameplay segments rather than stand out as a deep narrative. Presentation during gameplay offers player choice, and while some praise its smooth storytelling and atmosphere, others find it less essential or occasionally skipped. Overall, the story adds flavor but is not the primary focus of the game.
- “The story is engaging and the pixel art cyberpunk/post-apocalyptic themes are top shelf.”
- “Story texts are often presented during gameplay, which gives you the choice of fighting your opponents or reading the texts.”
- “I loved the storytelling and it felt very smooth, definitely begging for more!”
- “I don't know about what the story was, I just always accidentally pushed a button and the whole dialogues auto-skipped.”
- “The story is only a pretext for the character to move from one point to another and face enemies; it is not a big deal, but I doubt that you are looking for a super story in a platformer.”
- “I believe they added some additional cutscenes and dialogue to the story, but I still didn't care about it, though I appreciate some extra visuals if nothing else.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
89%
11%
The music in the game is consistently praised for being high-quality, well-executed, and enhancing the narrative and overall atmosphere. While the soundtrack complements the art style and gameplay effectively, some users note a lack of variety due to reused tracks. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's quirky and engaging presentation.
- “Very well executed with amazing music and narrative!”
- “This game has clear influences from the games I mentioned above; the music is really good, it's got some cool mechanics, great art style, cool character design, fun enemies, and really fun boss fights.”
- “The art direction is great; sprites, music, sounds, and animation all come together to make a presentation that is quirky and solid.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is friendly and highly enjoyable, contributing to a welcoming gaming experience without the pressure of limited lives.
- “Nevertheless, it maintains a friendly and highly enjoyable atmosphere with no limited lives.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features cool character design that complements its art style, contributing to an engaging overall experience. However, specific details on character development narrative or progression are not highlighted.