Okay, I know we throw around the whole “reminds” thing around a lot.  That is because retro gaming is pretty much all about reminding fans of something from the past.  This can be using a familiar music segment, certain art style or genre.  Shadow Gangs is one such title that will definitely remind fans of Shinobi.  Seriously.

Shadow Gangs is tough, even on easy mode it is a nightmare at certain points.  This is probably due to my arcade skills having withered in the last 20+ years of not being exercised properly.  There is no hand holding in the demo so prepare to get your butt kicked.  Taking your time and having a bit of patience is key in Shadow Gangs.

You control a martial arts guy named Dan in the demo.  He is not in his ninja garb yet.  You are able to throw stars at far away enemies but if they get too close, you have other offensive moves.  You can kick and punch to protect yourself.

There are several layers of parallax scrolling in the background- hell it is in the office windows.  This is a great effect and one that is sorely missed in modern games (one layer is fine but SIX really adds to the sense of depth).  The enemies die in classic 80’s arcade fashion – very limited in animation.  It may be viewed as being cheap today but when you understand the era they are focusing on with Shadow Gangs, it makes perfect sense.

To say that Shadow Gangs plays similar to Shinobi or is a homage is kind of a misnomer.  This is pretty damn similar and I am fine with that.  In fact, I want to see more of this game but that won’t happen till the Kickstarter on June 25^th.

Head over to the Shadow Gangs website to read up a bit more on the story and grab that demo.

Carl Williams

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