PCGame

9 Years of Shadows

Side-scrolling Metroidvania with elemental armor inside a mechanical fortress

Halberd Studios · Published by indie.io · Released Mar 27, 2023

ActionAdventureIndie

Reviews
Mostly Positive
77% of 3,371
Recent reviews
Very Positive
80% of 30 in 30 days
Playing now
3
right now
Steam Deck
Playable
Last update
1 year ago
Apr 21, 2025

What is 9 Years of Shadows?

In this side-scrolling Metroidvania, Europa explores Talos, a mechanical fortress, to find the source of a curse that drained the world of color. You fight corrupted creatures with a halberd and help from your companion Apino, then use elemental armor to reach new parts of the map.

For you if...

  • +you enjoy exploring maps as new traversal abilities unlock
  • +you like switching equipment to tackle boss fights
  • +you want a single-player fantasy platforming adventure

Not for you if...

  • −you prefer guided routes over backtracking through a map
  • −you want a long, open-ended Metroidvania

What players say

77% of 3,371 reviews are positive · 80% of 30 in the last 30 days

Players praise the pixel art, soundtrack, and exploration. Common complaints include repetitive combat, an awkward healing system, and bosses that take too long to defeat. Some players also report crashes and other bugs.

Screenshots and trailer

9 Years of Shadows

9 Years of Shadows system requirements

As published by the developer.

Minimum

OS
Windows 10
Processor
Intel Core i3-9100F
Graphics
GT 730
Memory
8 GB RAM

Recommended

OS
Windows 10
Processor
Intel Core i3-9100F
Graphics
GT 730
Memory
8 GB RAM

PC version details

DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.

DRM
None declared on Steam
Controller
Full controller support
Platforms
Windows
Achievements
34
Steam features
Family Sharing

Steam Deck: Playable

  • Some in-game text is small and may be hard to read
  • All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
  • Shows Steam Deck controller icons
  • Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck
  • External controllers are not supported for the primary player

Multiplayer and co-op

Languages

Full audio: English. Text only: Spanish - Latin America, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Simplified Chinese.

Tags

Recent updates