Back in August of last year (had to think about that one for a second), we first told you about Shadow Blade, a slick-looking action platformer that was in the works from developer Dead Mage. You play as a ninja doing all sorts of expected ninja-y stuff, like wall-jumping, throwing shurikens, and slashing things with your sword. As a huge fan of games like Ninja Gaiden and Shinobi back in the NES days, Shadow Blade looked right up my alley. Besides the actual gameplay stuff though, Shadow Blade really stuck out for me due to its dark but colorful atmosphere and excellent animations, all of which showed well in the game’s initial trailer.
That was quite a while ago, but over Christmas Dead Mage posted a brand new video for Shadow Blade, this time showing more than a minute of straight gameplay in one of the levels. Check it out.
Everything that drew me into the game initially still does so here, and looks better than ever, but something I didn’t notice before was how well the music is integrated into the gameplay. The strums as you pick up each of those green orbs adds to the atmosphere tremendously, and is a very nice touch. It looks like Shadow Blade is drawing near the finish line, with an expected release window of February. I’m very excited to get my hands on it, so check out the forums for more and we’ll bring you any new information leading up to its release.
