'9 Years of Shadows' Review: Symphony of the Light

https://www.npr.org/2023/04/21/ [login to see] /9-years-of-shadows-review-symphony-of-the-light-castlevania-metroidvania
Metroid and Castlevania pioneered 2D action platformers, and now any game that resembles them gets labeled with an inescapable portmanteau — the "metroidvania." It seems like dozens come out a year — most from independent studios.

But while it doesn't completely reinvent the formula, 9 Years of Shadows, out now on PC, shines in all the core gameplay mechanics that matter: from its character progression, to its tight controls, to its creative enemy design, and even to its platforming and puzzles.

For a genre notorious for brutal difficulty, I particularly enjoyed the game's forgiving combat. You have very limited health, but you're graced by a shield bar that doubles as ammo for a projectile attack. Should you exhaust that bar, you'll become vulnerable, but the game gives you two ways to recover.