While hardly original, Shadowalker is an enjoyable mobile knock-off of the 16-bit action platformer formula and the recent Castlevania entries. Its pleasant visuals, surprisingly deep story, and RPG elements are all pieces of its addictive pull.
Players control Phoenix Shadowalker, forced to defend a small land from an onslaught of monsters. Her destiny is the key to the story, as is her origin. From a horizontal viewpoint, players slash their way through a robust number of levels on their quest to (what else) save the town from destruction.
Things start fine. Walking and slashing isn’t a problem, while the combat maintains a solid feel. Phoenix carries both a sword and a gun. Targeting is generous and automatic depending on your range. Money is earned by defeating monsters, destroying objects, and searching for treasure chests. Levels are far larger than they appear.
Problems begin with the many jumping puzzles strewn throughout the game. The old standby of crumbling platforms makes itself known, and the controls have jump set to up on the d-pad. There is no way to change this. Jumping side to side requires a thumb cramping up and then (hopefully timed correctly) move to the left. Had jumping been assigned to a button, or even if the option existed, it would save countless moments of sheer frustration trying to navigate the stages.
A problem with combat is Phoenix’s small two-hit combo. The second attack pushes her forward, usually directly into an enemy. These cheap hits add up, especially in later levels as the damage ratios increase. Being able to revisit past levels to earn some extra money would have been a welcome option.
Besides these issues, the game comes together nicely as a whole. Exploring is fun, and earning money to upgrade weapons and armor is the right touch to keep players coming back. Boss battles provide a nice break from the standard fighting. Music would have been the final addition needed to push this over the edge as a true successor to the 16-bit platformers. It’s a shame there’s no memorable theme behind the fighting.
Shadowalker perfectly captures the tone and style of the games it’s emulating. With a control fix and a few tweaks, this could have been one of the best games on the mobile platform. As it stands, it’s a solid one and worth the cash of any potential adventure or action fan.
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