Metroidvania 9 Years of Shadows Out on PC

by Alex Fuller · Published March 27, 2023 · Updated March 27, 2023

Publisher Freedom Games and developer Halberd Studios have released Metroidvania 9 Years of Shadows on PC. The game is available via Steam and the Epic Games Store for $19.99 with a 20% launch discount available until April 3, 2023. A Nintendo Switch version is in development and planned to release in Q3 2023.

9 Years of Shadows follows Europa, a young warrior in a world gripped by darkness and despair for the last nine years following a curse that emanated from Talos Castle. All of those who have entered to try and remove the curse have failed. Armed with her halberd, Europa enters the castle and encounters Apino, a magical bear able to heal and remove the corruption.

Europa and Apino team up and venture through the castle, with Apino helping Europa by shooting projectiles, opening locked doors, and shielding her from ranged attacks. Europa also has access to elemental armors. In addition to providing defense, it also gives her special traversal abilities such as swimming up waterfalls and gliding on air currents. Music will also play an important role, with the game said to utilise 432Hz “healing music”, and composers Michiru Yamane and Norihiko Hibino appearing as NPCs and contributing tracks to the game.